Social Work (MSW), Children, Youth and Families Concentration

The Office of Graduate Admissions requires the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree in order to be eligible to apply for a graduate program. Applicants with non-U.S. degrees, please visit the international applicants page to review the U.S. degree equivalency information.

In order to make applying for graduate school as seamless as possible for you, we have
created an application checklist. This checklist can be a reference point for you during the
application process to ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of the steps
needed to apply, as well as all of corresponding supplemental materials for your specific
program of interest.

• Priority Deadline:
  • In Person, On Campus Program: January 15th. Applications to the Master’s in Social Work (MSW) program that are complete as of the January 15th deadline will receive priority review, and can expect an admissions decision no later than February 15th. Please note: Upon offer of admission, you will be asked to submit an enrollment deposit of $200.
  • Online Program: May 15th. Applications to the Master’s in Social Work (MSW) Online program that are complete as of the May 15th deadline will receive priority review, and can expect an admissions decision no later than June 15th. Please note: Upon offer of admission, you will be asked to submit an enrollment deposit of $200.
• Submit Online Application: Please create your online account and submit your application by following the general application instructions and pay (or waive) the non-refundable $60 application fee. Once this step has been completed, the online portal will allow you to upload your supplemental materials.

The following is a list of the supplemental materials that will accompany your application for the Social Work (MSW), Children, Youth and Families Concentration program:

• Transcript: One from each college attended.
• MSW In Person, On Campus Program Admission Personal Statement Prompt: The Montclair State University MSW faculty have the responsibility of evaluating your application. You will be submitting a variety of evidence concerning your ability to successfully undertake a graduate program in social work. We want to learn more about you, your interest in social work, and your ability to successfully complete a clinical social work graduate program. Therefore, we ask that you only use AI tools in managing the grammar and structure of your essay. The content is about you so we do not want you to use AI tools to write content about yourself and your experiences. Please keep your essay to 1000 words.
  • Who you are:
    • As a social worker, you form relationships with others as part of the helping process. These relationships are the foundation upon which you provide clinical services and advocate for justice. It is imperative that you know yourself and be able to communicate with others.
      • Tell us about who you are and how you identify yourself.
      • Share a time that you felt you were privileged and a time when you felt oppressed.
  • Social work as your career goal:
    • The Montclair State University MSW program educates students to engage in anti-racist and anti-oppressive social work practice.
      • Name two ways that you have stepped outside of your comfort zone when advocating for populations different than yourself.
    • The Montclair State University MSW program educates students to advocate for justice and to engage in clinical social work practice with children, youth, and families.
      • Why is this program the best fit for you and your career goals?
  • Your experience as a student: MSW students are required to read textbooks and articles and to synthesize material from multiple sources into content for papers, presentations, and skills demonstrations. This is different from the level of preparation you needed to have as an undergraduate student.
    • How will you ensure that you succeed academically in the MSW program?
    • Name an academic challenge that you experienced and explain how you overcame it or what you would do differently in graduate school.
    • If your overall undergraduate GPA is below a 3.0, please explain what happened and what you will do differently in graduate school.
  • Your time commitments: The program is academically rigorous, emotionally challenging, and time consuming because we are preparing you to work with people who are depending on you to be an ethical, competent, culturally sensitive. and responsive social worker. You should plan to spend at least 3 hours per week on each course in addition to your other responsibilities. Courses in the in person, on campus MSW program are 15 weeks in length and meet for 150 minutes each week. You have the option of completing the program in 2, 3, or 4 years. Courses are offered in fall and spring with some elective options in the summer. Advanced standing students can complete the program in 1 year, with a summer start, or 2 years.
    • You will complete two practicum experiences during the program, almost all of them require you to be in person at a social service agency. You must have weekday availability for 15 hours across two-three days to complete your first practicum experience and 21 hours across three-four days to complete your second practicum experience. There are very few evening and weekend practicum placements.
      • How do you plan to manage your time and commitments to successfully complete the program? 
      • If you are expecting to be employed while in the program, how will you ensure that you have weekday availability for 15 hours across two-three days to complete your first practicum experience and 21 hours across three-four days to complete your second practicum experience?
        

        ---

• Online MSW Program Essay Prompt:

  • Who you are: As a social worker,  you form relationships with others as part of the helping process.  These relationships are the foundation upon which you provide clinical services and advocate for justice. It is imperative that you know yourself and be able to communicate with others.

    • Tell us about who you are and how you identify yourself.

    • Share a time that you felt you were privileged and a time when you felt oppressed.

  • Social work as your career goal
    • The Montclair State University MSW program educates students to engage in anti-racist and anti-oppressive social work practice. Name two ways that you have stepped outside of your comfort zone when advocating for populations different than yourself.
    • The Montclair State University MSW program educates students to advocate for and to engage in clinical social work practice with children, youth, and families. Why is this program the best fit for you and your career goals?
  • Your experience as a student: Academic requirements for MSW students require you to read textbooks and articles and to synthesize material from multiple sources into content for papers, presentations, and skills demonstrations. This is different from the level of preparation you needed to have as an undergraduate student.
    • How will you ensure that you succeed academically in the MSW program?

      • What is your previous experience with online learning?

      • How did you perform in online learning?

      • Name an academic challenge that you experienced and explain how you overcame it or what you would do differently in graduate school.

      • If your overall undergraduate GPA is below a 3.0, please explain what happened and what you will do differently in graduate school.

  • Your time commitments: The program is academically rigorous, emotionally challenging, and time consuming because we are preparing you to work with people who are depending on you to be an ethical, competent, culturally sensitive. and responsive social worker. You should plan to spend at least 3 hours per week on each course in addition to your other responsibilities. Courses in the online MSW program are offered every seven weeks all year long. You will take one or two courses during each seven week period. The online program is designed to be completed in three years.
    • You will complete two practicum experiences during the program, almost all of them require you to be in person at a social service agency. You must have weekday availability for 15 hours across two-three days to complete your first practicum experience and 21 hours across three-four days to complete your second practicum experience. There are very few evening and weekend practicum placements.

      • How do you plan to manage your time and commitments to successfully complete the program?

      • If you are expecting to be employed while in the program, how will you ensure that you have weekday availability for 15 hours across two-three days to complete your first practicum experience and 21 hours across three-four days to complete your second practicum experience?

• Letters of Recommendation: Two.
• Resume: Required. The program faculty for the Master of Social Work program suggests you format your resume similar to this example.
• Applicants with non-U.S. degrees, please visit the International Applicants page to review the US degree equivalency information.

Additional Requirements for applicants to the Advanced Standing MSW

• Final Field Evaluation: Applicants applying to the Advanced Standing program are required to submit a final field evaluation to be reviewed for admission to the Montclair State University MSW program. The admissions committee expects to see the following components on a final field evaluation:
  • Student Name
  • School Name
  • Agency Name/Placement Site Name
  • Rating/commentary of performance in social work competencies as outlined by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
  • Signatures from Field Instructor and student

  If an applicant’s field placement is still in progress at the time their application is complete, a midterm field evaluation may be submitted for admission decision review. If admitted into the program, a final field evaluation is required prior to enrolling in the program. All the above requirements also apply to any midterm evaluations that are submitted.

• Recommendation for Advanced Standing: Applicants applying to the Advanced Standing program are required to submit an assessment and recommendation by the applicant’s social work program director. Download this recommendation form here.

The MSW is a 60-credit, full-time program. Students enjoy frequent interaction with faculty, small class sizes and a climate that is conducive to in-depth learning. Our program uses a unique, cohort-based model such that all students progress through the curriculum together and develop close relationships with peers and faculty. Throughout their studies, students engage in classroom learning, as well as supervised field experiences in various human service agencies. Field placements may include mental health clinics, schools, hospitals, child welfare agencies, disability services, substance abuse clinics, correctional facilities, etc.

For more information, please visit the Social Work (MSW), Children, Youth and Families Concentration program listing in the University Catalog.

If you have any general questions regarding the application process and requirements, please email or call us:
Office of Graduate Admissions
Email: graduate@niagarafishingservices.com
Telephone: 973-655-5147
Fax: 973-655-7869

If you have specific inquiries regarding your program of interest, please contact the Social Work (MSW), Children, Youth and Families Concentration Program Coordinator:

*During the summer months, there will be a rotating department chair available to answer your inquiry. Click to find the updated summer chair for this program.*

Program Coordinator: Dr. Lynette Reitz
Email: reitzl@niagarafishingservices.com