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School of Social Work

BSW Admissions

We are so glad your interest in social work has brought you to this page. Take a look at the social work trajectory and admissions criteria we have for social work majors.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us for more information or to schedule a time to meet.

Heidi Holzer, Academic Advisor at Heidi.Holzer@umontana.edu.

Laura Guay, BSW Program Director at Laura.Guay@umontana.edu.

Pre-Admission

Students may declare a social work major at any time in their college career, but must do so before entering the 300-level core social work courses. As a major you begin your work experience by taking the following courses.

  • Social Work 100 Introduction to Social Welfare
  • Social Work 200 Introduction to Social Work Practice

Students must also take four of the following extra departmental courses prior to applying for admission to the department. Once admitted, students must complete all seven courses.

  • BIOB 101N Discovering Biology or PSYX 250N Fundamentals of Biological Psychology
  • ECON 201 Principles of Microeconomics or ECON 202 Principles of Macroeconomics or SW 491 Economics of Poverty, Inequality and Solidarity
  • PSCI 210S Introduction to American Government
  • PSYX 100S Introduction to Psychology
  • PSYX 330 Developmental Psychology
  • PSYX 233 Fundamentals of Psychology of Aging
  • SOCI 101S Principles of Sociology

Please note, course equivalents may exist with partnering colleges through formal articulation agreements. Please review your college's advising worksheet for a current list of accepted prerequisites and social work courses.   

Admission

Admissions for the upcoming Fall cohort open in February. Students must apply to the School of Social Work by June 1st and must apply to the University of Montana by July 15th. The program follows a cohort model, with courses beginning each fall semester. There are no spring semester admissions.

Admission Criteria

In order to be considered for admission students must have:

  • Completed 4 of the 7 extra-departmental classes
  • Completed SW100 and SW 200
  • An overall GPA of 2.75 and GPA of 3.00 in SW 100 and SW 200
  • Submitted an electronic application to the School of Social Work by June 1st
  • Submitted an appliation to the University of Montana by July 15th

Ready to Apply?

Follow these 2+2 Application Steps:

  1. Check that pre-requisite course requirements are met with your unique college pre-advising sheet from the partnering colleges page or schedule early advising.
  2. Apply to the School of Social Work by June 1st
  3. Apply to the University of Montana with the general application by July 15th as a distance student, declaring Social Work as your major. (Select Apply Montana Button)

Learn more about the BSW 2+2 Program by exploring the pages of this web site or emailing: