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Admission into the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work Graduate programs is competitive and to be admitted you must meet theminimum academic entrance requirements.The Faculty of Social Work offers many different Graduate programs and degree routes. Please consider which program is most suitable for yourself.
Click the program title below for the calendar description. Please note that the following are brief descriptions. Please see the Graduate Programs page for further information.
Calgary graduate students are admitted annually and choose one of three specializations: Clinical Social Work Practice and International and Community Development are offered in the Classroom in Calgary, and the Leadership in the Human Services, offered exclusively Online. Students without an undergraduate degree in social work are admitted to an extended two-year program, while BSW graduates are admitted directly into a one-year Specialization program. Also offered from the Calgary location, the Master of Business Administration/Master of Social Work (MBA/ MSW) program is designed to prepare students for business-related social work careers. This program is available only to full-time MSW students.To review current curriculum plans and course descriptions, please visit the Graduate Programs link under the Current Students tab.
In Edmonton, the Faculty of Social Work offers the Clinical Social Work Practice specialization. Program delivery blends web-based and on-site formats. On-site courses are offered on Friday evenings and Saturdays, four times per term, and occasional week-long intensives, allowing students from Edmonton and throughout central and northern Alberta to continue working while pursuing graduate education. Students with a BSW complete the Clinical Specialization program in 2 years. Students with an undergraduate degree in other disciplines complete a Foundation program followed by the Clinical program, requiring a total of 4 years of study. Admission occurs in odd-numbered years (i.e., 2009, 2011, 2013, etc.).
In Lethbridge, the Faculty of Social Work offers the Clinical Social Work Practice specialization to students with a BSW. Program delivery blends web-based and on-site formats, allowing students from Lethbridge and southern Alberta to continue working while pursuing graduate education. Students complete the program in 2 years. Admission occurs in odd-numbered years (i.e., 2009, 2011, 2013, etc.).
The MSW course-based specialization in Leadership in the Human Services is administered through Calgary as a distance program and is accessible to students regardless of home location. One course is offered on campus for one week in July in both the first and second years of the program. Other courses are offered via distance delivery. The program is designed to be completed in two years of full-time study. You can also view an online presentation to see what the practicum for the Distance Leadership specialization entails.
PhD, PMD and thesis-based MSW students are initially assigned an interim faculty advisor. Before the end of the first year, each student must designate a faculty member as permanent supervisor. In the doctoral program, the supervisor and student must then select a supervisory committee within three months of the appointment of the permanent supervisor. Supervisory committees typically consist of the supervisor and two other members, one of whom may be external to the Faculty of Social Work.
