Admission and Registration

The professional practice of social work requires people who are above average in academic ability and performance, sufficiently emotionally mature to assume a helping role with people under stress, and committed to the ethical standards and performance demands of social work practice. Students are encouraged to use the advising services in the School of Social Work early in their college careers in anticipation of meeting requirements for admission to the major. A student who is interested in seeking a social work degree must discuss his or her intentions with a social work adviser before applying for admission to the program.

The School of Social Work considers students for admission to the major twice a year, during the fall and spring semesters. A student who enters the University as a freshman in a fall semester will usually apply for admission to the professional curriculum in the spring semester of the sophomore year or the fall semester of the junior year. Admission applications are distributed during mandatory information sessions held by the Office of Academic Affairs. The application allows the student to outline his or her background and motivation to enter the social work profession as well as any special experiences that enhance his or her application.

The School of Social Work limits admission to the major to the number of students to whom a professional education of high quality can be provided. Because of enrollment restrictions dictated by the availability of faculty members and facilities, some applicants may be denied admission even though they meet the following minimum requirements.

1. The applicant must have completed at least forty-five semester hours of coursework, including at least thirty hours chosen from the following requirements:
   
   1. All requirements of the University’s core curriculum
   2. Sociology 302
   3. Psychology 301
   4. One three-semester-hour course in human biology: Biology 301L, 301M, 309D, 309F, or 311C
   5. Second-semester-level proficiency, or the equivalent, in a single foreign language
   6. A three-semester-hour course in economics
2. The applicant must have completed the following courses with a grade of at least C in each course: Social Work 310, 312, 313, 318, and either Human Development and Family Sciences 313 or Psychology 304. He or she must also have a grade point average of at least 2.50 in courses that are part of the social work major requirements
3. The applicant must have a University grade point average of at least 2.00
4. Application for admission must be made on forms available from the Office of Academic Affairs in the School of Social Work
5. The following must be submitted to the BSW Program by the application deadline:
   
   1. The completed application for admission to the professional curriculum
   2. A personal statement as explained on the application
   3. At least two recommendation forms completed by appropriate individuals who can attest to the applicant’s academic and professional readiness to enter the program
   4. Documentation of successful completion of at least forty-five hours of supervised volunteer experience involving direct contact with clients in a human services organization
   5. Official transcripts from all colleges attended, if the coursework has not been transferred to the student’s University record
   6. Score reports for any credit earned by examination, if the scores are not on the student’s University record
6. The applicant may be asked to appear for a personal interview

The applicant is considered on the basis of academic performance and his or her commitment to and suitability for generalist social work practice. The committee also assesses the applicant’s emotional and professional readiness to work with clients on the basis of such factors as his or her work in courses already taken, previous meetings with social work advisers, personal statement, and the interview, if any, that is part of the application process. As a general guide, the committee also uses the Student Standards for Social Work Education, available at www.utexas.edu/ssw/current/forms/, which delineates expectations for social work students in four areas: basic abilities to acquire professional skills, mental and emotional abilities, professional performance skills, and scholastic performance. The Standards can be found in the appendix of the BSW Handbook, available at  www.utexas.edu/ssw/current/forms/.

A student who is unable to attend in the semester for which he or she is admitted must reapply for admission in order to enroll at a later time. A student who has been admitted to and enrolls in the professional curriculum, withdraws, and then wishes to return must apply for readmission on the basis of the curriculum in effect at the time of the return. A student who has been out of the University for a semester or more must also submit an application for readmission to the University.

Although the University’s Office of Admissions may grant the student a certain number of semester hours of transfer credit for work completed in another social work program, the assistant dean for undergraduate programs in the School of Social Work determines whether this coursework may be counted toward fulfillment of the Bachelor of Social Work degree requirements. Students who wish to use transfer credit to meet degree requirements should submit a course syllabus, assignments, and the titles and names of authors of textbooks to the assistant dean for undergraduate programs for evaluation.

Students may also seek transfer credit for coursework they complete at another institution after enrolling at the University. In this case also the student should submit a transcript from the other institution to the University’s Office of Admissions and a syllabus, course assignments, and information about textbooks to the School of Social Work’s assistant dean for undergraduate programs.