Pre-Social Work
School of Social Work
685 Baldy Hall
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260
Phone: 716.645.3381
Fax: 716.645.3456
Web: www.socialwork.buffalo.edu/
Email: jonhavey@buffalo.edu
Jonathan H. Havey
Director of Academic Information & Publications
663 Baldy Hall
716.645.3381, ext. 240
jonhavey@buffalo.edu
About Pre-Social Work at UB
The Graduate School of Social Work was formally established in 1936 to meet the needs of the Buffalo and Western New York community. Since that time, the school has continuously maintained its full accreditation status with the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and was recently re-accredited through 2011. Nearly 500 students are currently pursuing the MSW (alone or in combination with another degree) at one of four locations within New York: Buffalo, Rochester, Jamestown, and Corning. For most social work programs, a bachelor’s degree in any subject is acceptable, as long as other admissions requirements have been met.
Degrees Offered
Combined: B.A./M.S.W.
Graduate: M.S.W., Ph.D. in Social Welfare (M.S.W. required)
Concentrations: Alcohol and Other Drug Problems; Children and Youth; Health, Mental Health, and Disability; Community
About Our Degrees
The M.S.W. program, alone or in interdisciplinary combinations, trains students to become advanced generalists.
Acceptance Information
Although no particular major is required to apply to the School of Social Work, we do recommend completion of certain courses. Please see the Advising Information section below for aulitional information.
In aulition to academic credentials, the UB School of Social Work looks for personal attributes that are considered essential to the professional practice of social work: Initiative, integrity, reliability, emotional stability, sound judgment, capacity for change, growth, self-discipline, and concern for the needs of others.
Applicants to interdisciplinary dual degree programs with the School of Law or College of Arts and Sciences must meet the admissions requirements of the collaborating program, including standardized tests. The B.A./M.S.W. program is open only to interdisciplinary social science majors in the Health and Human Services concentration.
Advising Information
Admissions requirements are geared towards finding well-rounded, well-prepared students who are a good match for our program and the profession of social work. A bachelor’s degree from any major is acceptable, as long as our liberal arts prerequisites have been satisfied. A minimum of 24 credits of liberal arts course work is required. Of these 24 credits, six must be in the social or behavioral sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science) and six in the arts or humanities (e.g., history, English, foreign languages, philosophy, ethnic or gender studies). The remaining twelve credits may be made up with any combination of the above or with courses from the natural sciences or mathematics.
In aulition, students must have taken a class or combination of classes with significant content in human anatomy, reproduction, and development. Classes that may meet this requirement include those in anatomy, biology, and human physiology. This requirement can be met after students enter the MSW program but before their final year. Approval for courses meeting the requirement is done on a case-by-case basis; students need to contact the school for approval of any given course.
Extracurricular Activities
See the UB Student Association.