University of Wyoming Master of Social Work
Program Options: Standard, Advanced Standing
Tuition: $4,518
Acceptance Rate: NA
GRE Required: No
1-Year/Accelerated Option: No
Campus Visits Required: Yes
Field Hours: 900
CSWE Accredited: Yes (1999)
Application Deadline: NA
See our ranking of the Top 10 Affordable Master of Social Work Online (MSW) Degrees.
Overview
Wyoming officially became a state in 1890, but the University of Wyoming opened four years earlier. Often considered the primary public university of the state, it goes by the name of UW. Some also call the university just Wyoming. The School of Outreach at the university is responsible for offering and maintaining more than 40-degree programs for students who do not live near the campus. UW requires that MSW students do one final capstone project before they graduate, but the university gives students different options for completing this project. Interested students can learn more about this Online MSW program before they submit their applications.
Strengths
The UW Division of Social Work designed a Master of Social Work program for students who want to work in the field while also attending school. While originally designed for those living in and around Laramie, the university now accepts students from many different cities and states. Many of the students who enroll live in a state in the West, which makes it easier for them to attend the intensive residency sessions held on the campus each year. Those residency sessions allow students to work directly with their teachers and their peers. UW typically holds five sessions in the fall and spring semesters and three sessions over the summer. Students will spend an entire weekend on the UW campus.
Concentrations
UW only offers one concentration that online students can pick, which is a concentration in school social work. Designed for those who want to work with kids of different ages, this program prepares students for handling the issues that affect teenagers as well as younger kids. They’ll learn how to identify signs of the bullying and abuse that can occur at home as well as at school. The university also offers a certificate program that allows students who earned an MSW degree from any other school to take a few classes and earn a certificate in school social work.
Program Requirements
Online MSW can obtain a course schedule from the university that shows them when they need to take each class in the program and when they will do their internships. Students will do two practicums in their first and second years that stretch across two semesters. The university only requires that students work one hour each week but asks that they complete the minimum number of hours required by the end of the semester.
Students must also take and pass a final comprehensive exam and do some type of research project. They can do a capstone and evaluate an existing social work program or complete a thesis based on their own independent research. UW requires that students submit a proposal and get approval before working on a given topic.
Admissions Requirements
Those applying to this Online MSW program must submit official transcripts that show they took at least 21 credits of liberal arts and social sciences classes as an undergrad. They must also take both a biology class and a statistics course and score at least a C in each one. UW will only accept students who have a 3.0-GPA, but the university doesn’t have an application deadline. Students can submit their applications whenever they want. UW requires that incoming students have a 3.25-GPA in all social work classes taken and that they have a bachelor’s degree. Students entering the advanced standing program must have a bachelor’s degree in social work and present proof that they received a grade of B or higher in the undergrad practicums they did.
Faculty
Though Wyoming is a fairly large state in terms of overall size, most of the towns in this state are fairly small. All the professors working for the UW MSW program that takes place online have experience working in some of those smaller communities. They help students understand the issues that they’ll face when working in Wyoming as well as other states. Professors stay in touch with their students in a few different ways too. While many interact via course discussion boards and through email, some provide students with their cell phone numbers and personal email addresses also.
Online Courses
Online MSW students will take one class over the summer and then take a full course load in each semester during the standard school year. Social Work Research and Practice and Social Work Generalist Practice are examples of some of the classes offered during the summer. The program features basic courses that students take during the first year, including Social Welfare Policy: Human Rights & Social Justice and Human Behavior and the Social Environment. During the second year, they’ll take advanced classes, including Advanced Theories & Practice with Children & Families and Advanced Generalist Practice.
Internships
To meet the guidelines established by the CSWE, this UW Online MSW program requires that students do 900 hours of fieldwork. They typically begin working at the beginning of October and continue working until the end of April. Students will work no more than 18 hours each week. The first internship serves as a generalist internship that gives students a broad understanding of social work. They will then do an advanced internship during their second year. This practicum requires that they do 250 hours of work during the first semester and 250 more hours of work in the second semester. Students will submit an assessment completed by their direct supervisors to get credit for their work.
Contact
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
(307) 766-1121
Many of the students who apply to this social work program live in Wyoming or a neighboring state such as Idaho. UW welcomes students from any state to apply as long as they can complete the residency requirements in place. The Division of Social Work and the Outreach School at the University of Wyoming worked together to create one of the top Online MSW programs in the state.