The Best Graduate Schools for Social Work

source: https://philsocsci1968.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/social-work/

The Best Graduate Schools for Social Work
By: Katy Fedurek

This week I decided to look at different graduate schools for social work. I searched the best social work schools in the nation and lots of useful information came up. US News ranked the top graduate schools in the country for social work just last year.

Here are the top 10:
1) University of Michigan- Ann Arbor
2) Washington University in St. Louis
3) University of California- Berkeley
4) University of Chicago
5) University of Washington
6) Columbia University
7) University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill
8) University of Texas- Austin
9) Case Western Reserve University
10) Boston College

For most of these prestigious institutions, you must meet certain criteria to apply.

For example, the University of Michigan, School of Social Work requires that you have the completion of a bachelor's degree with good grades from an accredited institution, an undergraduate degree that comes from a liberal arts perspective, the qualities to work in the social welfare system, and all of the personal qualifications (creativity, empathy, good judgement, the desire to help those in need). There is no admissions test in order to get into graduate school for social work.
The University of Michigan receives 1,100-1,300 applications each year and only 400 students get accepted (around a 30% acceptance rate). Washington University has an even lower acceptance rate. Nearly 1,000 applicants apply and only 281 students were accepted (28% acceptance rate).

After looking at this information, I learned how hard it is to get into a good graduate program to achieve your MSW. Looking at this information has already set my path for my future goals and I know I need to achieve good grades along with building a good resume. This information is also relevant to students looking into the field of social work so they know what to expect with their future education.