Curriculum and Program Requirements
Two Year (Part-Time) MSW degree requirements:
The Master of Social Work (MSW) program is a course-based curriculum which includes eight courses, and two milestones as follows:
- Six core courses. Two of these courses are offered as intensive Summer Institutes. The beginning Summer Institute is offered as a 5-day, on-campus course in August before the rest of the fall term courses start in September. The 5 days will be preceded by preparatory learning activities and an assignment, and followed by activities that will wrap up the course learning. The final Summer Institute is offered as a three-week long intensive, online course with daily synchronous components in the second week, and is held in August at the end of the program. The remaining four core courses are completed as 12-week online, asynchronous courses.
- Two online elective courses. Part-time students are expected to take ONE elective per year during their 2-year program.
And two Milestones:
- 450 hour practicum (see Field Education)
- Master's Integration Seminar and Capstone
There is no research/thesis option. This program meets all University of Waterloo post-graduate degree requirements.
All UW graduate students have to complete an Academic Integrity Module in their first academic term which is administered by the Office of Academic Integrity.
All students in the Part-Time MSW degree must complete all credits at a minimum 75% overall average including the compulsory and elective credits required and the residence requirement of six terms in order to graduate from the program. The MSW Program adheres to academic regulations administered through Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) as indicated in the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar.
NOTE: Access to reliable high-speed internet service, and good digital literacy, is essential in order to have the best experience with our online courses.
As a part-time student, you can complete your degree within two years of initial program entry. Final completion of the program is in line with the Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs, Graduate Calendar, regulations.
Graduate students must maintain continuous registration for each of the six terms of the program.
While in the program, you should expect to spend a minimum of 10-12 hours/week on each course.
Additional program information is available on the Graduate Studies & Postdoctoral Affairs webpages.
For full course syllabi, posted term by term please see: The Centre for Extended Learning Course Search. Select the term - and select 'Social Work Master (SWK) - and then click 'search' to reveal each term's SWK courses. You will see the detailed syllabus linked within each course.
Practicum
Students are expected to complete a community-based field practicum in an approved agency or organization. It is expected that you will: demonstrate a growing capacity for professional development and assessment of your own practice; develop and demonstrate a meaningful relationship with the field setting and be willing to be open and constructively critical of social service conditions affecting clients, including both an understanding of policies and procedures and an ability to use these policies and procedures as well as the physical and human resources to benefit clients; demonstrate an ability to use field instruction appropriately; demonstrate an ability to identify and describe the client population; organize and interpret information/data for assessment, and prepare and execute an advanced plan for treatment and/or action including working with a client to develop short and long-term goals as well as strategies. [Note: An online Master's Integration Seminar and Capstone runs concurrently with the Practicum.]
Master's Integration Seminar and Capstone
The Master's Integration Seminar and Capstone milestone includes two inter-related components: 1) the Integration Seminar and 2) the Capstone. The Integration Seminar component is completed simultaneously with the Practicum, offering opportunity for guided critical reflection, drawing on Practicum experiences, other social work practice experiences, and course content to explore the integration of social work theories, frameworks, and approaches and field practice. The Capstone component is completed in the last term of the MSW program, engaging students in a creative and summative project to reflect their MSW learning journey. There are two components to the Capstone: 1) a creative project; and 2) a digitally recorded presentation. Both components of the Master's Integration Seminar and Capstone milestone are graded credit/no-credit and students must obtain a passing credit for both components.