MSW Program Completion Options
The MSW program is comprised of 60 course hours and is offered through both in-person and live online classroom learning. Students at the Baylor Waco campus will experience a full-time, residential, and a more traditional on-campus experience, while students at the Houston campus will have the option for a more flexible schedule with part-time program options and courses offered in the afternoons/evenings. The Houston campus offers additional flexibility with a hybrid learning model, which includes a blend of traditional classroom and online learning.
Field placement is often a turning point for many MSW candidates because it offers hands-on experience and the opportunity to discover first-hand if this particular concentration or specialization is right for them. Under the supervision and direction of Field Instructors and Task Supervisors, students are placed in concentration-specific field placements and given the opportunity and responsibility to apply the knowledge, values, and skills learned in the classroom to real-life interactions with individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations. Field placement is a hallmark of social work education and a crucial experience during the student’s MSW program.
CSWE Accredited Program
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is an organization that exists to promote and support a quality social work education and provide opportunities for leadership and professional development. To ensure that social work programs are meeting the standards for competent preparation, the CSWE maintains a Commission on Accreditation (COA). This commission is responsible for setting and maintaining the standards of accreditation, as well as reviewing social work programs to ensure that they meet these standards. Accreditation is a multistep process that involves program self-studies, site visits, and COA reviews.
The MSW program at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work at Baylor University was accredited by the CSWE in 2001 and was most recently reviewed in 2013.
Field Placement Office
At Baylor University, we have a dedicated Field Placement Office and faculty because we realize that a student’s experience with their field placement can alter the entire course of their social work career, and we want to make sure it is the best possible experience. All of our Field Placement faculty are carefully chosen and dedicated entirely to helping our students with their field education, from placement to completion.
Once accepted to the MSW program, students immediately begin work with a field placement advisor to identify strengths and areas of interest. Students are then matched based on availability and their desired field of study.
Students begin their field placement internship the first semester of their MSW program. MSW Foundation students intern for 240 hours a semester for a total of 480 hours. MSW Advanced students intern for a total of 550 hours across two semesters. It is also important that an MSW program is capable of securing high-quality field placements for their students. This comes from maintaining good relationships with placement sites. Baylor’s placement sites include private and public agencies, religiously affiliated organizations and non-sectarian settings, generalist and advanced practice settings, and local and distant sites. For instance (see below):