Social Work

• Master of Social Work
• Ph.D. Social Work
• Ph.D. Social Work with Specialization in Political Economy

Master of Social Work

Academic Regulations

See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.

Candidates for the MSW degree must complete all course work (or the equivalent) counted towards the degree with a grade of B- or higher. The School of Social Work does not permit the C+ option.

Admission Requirements

The School of Social Work provides two points of entry into the Master of Social Work program.

Applications are accepted to the Foundation Year (first year of a two year MSW program) from candidates who hold an Honours bachelor's degree, or the equivalent, with at least high honours standing (normally B+ or higher in the final two years/10 full credits of university courses; B- or higher overall) in a discipline other than social work.

Application are accepted to the Advanced Year (one year MSW program) from candidates who hold an accredited Bachelor of Social Work degree with honours standing (normally B+ or higher in the final two years/10 full credits of university courses; B- or higher overall).

Applications are accepted from candidates who are in the process of completing their final year of study, and who have maintained B+ or higher.

Work experience in social work or a related field is considered as one of several selection criteria for application to both Foundation Year and Advanced Year.

Applicants must have completed (or be in the process of completing) 1.0 credit in research (.5 credit research methods and .5 credit statistics with a minimum B grade or higher) in both courses.

The School of Social Work will not grant advanced standing for course work completed prior to entry into the MSW program.

Students accepted into Foundation Year will be expected to complete 6.0 credits of course work in year I and 5.0 credits of course work in year II.

Program Requirements

Students admitted into the Foundation Year (first year of the two year MSW program) must complete the Foundation Year (year I) and the Advanced Year (year II) of the MSW program.

Students admitted into the Advanced Year must only complete year II.

Foundation Year (year I) of the MSW consists of the following 6.0 credits:

Advanced Year (year II) of the MSW consists of the following 5.0 credits:

And one of the following two options:

For all course options listed above, a minimum of 1.0 credit to be taken from graduate-level Social Work course offerings, or with permission from the School of Social Work, a maximum of 1.0 credit may be taken outside the School of Social Work, and a maximum of 0.5 credit may be taken at the 4000-level.

All students in SOWK 5903, SOWK 5909, SOWK 5606, SOWK 5607 must maintain continuous registration until completion of the course in accordance with the General Regulations as stated in this calendar.

Part-Time Studies

The School offers part-time studies to a limited number of qualified candidates. The requirements for part-time studies are identical to those of the regular program, except that part-time students are limited to a maximum of 1.0 credit of course work per term.

Students registered on a part-time basis must maintain continuous registration for a minimum of two terms per year until all course requirements are completed.

In their first fall term, part-time students in the MSW Foundation Year (Year I) must register in SOWK 5000 and one of  SOWK 5501,SOWK 5502,  SOWK 5308, SOWK 5408, or SOWK 5608. Part-time students in the MSW Advanced Year (Year II) register in SOWK 5306 or SOWK 5307 plus an additional 0.5 credit of course work in their first fall term.

Change of Status

Students contemplating changing their full-time or part-time status should consult the General Regulations section of this Calendar.

Ph.D. Social Work

Academic Regulations

• See the General Regulations section of this Calendar
• Candidates must obtain a grade of B- or higher in each course and Satisfactory on the PhD thesis and its oral defence.

Admission Requirements

There are three principal criteria for admission.

• Completion of an MSW at an accredited program in Social Work (Canadian Association for Social Work Education or equivalent), or a similarly accredited BSW and a closely related graduate degree. An average of A- or better at the Masters level is normally required.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research and to complete the program. Applications must contain one academic or professional paper completed by the applicant at the graduate level or its equivalent.
• A minimum of two years full-time post graduate work experience, or five years post-baccalaureate work experience in the social services and/or social policy field.
• Note: The School may require a candidate to complete an additional course (such as research methods or theory) to qualify for admission. Such a candidate may be provisionally admitted into the program and permitted to take the additional course concurrently with the regular PhD courses.

Program Requirements 

Notes:

1. The School requires that 5.0 credits in course work plus the 0.5 credit in the Qualifying exam be completed by the end of the first six semesters (i.e. fall, winter, spring/summer).
2. During the second year of study students are required to develop and defend their research proposal.

Selection of Courses - Political Economy

In addition to the graduate courses offered by, or associated with, the Institute of Political Economy, the courses listed below are relevant to students of political economy and would, with the prior approval of the Institute, be used to design a coherent and internally complementary set of courses to fulfill degree requirements. The list is not exclusive and is subject to change. Moreover, students in the Master's program may select 1.0 credit in political economy that is offered at the 4000-level.

Note: the number of spaces in graduate courses offered by other departments may be limited, and registration may be conditional upon obtaining the prior approval of the department concerned. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that permission is obtained from the appropriate department prior to registering in any of the following courses.

The Institute expects to attract high quality graduate students who will be likely to continue to a second post-graduate degree. Master's students will be directed to consult with the department where they might wish to pursue doctoral studies so that they may select courses that will prepare them for this next stage.

Part-Time Studies

Students not able to remain in full-time studies may only apply for part-time status following the completion of their second year of studies and with evidence of satisfactory progress in their research.

Change of Status

Students contemplating changing their full-time or part-time status should consult the General Regulations section of this Calendar.