University of Arkansas at Little Rock Online MSW Program
Program Options: Part-Time
Tuition: $7,680
Acceptance Rate: 59%
GRE Required: Yes
1-Year/Accelerated Option: No
Campus Visits Required: No
Field Hours: 960-1136
CSWE Accredited: Yes (1969)
Application Deadline: March 1
See our ranking of the Top 10 Affordable Master of Social Work Online (MSW) Degrees.
Overview
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock, also called UA Little Rock, is a public university that opened in 1927 as a junior college. It offered associate’s programs that students finished in two years. Citing the need for a full university in Little Rock, the college changed its curriculum and gained university status. After using the name of Little Rock University for many years, it became UA Little Rock after becoming part of the University of Arkansas system in the 1960s. With an enrollment of more than 11,000 students, it ranks as one of the largest schools in the UA system. Washington Monthly ranks UA Little Rock within the top 100 of colleges in the United States. Its MSW program ranks as one of the best in the south too.
Strengths
UA Little Rock designed an online MSW program for part-time students. Only those taking classes on its campus can enroll as a full-time student. It takes students three years to finish the program, but there is an advanced standing program available that allows students to finish their studies in around two years. Advanced standing students do less fieldwork than regular students do. The program provides students with loads of resources that they can use online. It also allows students to take classes online while gaining experience and making professional connections in their own cities.
Concentrations
All UA Little Rock students can select a concentration when enrolling in its MSW program. Both of the available concentrations are advanced practice programs that expect students to have some experience. The clinical concentration focuses more on the work that social workers do with families, individuals, and groups. Students learn how to treat those patients and how to help patients find the resources that they need. The university also offers a management and community practice concentration for those who want to work with small groups and in community centers. Students learn how to evaluate programs and both design and implement new programs.
Program Requirements
The MSW program that UA Little Rock offers is one of the newer programs available. It only launched in 2016. This program combines elements of online learning with offline experiences to help students develop a better understanding of the people they will work with in the field and the skills they will need on the job. Students learn the appropriate ways of working with co-workers and with clients. The university asks students to take courses in both the fall and spring semesters. They’ll do a foundation internship in their second years and then a different internship in their third years. Students also have the chance to take classes during the summer semester.
Admissions Requirements
Students applying to this MSW program must complete two different applications. They need to apply to the UA Little Rock Graduate School and submit an application to its School of Social Work. Incoming students must have a bachelor’s degree in social work or a similar field and have an undergrad grade point average of at least 3.0. Those with a lower GPA can submit a GRE score received within the last five years. This shows the university that they can handle graduate work, even if they did poorly in college. UA Little Rock requires that students submit a score from either the GRE or the Miller Analogies Test.
A professional statement is another requirement. This statement should list any specific reasons why the student chose this university and any goals they have while in the program and after they graduate. Students must submit both a resume and three letters of recommendation too. Those letters can come from anyone familiar with the student’s professional, volunteer or educational background. The deadline for those entering the online program in the fall is March 1, but the university has an application deadline of November 1 for those who want to start classes during the spring semester.
Faculty
Though some colleges hire teachers specifically to handle online classes, the professors working in this online Master of Social Work program are the same ones who teach traditional classes on the Little Rock campus. They have decades of experience helping patients and clients with their unique needs. Students can connect with their professors both online and off too. Many of the more popular instructors give students their cell phone and office numbers to let students contact them whenever they need help. Students can also use the online platform to chat with their professors and get help when they need it.
Online Courses
The online classes in this program are the same as the ones available on the university’s campus. Students will watch lectures and read articles online, but they may read sections in textbooks too. They can log into the online system and talk about their readings. The online system also allows students to take quizzes and exams and to use the course discussion board. UA Little Rock typically offers a small number of classes each semester. Those classes can include Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Social Welfare Policy and Services, Aging and Social Policy and Adult Development and Aging.
Internships
Regular MSW students will do at least two internships and spend more than 1,100 hours working in the field. The foundation internship is the first one that students do. The university expects students to work in the same facility or agency over the course of two semesters. In the third year of the program, students will do a concentration internship relating to the concentration chosen. Advanced standing students who have more experience will only do a concentration internship. Those students will spend 960 hours in the field. UA Little Rock offers assistance for those who need help finding a placement. Though the university does allow students to do internships for their current employers, they cannot get course credit or internship credit for their full-time or part-time jobs.
Contact
School of Social Work
2801 South University Ave.
Little Rock, AR 72204
(501) 569-3240
Program Website