Other Admissions Information after completing the 2-Step Quick Admissions Process
Determining Your MSW Admissions Category:
- Admissions Criteria for BSW students and recent BSW graduates who qualify for Advanced Standing:
An applicant who has earned an undergraduate degree in social work from a Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited BSW program within six years of their planned start date of graduate study and whose GPA is 3.0 or greater in the approximately last 60 hours of undergraduate work, will be considered for Advanced Standing into the graduate program. MSW applicants who meet the 3.0 GPA requirement and qualify for Advanced Standing, will only complete the two-step quick admissions process.
- Admissions Criteria for Non-BSW students and graduates (not eligible for Advanced Standing):
An applicant who has earned an undergraduate degree in a discipline other than social work from an accredited institution (about 50% of our MSW students) and whose GPA is 3.0 or greater in the approximately last 60 hours of undergraduate work, will be considered for admission into the MSW program as a Traditional student. Non-BSW applicants, who meet the 3.0 GPA requirement, will only complete the two-step step quick admissions process.
- General Admissions Criteria:
Applicants with a bachelor's degree from an accredited college, university or equivalent institution with less than 3.0 in the approximately last 60 hours of undergraduate university-level work and do not meet the Advanced Standing and the Non-BSW Traditional categories above, must not only complete the two-step admissions process, but may have to complete the items below. However, please complete the two-step quick admissions process first and wait for the admissions determination and additional instructions to let you know if the additional documents below will be needed. Consult with our SSW Admissions Counselor for more information.
a. GRE: The GRE is currently being waived for General Admissions and for all other admissions categories it was never required? However, if you decide to take the GRE test, send an official copy of your score from ETS to UTA Graduate Admissions Office. UTA's institution code is 6013. If you have already taken the GRE, you can request ETS to send a report by calling ETS at 1-888-GRE-SCORE or go to www.ets.org/gre, for more information. The GRE is never required for applicants who meet our Advanced Standing and Non-BSW Traditional criteria (quick admissions).
b. Recommendations: Submit three letters of recommendation forms. Request Recommendation Form If you graduated within the last two years, two of your recommendations must be from academic instructors/professors. Letters of recommendation are not required for applicants who meet our Advanced Standing and Non-BSW Traditional criteria (quick admissions).
c. Narrative: Submit a 2-3 double-spaced page narrative essay that discussing the following: Social work practice is often classified as either micro or macro. Explain what is meant by micro practice and macro practice, and why addressing both micro and macro issues are essential to effective social work practice. Use three outside sources to support your statement and include complete citations for each. The narrative is not required for applicants who meet our Advanced Standing and Non-BSW Traditional criteria (quick admissions).
Items b and c above must be submitted directly to the School of Social Work via email at sswadmissions@uta.edu or at the address listed below:
UT Arlington School of Social Work
Admissions Office
Box 19129
211 S. Cooper Street
Arlington, TX 76019
- 22 for the writing section
- 21 for the speaking section
- 20 for the reading section
- 16 for the listening section
d. For applicants whose native language is not English: Satisfactory scores on the TOEFL or the TSE must be submitted to the UTA Graduate Admissions Office. Applicants must submit a score of at least 550 on the paper-based TOEFL, a score of at least 213 on the computer-based TOEFL, a minimum score of 6.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or a minimum TOEFL iBT-Internet Based Test total score of 79 with sectional scores that meet or exceed the following:
UTA Graduate Admissions office calculates the official GPA, not the School of Social Work. For more information on Graduate Admissions and calculating the GPA go to http://catalog.uta.edu/academicregulations/admissions/graduate/. All applicants must submit their application and complete the two-step admissions process first for proper GPA determination by the UTA Graduate Admissions Office.
In making the decision to admit or deny a student admission to the MSW program, each member of the School of Social Work's selection committee seeks to balance quantitative and qualitative application support items, by independently assigning a rating to each of the six areas and then combining the scores from each area for a total score, using the following rating and decision scale. In some cases, applicants with a 2.90 to 2.99 GPA and/or a master’s degree in another discipline already conferred, will receive a holistic review for probationary admissions consideration by the selection committee, but ultimately may need to still complete items a, b and c above of the General Admissions Criteria. If you have questions, consult with our SSW Admissions Counselors.
Regardless of admission category (i.e., Advanced Standing, Non-BSW Traditional or General), all applications will be reviewed by the selection committee for personal qualifications essential to the successful practice of social work, including leadership ability, personal maturity, motivation for a human service profession and the applicant's experience in social work and social work-related fields. In some cases, a personal interview may be required.
Again, all MSW applicants should first complete the two-step quick admissions process: (1) Apply and pay the application fee and (2) submit your transcripts for the quick admissions decision and you will be notified if you need to provide any of the above information.
For more general information about applying to UTA, go to How to Apply.