Program Contact: Carol R. Awasu 203-582-6433
Quinnipiac’s MSW Advanced Standing program is designed for those who have already completed a bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW). To qualify, students must have a BSW conferred from a CSWE-accredited program prior to beginning the MSW Advanced Standing program.
Students complete 30 credits of coursework over two semesters, including 700 hours of field education (total of 30 credits). Students may complete this curriculum in one academic year by studying full time, or within 2 years if they choose to study part time. Students in both plans of study also are required to complete 30 hours with the Quinnipiac Center for Interprofessional Healthcare Education by the time they graduate.
Graduates from the MSW Advanced Standing program are eligible to sit for the LMSW license exam and are prepared for employment in a full range of clinical social work positions, including jobs in health and mental health care, substance abuse, aging services, child and family welfare and justice, and school social work.
Advanced Standing MSW Program of Study
Students can choose among two plans of study (full-time or part-time) for the Advanced Standing MSW.
The curriculum for the professional courses in the program is subject to modification as deemed necessary to maintain a high-quality educational experience and keep current with best practices in the profession.
Full-Time Advanced Standing
Students complete the specialized practice curriculum full time. In addition to their classes, students are required to complete a specialized practice field placement.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credits | |
| SW 580 | Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis | 3 |
| SW 600 | Specialized Practice Field Education Practicum in Health/Behavioral Health I | 3 |
| SW 601 | Social Work Practice III: Specialized Clinical Social Work Practice | 3 |
| SW 604 | Evaluation Research Work Programs and Practice | 3 |
| SW 607 | Anti-Racism, Social Justice: Health and Mental Health | 3 |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| SW 602 | Specialized Practice Field Education Practicum in Health/Behavioral Health II | 3 |
| SW 603 | Social Work Practice IV: Specialized Organizational Social Work Practice | 3 |
| Select three elective courses 1 | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
- 1
Of the three elective courses, two must be clinical elective courses.
Part-Time Advanced Standing
Students complete the specialized practice curriculum over two years with a reduced course load. In addition to their classes, students are required to complete a specialized practice field placement.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credits | |
| SW 580 | Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis | 3 |
| SW 607 | Anti-Racism, Social Justice: Health and Mental Health | 3 |
| Credits | 6 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Two elective courses 1 | 6 | |
| Credits | 6 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| SW 600 | Specialized Practice Field Education Practicum in Health/Behavioral Health I | 3 |
| SW 601 | Social Work Practice III: Specialized Clinical Social Work Practice | 3 |
| SW 604 | Evaluation Research Work Programs and Practice | 3 |
| Credits | 9 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| SW 602 | Specialized Practice Field Education Practicum in Health/Behavioral Health II | 3 |
| SW 603 | Social Work Practice IV: Specialized Organizational Social Work Practice | 3 |
| Select 1 elective 1 | 3 | |
| Credits | 9 | |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
- 1
Of the three elective courses, two must be clinical elective courses.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the Advanced Standing MSW program, students will demonstrate the following competencies:
- Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior.
- Engage diversity and difference in practice.
- Advance human rights and social, economic and environmental justice.
- Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice.
- Engage in policy practice.
- Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
- Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
- Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
- Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Quinnipiac University MSW program is to prepare social workers for specialized practice in health and mental health through a curriculum that focuses on clinical and organizational practice, experiential learning and interprofessional teamwork. Guided by respect for human dignity and a commitment to social justice, the MSW program uses a person-in-environment framework to ready students for professional practice in dynamic contexts.
MSW Program Values
The MSW program’s core values reflect the NASW Code of Ethics for Social Workers: service, social justice, the dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationships, integrity and competence.
MSW Program Goals
The MSW program has the following five goals:
- Prepare students to be competent ethical social workers in a variety of health and mental health settings.
- Prepare students to engage in anti-racist and anti-oppressive clinical and organizational social work practice.
- Prepare students to advocate for equity and social justice at all levels of social work practice.
- Prepare students to integrate social work perspectives within interprofessional collaborations and across systems.
- Promote lifelong learning and professional development for students, alumni and social work colleagues.
Admission
To be eligible to apply for admission, applicants must have earned a BSW from a CSWE-accredited program prior to the beginning of the MSW Advanced Standing program. All BSW courses must have grades of B or better.* Admission is selective and not guaranteed.
*Applicants to the advanced standing program may be admitted conditionally if their GPA or BSW course grades do not meet the required admission criteria. Such cases will be considered on an individual basis by the admissions committee. Students who are admitted conditionally must earn at least a 3.00 their first term to continue in the advanced standing program as a fully accepted student.
Background Check and Drug Screening
To ensure their safety and maintain high-quality care of patients, clinical affiliates of the university require students to have a criminal background check. All students entering the Quinnipiac MSW program are required to undergo a criminal background check (through the university vendor) prior to beginning classes. This is a mandatory component of the program. In addition, MSW students may be required to undergo a criminal background re-check and/or drug screen prior to any of their field placements. The results are made available to the student through their own personal and secure online portal. Whenever a Quinnipiac MSW student may need proof of criminal background check for field placements, the student will release the information directly from their personal portal to the clinical site. The cost of the criminal background check and any re-checks and/or drug screens is the responsibility of each individual student.
Additional Program Costs
As a clinical education program, the MSW program requires some expenses that go beyond standard university tuition and fees:
- Clinical/Fieldwork Education Travel (gas, parking, public transportation): You are responsible for the costs associated with travel to and from field internships. Costs – variable.
- Background Check: Quinnipiac University and its clinical affiliates require that all students undergo a criminal background check, through the university vendor, prior to beginning classes (University Criminal Background Check Policy). Please note that placement sites may require that students participate in the agency’s background check, in addition to the one required by the university.
- University background check cost – $63 for all domestic addresses for the past 7 years or $158 for students who have resided in New York state in the last 7 years due to NY state surcharge.
- Some students may be required to do an annual recheck one year after the initial background recheck. Cost – $32 per annual recheck.
- Drug Screening: Some sites require physical and/or substance use drug screens as well as fingerprinting. MSW students are expected to comply with all agency requirements prior to beginning field internships.
- Liability Insurance: All students have liability insurance coverage through the university, free of charge, while performing required clinical activity. Students may choose to purchase additional coverage at their own expense.
- Exxat and APPROVE: Students enrolled in the MSW program must enroll in Exxat and APPROVE.
- Exxat is the clinical tracking and assessment program used by the School of Health Sciences. Cost – one-time payment of $150 per student enrolled in the MSW program (students are responsible for this cost).
- APPROVE is the program within Exxat that tracks all student health and safety records, provides documentation to prospective clinical sites, and provides notification of impending expiration dates. Cost – $35 - first year, after which it is $10 per year.
The MSW program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
The CSWE address is:
Council on Social Work Education
333 John Carlyle Street, Suite 400
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-683-8080
Fax: 703-683-8099
Email: info@cswe.org
Website: CSWE.org
All Council on Social Work Education programs measure and report student learning outcomes. Students are assessed on their mastery of the competencies that comprise the accreditation standards of the Council on Social Work Education. These competencies are dimensions of social work practice that all social workers are expected to master during their professional training. A measurement benchmark is set by the social work programs for each competency. An assessment score at or above that benchmark is considered by the program to represent mastery of that particular competency.
Please visit Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes (PDF) for more information (last completed 2021).