Master of Social Work (MSW)
Advanced Standing, full- or part-time Master of Social Work (MSW)
Students with a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) can pursue our one-year program either full-time or part-time.
Our MSW program takes an approach to research and teaching that places oppression and marginalization (through race, class, ability, sexual orientation, age, gender, and religious/spiritual affiliation) as central to understanding how people who use social services are constructed as "in need". We teach students to reflect critically on personal and professional practice in light of possibilities and constraints created by the social construction of knowledge and practice. Students graduate prepared to conduct advanced social work practice in a manner that is sensitive to issues of difference, including a complex understanding of the dynamics of social location in practice contexts.
Two-year, full-time Master of Social Work (MSW)
Earn a York MSW with an Honours degree in a discipline other than Social Work
York's Faculty of Graduate Studies and School of Social Work continue to build on their tradition of innovation and excellence. We are now offering a new two-year, full-time Master of Social Work (MSW) for applicants who hold an Honours degree in a discipline other than social work.
Emphasizing anti-oppressive and anti-racist practice, the two-year MSW will equip students with the tools they need to significantly advance their career. You will graduate with the same level of knowledge and skills as any other MSW social work student at York -prepared for leadership roles focused on the promotion of social justice and the pursuit of social transformation, as well as for further study at the doctoral level.
To be eligible for admission to the program, applicants must have:
- An Honours Bachelor degree in a related discipline with a minimum grade point average of B+ in the final two years of study. Related disciplines may include but are not limited to: Sociology, Psychology, Women's Studies, or International Development Studies.
- Successfully completed an undergraduate research methods course.
- Professional, volunteer or personal experiences that demonstrate a commitment to social justice and the potential for social work practice.
Why engage in the MSW program?
York's School of Social Work is recognized as having one of the most progressive and socially responsive social work program in Canada.
Noted for its commitment to human rights, social justice and anti-oppression, the School offers a full-time and part-time graduate advanced standing program leading to a Masters of Social Work degree, and a two-year MSW program designed for students who do not have a Bachelor of Social Work, but who have an undergraduate degree in a related subject.
Our two MSW programs involve a combination of coursework, a practicum and a practice-based research paper. The programs prepare students for further study at the doctoral level, as well as for careers in child welfare, international work, gerontology, diversity and anti-oppression, family support services, community development or social policy and planning. You will graduate from one of our programs with the thorough foundation needed to work successfully with diverse populations in a wide variety of social service settings.
Our master’s program in Social Work have three accredited fields of study (NB, these are not streams. The MSW at York is a generalist degree):
- Integration of Research and Critical Practice
- Identity, Diversity and Anti-Oppression
- Social Policy Analysis and Advocacy in a Local, Global and International Context
Program Objectives
York's MSW graduate program takes an approach to research and teaching that places diversity of experience (due to race, class, ability, sexual orientation, age, gender, and religious/spiritual affiliation) as central to understanding how oppression, marginalization and assistance are constructed for persons in need of social work services. Some of the key objectives of our programs are to:
- Teach students to reflect critically on personal and professional practice in light of possibilities and constraints created by the social construction of knowledge and practice.
- Prepare students to conduct advanced social work practice in a manner that is sensitive to issues of difference, including a complex understanding of the dynamics of social location in practice contexts.
- Create opportunities for students to study specialized, advanced practice and to experience applied research.
- Prepare students to critically analyze social issues within a global and international context.
