MSW Campus Program
The MSW Campus Program involves taking all coursework on the Urbana-Champaign campus. You focus on foundation practice and policy courses during the summer. Then the following fall, you'll complete foundation content regarding research methods and human behavior and the social environment. Concentration and advanced coursework is then offered in the spring semester. Once your coursework is complete, you begin a two-semester internship (field education). In the MSW Campus Program, you can earn your degree in 1.5 to 2 years (depending on your undergraduate degree and concentration), or work toward your MSW on a part-time basis.
MSW Campus Program Content:
- Requirements
- Concentrations
- Field Education
- Sample Timeline
- Admission Requirements & Application Materials
Requirements
A total of 10 to 14 courses plus a two-semester internship are required for the Master of Social Work. Each class is worth four hours of graduate credit. If you have earned a bachelor of social work (BSW) from an accredited social work program within the past seven years, you are considered to have met the foundation coursework requirements and, therefore, have 10 courses to complete. The two-semester internship occurs near the end of the program and must be completed in your area of concentration. All students must also complete a statistics course from a junior college or four-year institution earning a C (2.0) or better.
Concentrations
As an MSW student at the University of Illinois, you will receive expert instruction in advanced social work practice and research methods. While working on your degree, you’ll be able to develop your skills in one of five concentrations:
Advocacy, Leadership, and Social Change
The purpose of this concentration is to prepare students for social work careers that emphasize social change both within organizations and through public advocacy. The social work profession has a long tradition of working toward improving the lives of disadvantaged citizens through advocacy efforts with political officials and others. The profession likewise has worked to improve the provision of human services through the more effective management of agencies, and by advocating for changes within those agencies. In addition, as U.S. social services have increasingly devolved to state and local geographic units, new demands have been placed on social workers to assume leadership positions in nonprofit community agencies and in local political bodies. This concentration is intended to provide students with advanced training useful in pursuing careers in any of these areas of macro-level practice.
Children, Youth and Family Services
This concentration is designed to help students develop knowledge and skills for effectively delivering social services to children and their families. They advocate on behalf of children, which includes providing case management services, developing community resources, and influencing legislative and agency policy. Students who complete this concentration will have preparation in all aspects of children, youth and family services, including investigations, follow-up services, working with intact families, and prevention.
Mental Health
Social workers in the field of mental health work with individuals, families, and groups in dealing with internal, interpersonal, and environmental problem situations that affect mental health and social functioning. They also plan, administer, and evaluate mental health service systems. The emphasis in the curriculum is preparing students to provide, coordinate, and administer community-based services for people who encounter emotional stress. Also included are services for substance abusers and for mentally disabled people. Social workers provide more than half of the mental health services in the country.
Health Care
Social workers in the health care field collaborate with other health professionals in providing patient care, and serve to mobilize family, friends, and other supportive networks on the patient’s behalf. They act as a link between health agencies and other community services. Social workers in this concentration work in hospitals and clinics, as well as in federal, state, and local public health centers, with physicians in private or group medical practices, on home health care teams, and/or with nursing home health planning agencies. Health care social workers are on the faculty of medical schools across the country.
School Social Work
The public school system offers expanding and challenging opportunities for social work practice and innovation. The two-year school social work concentration emphasizes social work services in schools as a process in school-community-pupil relations that focuses on planned system change, consultation, and interdisciplinary teaming. The concentration prepares social workers for practice in Illinois public schools and includes knowledge and skills to address the most pressing needs of public school children and their families—for social work practice in educational settings, for understanding of the impact of racism, and for appreciation of the diverse needs of special populations and how to address those needs.
Field Education
A unique feature of our MSW program is our internship structure, also called “block placement.” Rather than interning while also taking classes, you will begin your internship during the last two semesters of the MSW program (once your foundation, advanced, and concentration courses are complete). Due to this distinctive structure, the two-semester internship can be completed at a social service agency anywhere in Illinois, and at times, outside the state.
Another benefit of our internship structure is our full-time faculty members who are specifically devoted to field education. This means you receive individualized attention from field faculty – often with expertise in your area of interest – to assist you in preparing for your internship.
You have significant input into the planning process of your internship. You choose the type of agency, your preferred geographic location, and what kind of learning experience you seek. You do not find an internship on your own—we do that for you, keeping in mind your learning goals and assuring quality MSW supervision. You will have the opportunity to interview at several agencies before settling on one. Once you have started your internship, our field faculty will meet with you at your site to review your progress, discuss any concerns, and provide support.
Along with your internship, a field seminar class meets each semester, combining weekly online learning with monthly on-campus sessions. The block placement internship along with the field seminar allows you to experience an agency setting four days each week for two semesters, providing full participation in social work practice at your host agency.
Sample Timeline for the MSW Campus Program
This example provides a timeframe option, but is not intended to substitute for academic advising. Each student’s program is individually planned and must be approved by the student’s adviser. The length of the program may vary depending on prerequisite, foundation requirements, and concentration, as well as the student’s individual timeframe for the program.
| YEAR | SEMESTER | COURSEWORK |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | Summer | Program Begins* Foundation coursework |
| Fall | Program Begins** Advanced coursework |
|
| Spring | Concentration Coursework | |
| Year 2 | Summer | Internship Begins Children, Youth and Family Services, Mental Health, Health Care, and Advocacy, Leadership, and Social Change concentrations |
| Fall | Internship Ends Children, Youth and Family Services, Mental Health, Health Care, and Advocacy, Leadership, and Social Change concentrations Internship Begins School Social Work concentration |
|
| Spring | Internship Ends School Social Work concentration |
* Students without a BSW from an accredited CSWE program must begin the program in the summer.
** Students with a BSW from an accredited CSWE program within the past seven years may enroll immediately in advanced courses in the spring (Outreach Program) or in the fall (Campus Program).
Admission Requirements & Application Materials
- A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university
- Evidence of personal attributes that are suitable for the profession of social work
- A minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or better for the last sixty (60) semester hours or ninety (90) quarter hours of coursework
- Experience in human services (paid, volunteer, research and/or internship)
- Twenty (20) hours of completed coursework in social and behavioral sciences
International applicants must also include:
- TOEFL score of at least 610 Toefl PBT; 253 Toefl CBT; 102 Toefl iBT; 6.5 IELTS
- Declaration of Finances Form
NOTE: Meeting these requirements does not guarantee admission.