Now offering MSW Application Fee Waivers! Contact Kendra.Garland@nau.edu
Department Chair
MSW Coordinator
Director of Field Education
MSW Academic Success Coordinator
Master of Social Work, 2-Year Program
The Northern Arizona University MSW program is committed to a social work practice model with diverse individuals and rural client well-being. The program incorporates theoretical perspectives or approaches that make-up a strengths-based framework which is used to elaborate on the program’s mission and to develop the program’s goals. Developing a strengths-based framework must include knowledge of culturally competent practice. Embracing the need to give voice to marginalized communities, NAU’s MSW curriculum addresses ways for students to learn and practice ways of working with diverse groups of clients that best enable members of those communities to achieve their goals.
Eligibility requirements for MSW 2-year admission
- Undergraduate degree
- Undergraduate GPA of 3.0
- Course in human biology
- Course in basic or applied statistics
- 250 volunteer and/or relevant paid human service hours
- Professional readiness
2-Year MSW Fall Accordion Closed
- Program Overview
- Offered fully online
- No GRE is required for admission to the 2-Year MSW program
- Field Education:
- Requires 2 separate internships with a minimum of 450 hours/year for a minimum total of 900 hours
- Internships are 2 days a week during fall and spring semesters
- Requires full participation in the monthly synchronous (live) field seminar class. Field seminar class is 2 hours.
- Field education is completed within local community
- Agency placements are limited for students desiring Flagstaff or surrounded area placement
- MSW Fall Plan of Study
- MSW Behavioral Science Cognates – Students shape their cognate area of focus by selecting two 3-credit hour graduate courses from other disciplines listed. Students identify and explore a specific substantive area of interest of their choice that is related to social work and not already covered under the MSW curriculum and create a cognate area of focus that fits their interest.
- Application deadline is February 15.
- Grad Certificates Website
2-Year MSW Spring Accordion Closed
- Program Overview
- Offered fully online
- No GRE is required for admission to the 2-Year MSW program
- Field Education:
- Requires 2 separate internships with a minimum of 450 hours/year for a minimum total of 900 hours
- Internship is 2 days a week during spring semester and 2.5 days a week during summer semester
- Requires full participation in the monthly synchronous (live) field seminar class. Field seminar class is 2 hours.
- Field education is completed within local community
- Only students with field placements outside of Flagstaff or surrounding area will be considered for admittance to Spring cohort
- Students accepted into CWTP will have a Flagstaff placement
- MSW Spring Plan of Study
- MSW Behavioral Science Cognates – Students shape their cognate area of focus by selecting two 3-credit hour graduate courses from other disciplines listed. Students identify and explore a specific substantive area of interest of their choice that is related to social work and not already covered under the MSW curriculum and create a cognate area of focus that fits their interest.
- Application deadline is July 31
- Grad Certificates Website
Part-Time MSW Spring Accordion Closed
- Program Overview
- Offered fully online
- No GRE is required for admission to the MSW program
- Field Education:
- Requires 2 separate internships with a minimum of 450 hours/year for a minimum total of 900 hours
- Internships are 2 days a week during fall and spring semesters
- Requires full participation in the monthly synchronous (live) field seminar class. Field seminar class is 2 hours.
- Field education is completed within local community
- Agency placements are limited for students desiring Flagstaff or surrounding area placement
- MSW Part-Time Spring Plan of Study
- MSW Behavioral Science Cognates: Students shape their cognate area of focus by selecting two 3-credit hour graduate courses from other disciplines listed. Students identify and explore a specific substantive area of interest of their choice that is related to social work and not already covered under the MSW curriculum and create a cognate area of focus that fits their interest.
- Application deadline is July 31 or Feb 15 to begin the following Spring semester
- Grad Certificates Website
to NAU’s Office of Graduate and Professional Studies
Application Information Accordion Closed
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Required Documents Tab Open
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Personal Statement Tab Closed
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Email Address For Two References Tab Closed
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MSW 2-Year Application Review Process Tab Closed
Required Documents Accordion Open
- Professional Resume
- Transcripts
- From all institutions attended with human biology and statistics courses marked that show proof of fulfilling the MSW prerequisite. Unofficial transcripts are to be uploaded for the MSW application. Official transcripts are to be submitted to the NAU Office of Graduate and Professional Studies directly.
- 250 Volunteer Hours
- And/or relevant paid human service work experience documented with time and description of role, Learn more about this requirement.
Personal Statement Accordion Closed
Must be typed, double-spaced, and 5-6 pages in length. Address the following four questions:
- Describe any experiences, professional and/or personal, that influenced your selection of social work as your professional career.  What interests you in the social work profession?  How do you plan to apply the skill sets acquired in the MSW program into your future practice setting?
- Discuss your understanding of the term social justice. What role do you anticipate engaging in to promote social justice to advocate for the needs of marginalized populations? Reflecting on your experiences serving vulnerable populations, discuss how these experiences impacted your understanding of the role power and privilege play in your own life.
- Explain your rationale for selecting the NAU MSW program. What skills and attributes can you contribute to the profession of social work? What challenges may arise for you within the role of a graduate level student (i.e. professional writing, time management, communication, self-care, etc.)? What informal and formal supports will you employ to overcome these challenges?
- The MSW Program’s Field Education requirement includes being available for the 15 hours of Field Placement (internship) during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Discuss your time management and organizational strategies to balance the demands of the academic coursework, field education, and personal obligations to be successful in the MSW program. Please share your current geographical location, including the city and state you prefer to complete your Field Placement (internship).
- Prerequisite Statement: If needed include in addition to your personal statement, acknowledging a plan to complete the 3-credit human biology course and/or 3-credit statistics course prior to the end of the first year in the MSW program.
- If you do not meet the outlined GPA: Include rationale for low GPA and identify strategies to be successful at the graduate level.
Email Address For Two References Accordion Closed
- 2 professional references must be provided from supervisors, professors, professional colleagues or other community associates. References provided by friends, family members, or significant others are not appropriate references to include in this application process.
- Troubleshooting
MSW 2-Year Application Review Process Accordion Closed
- The MSW Admissions Committee review process for applications consists of two independent reviewers completing ratings on Likert scales to assess for overall academic standing from undergraduate coursework, quality responses to the prompts provided, evaluations provided by references, and relevant work experience to the field of social work.
- Provisional acceptance may be considered for applicants to the MSW Program who have a GPA below 3.0 on their bachelor’s degree transcript, if the application demonstrates potential for success in a graduate program. Progressive experience within the helping profession will be considered as another component of the review process. Applicants will provide an explanation of the circumstances that created a lower GPA in their undergraduate degree and tactics to achieve good academic standing in a graduate level program. Applicants with a grade point average of less than 3.0 will be required to interview with NAU’s MSW Admission personnel.
Tuition & Fees
- The MSW program is a professional graduate degree program where each semester students take, most often, 15 credit hours. NAU charges online tuition per credit hour, therefore the more credits you take in a semester the greater your tuition cost. Graduate tuition rates at NAU for an online program do not change if a student has in-state or out-of-state residency status. This link provides the most up-to-date rates to assess the tuition and NAU fees for each semester. To navigate this sight, first choose the correct term; Spring, Summer or Fall. Then scroll down to Graduate and choose Online. This page provides tuition and NAU fee rates depending on the total number of credit hours a student is enrolled in.
- For more details about tuition/payments/due dates and your account, visit
- Here is a link to a per credit breakdown of NAU online graduate tuition: Â Also this link is the best way moving forward to determine your semester tuition costs.
- $630 MSW program fee assessed each semester in the program
Graduation
MSW 2-Year Student Success
Child Welfare Training Project
General facts about Child Welfare Training Project:
- A competitive field placement for students pursuing a Master or Bachelor of Social Work.
- You should apply if you want a career protecting children and families.
- Those who are an accepted BSW student or BSW applicant, with a GPA of 2.5 or better, or accepted MSW student or MSW applicant, with a GPA of 3.0 or better, attending NAU’s Flagstaff Mountain Campus.
- Successful applicants are awarded up to two years of in-state tuition, and any required program/course fees.
- In addition MSW students receiving a monthly stipend of $500 in addition.
- On successful completion, CWTP graduates receive immediate, full-time, professional placement with Arizona Department of Child Safety, as Child Safety Specialists. In exchange for tuition support, students commit to work for DCS.
- Application deadlines are October 1 and February 1
Field Education for Master of Social Work
Supported professional experience for NAU students earning degrees in Social Work
Social Work Field Education is your opportunity to gain real-world experience in a supported environment and build your resume working with local organizations. You will apply what you learn in the classroom and move one step closer to a career in social work. This firsthand experience will help you discover, develop, and enhance your social work skills. The Social Work Field Education experience and training involves participating in the life of the agency, attending regularly scheduled meetings, and other activities involving or sponsored by the field placement site.
To learn more about the requirements visit Field Education.
