What should I be looking for in an MSW program?

[Theresa92]

Hello everyone. I am hoping to get into an MSW program for Fall 2015 (preferably, in North Carolina where I live). I greatly appreciate any advice that anyone can offer me.

I recently graduated in July 2014 with a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. My undergraduate GPA is nothing spectacular: 3.29. I had a rough sophomore year, but I turned it around and during my junior and senior years I had a very strong upwards trend. I am currently working as a Psychiatric Technician at an inpatient mental health and substance abuse clinic. I also have 2 years of on and off experience working with at-risk youth. I am currently studying for the GRE, and plan to take it around October time. That way, if I need to take it again, I can take it in November and/or December and still meet the application deadlines for the MSW programs in my state.

North Carolina has 12 CSWE accredited programs. All of these programs are with publicly funded state universities. Several of the institutions are historically black universities (Not sure if this matters, but I am Caucasian). I am also considering Winthrop University (a small public South Carolina institution that would be within commuting distance from my home). Unfortunately, about half of the North Carolina public universities requires basic Human Biology as a pre-requisite. I did not take any Biology during my undergrad. Instead, I took General Psychology, Sociology, and General Psychology Lab in order to fill my life/social science requirement. For this reason, those universities that require Biology as a pre-requisite are out of my pool of choices. I am now left with UNC-Charlotte, East Carolina University, North Carolina Central University, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Wilmington, Western Carolina University, and Winthrop University (in South Carolina).

I honestly don't know where to start in evaluating MSW programs. My career goals are to work in mental health, preferably specializing in mood disorders and personality disorders. I have noticed that some of these MSW programs are offer a very broad education that prepares graduates for work in a variety of fields (not just mental health, but also advocacy, court, etc.). Then I've noticed that other programs allow students to chose a specialization (for example, choosing mental health as a specialization or choosing advocacy/policy work as a specialization). I would like to be prepared to competently work as a Clinician in the mental health field. Do employers generally place more emphasis on the type of coursework or on the type of field practicum you worked in? What are some general hints and tips to navigate this confusing system and find what program is best for me? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

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[wesleysmith]

If your goal is to work in mental health, avoid generalist programs if at all possible. I'm not sure if employers look at your transcripts and pick apart your courses, but two years is already a very short period of time in which to specialize so you'll want to make sure you're spending that time focusing on mental health. Also, and this is a biggie, make sure your program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Coursework aside, find out what field placements are available; it is important to get a "therapy heavy" program, if at all possible, it is also very important to attend a program with good field placements that will afford you the opportunity to work in your area of interest (from what I'm given to understand, this is possibly the most important aspect of your program for future employment as well as learning in general). If you wish to further specialize (mood/personality disorders), first off this would be a good area to try to work in at your field placement, if such a placement is available, but also, this will most likely happen after graduation. Again, from what I have gathered from personal research (and this site of course), you'll want to seek out further post graduate training in order to truly be competent in these areas.

Hopefully this helped a little, take it for what it's worth, I start my program this Fall so no personal experience here, I'm just forwarding knowledge gained from obsessing over the very same questions.

 

[ikibah]

Exactly what wesley said. Try to find a place with a clinical/mental health specialization. Furthermore, make sure you'll have the ability to choose a therapy/oriented field placement at least in the advanced year. In the program I am in now the first year is more of a generalist approach and they generally don't allow you to choose your field placement (although my field liaison really came through for me when I begged her to put me in a therapy-oriented placement ). The second year is when they allow you pick three sites and they guarantee you one of them. I'd look into how this process works in any school you're interested in.

 

[Theresa92]

Thank you to both of you! I really appreciate your advice. Unfortunately, after further research, most of the accredited MSW programs in my state provide a generalist education. However, some of the universities that are located in larger cities (like UNC-Charlotte) have connections with hundreds of different agencies for field placement. Many, if not most, of these placements are in mental health facilities and organizations. Also, most of the MSW programs in my state do give you a choice for your field placement. So I'm thinking that even at a program with a generalist perspective, I will still be able to demonstrate my specialization in mental health through the field placements and course electives.

In addition, I am a bit confused by how the universities treat pre-requisites. Most of the universities have a general statement of "applicant's undergraduate study must have had a strong liberal arts foundation, with courses including psychology, sociology, biology/human development, etc.". I'm confused as to whether or not a specific Biology course is a definite pre-requisite, or if they just want the applicant to have some coursework in human development and behavioral sciences from a biological standpoint. I do have several courses in my transcript that could count as human development courses that incorporate human biology: Human Cognitive Processes, Health Psychology, and Child Psychology. I am really hoping that these programs take into consideration other courses on human development that have a biological foundation.

Exactly what wesley said. Try to find a place with a clinical/mental health specialization. Furthermore, make sure you'll have the ability to choose a therapy/oriented field placement at least in the advanced year. In the program I am in now the first year is more of a generalist approach and they generally don't allow you to choose your field placement (although my field liaison really came through for me when I begged her to put me in a therapy-oriented placement ). The second year is when they allow you pick three sites and they guarantee you one of them. I'd look into how this process works in any school you're interested in.

If your goal is to work in mental health, avoid generalist programs if at all possible. I'm not sure if employers look at your transcripts and pick apart your courses, but two years is already a very short period of time in which to specialize so you'll want to make sure you're spending that time focusing on mental health. Also, and this is a biggie, make sure your program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. Coursework aside, find out what field placements are available; it is important to get a "therapy heavy" program, if at all possible, it is also very important to attend a program with good field placements that will afford you the opportunity to work in your area of interest (from what I'm given to understand, this is possibly the most important aspect of your program for future employment as well as learning in general). If you wish to further specialize (mood/personality disorders), first off this would be a good area to try to work in at your field placement, if such a placement is available, but also, this will most likely happen after graduation. Again, from what I have gathered from personal research (and this site of course), you'll want to seek out further post graduate training in order to truly be competent in these areas.

Hopefully this helped a little, take it for what it's worth, I start my program this Fall so no personal experience here, I'm just forwarding knowledge gained from obsessing over the very same questions.

 

[wesleysmith]

In addition, I am a bit confused by how the universities treat pre-requisites. Most of the universities have a general statement of "applicant's undergraduate study must have had a strong liberal arts foundation, with courses including psychology, sociology, biology/human development, etc.". I'm confused as to whether or not a specific Biology course is a definite pre-requisite, or if they just want the applicant to have some coursework in human development and behavioral sciences from a biological standpoint. I do have several courses in my transcript that could count as human development courses that incorporate human biology: Human Cognitive Processes, Health Psychology, and Child Psychology. I am really hoping that these programs take into consideration other courses on human development that have a biological foundation.

This may vary from program to program; I took Physiological Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Biology with a lab (among others), so I'm not sure which courses satisfied what. If you're concerned about prerequisites I would recommend contacting the individual programs you are considering to clarify before spending time and money applying to them. Having said that, you should be fine since one of your bachelors is in psychology. Unless the school specifically states a particular course (e.g. Abnormal Psychology) then your psychology programs requirements should have been varied enough (liberal arts wise) to establish what any school would consider a strong foundation. If you were coming from a completely different background, like physics, and were lacking a background in liberal arts or social sciences, then I might start to pick apart your coursework. Regardless, if the program requirements seem vague to you, it never hurts to send an email or make a quick phone call for some clarification and peace of mind.

 

[submarine1991]

I agree with WesleySmith. You have a BA in Psych so you should be good to go. The only course that I saw across the board that absolutely had to be fulfilled was Statistics.
Go ahead and give the admissions departments a call and hear it straight from them.
Again, I concur with the PP's and will encourage you to take CE courses and maybe even pursue graduate certificates if you want to be a subject matter expert in a certain field.
I am actually doing psychotherapy in a Mood and Anxiety Disorder/Adjustment Disorder clinic for my year 2 placement. I am also specializing in Mental Health & Substance Abuse (but will tailor my classes around mental health). It can be done. I am very grateful to have secured this placement and I look forward to the excellent training opportunities.
I would also seek out alumni from the various programs (once you narrow them down) and ask them about their experience.

 

[incidental]

I honestly don't know where to start in evaluating MSW programs. My career goals are to work in mental health, preferably specializing in mood disorders and personality disorders. I have noticed that some of these MSW programs are offer a very broad education that prepares graduates for work in a variety of fields (not just mental health, but also advocacy, court, etc.). Then I've noticed that other programs allow students to chose a specialization (for example, choosing mental health as a specialization or choosing advocacy/policy work as a specialization). I would like to be prepared to competently work as a Clinician in the mental health field. Do employers generally place more emphasis on the type of coursework or on the type of field practicum you worked in? What are some general hints and tips to navigate this confusing system and find what program is best for me? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

personally, i would still apply to the generalist program just because you may want to work in mental health, but a class you take may show a different route. the school i am going to is a generalist school (with an emphasis the second year) and i thought i wanted to do something with mental health, but there are so many opportunities within social work and you get to see many. there are still opportunities to work in mental health ... you would have to find an internship at the VA or mental heath hospital.

i wish you luck in your search and hope you are able to find a school that fits your goals.

[ oh wait... i was going to click on post reply, but you asked a question i didn't even answer. what i would look for is accreditation and their objectives. the objectives can give you a good idea on what to expect in the program. as far as after getting the idea and employers... they will look at your degree and internships you did, but one thing to do is to update your resume on whatever job you apply to. if it has to do with social work (especially with mental health since many of them have social work backgrounds), then it will look even better. i am sorry if this doesn't make much sense... it is late here. lol. ]