Graduate Online Application and MSW Application Instructions

Click here to apply to the Ph.D. program

• One OFFICIAL copy of your transcripts from each undergraduate and/or graduate school you have attended. Transcripts must not be "Issued To Student."
  
• Official GRE scores (Submit request to ETS and send scores to FSU)

Mail to:
Florida State University
Graduate Admissions
P.O. Box 3062400
Tallahassee, Fl 32306-2400

• One OFFICIAL copy of your transcripts from each undergraduate and/or graduate school you have attended. Transcripts must not be "Issued To Student."

Mail to:
FSU College of Social Work
Admissions
296 Champions Way
P.O. Box 3062570
Tallahassee, Fl 32306-2570

Application and Guidelines:
Please read the application requirements below before moving on to the online application.  The online application will ask you to upload the documents below in an area labeled “Supplemental Materials”.  Each item below is labeled with an upload document number that corresponds with the submission areas in this part of the application.  It would be helpful to compose these documents on your personal computer prior to addressing the “Supplemental Materials” section in the online application. 

If you are interested in the JD/MSW program please contact the College of Law.  The College of Law has a unique admissions process independent of University Admissions. Please click  http://www.law.fsu.edu for more information. 

You may want to print up the guidelines to have available while you work on your MSW application.

• Frequently Asked Questions About Applying to the College of Social Work
• College of Social Work Application
   
  

Personal Statement (Upload Document #1):
Please put your first and last name on all documents that you submit and indicate if you are interested in the Clinical or Social Policy and Administration (SPA) concentration.  The SPA concentration is only available in Tallahassee.

Social Work is a profession that addresses the needs of vulnerable populations.  We are bound by a professional Code of Ethics (see MSW bulletin) that mandates our professional behavior.  Students admitted into our graduate program are expected to act in a manner that reflects these standards.  We wish to evaluate as accurately as possible your qualifications for a professional education in social work and the appropriateness of the program for your educational needs and goals.  Therefore, it is important that you respond to EACH of the following questions.  Please type your replies, double-spaced, in three to six pages. This is one of the most important parts of your admission application.  It is your opportunity to share with the Admissions Committee information about yourself that we will use to evaluate your appropriateness for the program and the profession.  Before submission, make certain that you give the committee members a clear picture of your interests, experiences, and objectives.  Remember, each of these questions is scored individually, along with your writing skills, so please answer to the best of your ability.

1. Discuss the major reasons for your interest in the profession of social work.
2. Describe any experience that you have had in working in a helping capacity to serve people in either paid or volunteer position. Share the length of time, population, the type of setting and discuss your personal strengths and limitations in these roles.
3. What personal traits and/or abilities do you possess that facilitate your understanding of people with differences in gender, race, ethnicity, religion, disabilities, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status? Give a brief example of your experience with people who are different from you.
4. Discuss a personal or professional situation where you were challenged to look at an issue from another person's viewpoint. What was the outcome?

If you feel that your present record does not reflect your potential, please share with the Admissions Committee in your Personal Statement why you think you can manage the demands of graduate education.

 
Resume (Upload Document #2):

A resume gives you an opportunity to share information about yourself to the Admissions committee.  It should be concise, easy-to-read, grammatically correct, well composed, and formatted.  Below is a sample format of a resume.  While it is not necessary for you to arrange yours in this manner, it is necessary that you include all the information listed (limit your resume to two typed pages or less if possible).

• Personal Data: name, address, phone number
• Educational Background: degrees earned
•  Work/Volunteer Experience: List your work and volunteer experience in chronological order.  Provide a brief (2-3 lines) job description and give beginning and ending dates for each position.  Clearly identify those positions that were paid, internships, or volunteer.  
• Special skills or Attributes: List skills or attributes that enhance your ability to work with others.  For example, do you speak a foreign language?  Do you know sign language?  Are you skilled in athletics, art, music, or speech? Do you know how to use computers or special equipment?
• Professional affiliations and honors: Are you a member of any professional organizations? Did you receive academic honors form your college or university?  Have you received honors from a community service or social group?

Copy of final field Evaluation – For Advanced Standing Students Only  (Upload Document #3)

Advanced Standing Applicants must submit a copy of their final field evaluation. If final field placement is not completed, a letter from the Field Instructor regarding applicant's performance will suffice.
If you do not have access to an electronic copy of this document, please mail the document to:

Petition for Exceptional Consideration (Upload Document #4):

To be completed ONLY by the applicant whose GPA is below 3.0 and GRE total is below 1000.
An applicant who believes that her or his individual circumstances warrant exceptional consideration for a wavier of the minimum university admissions requirements of an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 OR 1000 on the GRE must petition the MSW admissions committee.
The request should be a one page statement entitled “Petition for Exceptional Consideration”.  The petition should include a statement indicating how not meeting the minimum admissions requirements of a 3.0 GPA and 1000 GRE score should be waived, as it does not adequately represent the applicant’s capabilities.  The applicant should briefly discus how he or she has indeed demonstrated a capacity for successful achievement in a rigorous graduate program.  For example, an applicant might provide evidence of:

1. Superior grades during the final semester(s) of work prior to graduation indicating a trend toward improved performance;
2. Subsequent to receipt of the undergraduate degree, an applicant might demonstrate competence through achievement in another graduate program;
3. Outstanding work experience in human services (volunteer or paid).

The applicant should also discuss how, if granted admission to the program, she or he plans to address potential obstacles to successfully completing the program (for example, if a low grade point average was viewed as the result of a “needing to work full time during my undergraduate studies” the applicant should discuss why that is not likely to be a factor during her or his graduate study).
Petitions must be submitted as part of the required Personal Statement.

Letters of Recommendation:  The online application will ask you to submit contact information for your references in the “Recommendations” section. 

• Minimum of four (4). Two must be work or personal references and two should be academic references. If you have not been employed, provide additional academic or personal references in place of work references.  DO NOT include relatives.  If you graduated more that five years ago, you may substitute work or personal references in place of academic references. The references will become part of your admissions file.  They will be used only for admissions consideration and will not be disclosed to any unauthorized individual without your consent.