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REGISTRATION

1) What is the enrichment Fee?

The fee covers costs associated with field and workshops. It is a one-time fee.

2) Who decides registration appointment times and how is this done?

It works a bit like a lottery. The Registrar's office has a formula for the entire University. The entire master & doctoral student body grades and completed credit hours determine your appointment time.

3) Why was my schedule dropped?

Fees must be paid on time. You must commit your financial aid on VIP and pay your total tuition fees on time. If you do not, your schedule will be dropped for non-payment of fees. Then, you have to start all over and re-register through the Student Services office.

4) Can I get an override to get into a certain section?

If the section is closed, choose another section. Professors do not give overrides. Sections are carefully designed not to overload any one professor. This will keep all sections of a class equally balanced.

5) What do I do for graduation?

All students must complete an application for graduation and a program of courses. These forms will be placed in your mailbox. You must complete and submit in a timely manner. Fines are imposed by the Graduate School for forms turned in late.

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ADMISSIONS

1) If I choose the part-time program, can I get all my classes in the evening or on Saturdays?

No. Detailed information about the part-time program is available online at: http://www.sc.edu/deis/ss/college/viewsite.htm Students will not be able to take all of their classes at these locations. Only five or six courses are offered by satellite. However, students might want to stay where they live and not move to Columbia. They can do their field placement work close to where they live and come to Columbia one day a week each semester for certain courses and take Distance Ed courses close to where they live for other courses.

2) Has the college received all the paperwork required for my file to be complete?

Students may check the Graduate School website to see if they have received the Graduate School application, fee, transcripts and letters of recommendation. They may call the Admissions Office in the College of Social Work at any time to see if their file is complete (803-777-3599).

3) When will I know if I have been accepted for admission?

The deadline for Advanced Standing admissions is February 1st and letters of admission begin going out about a month later.

The deadline for Fall admissions is March 31st and letters of admission begin going out about the first of April and continue to go out as needed.

You must receive a letter from the Graduate School before you are officially admitted.

4) I have been accepted to the MSW program. What do I do now?

Advanced Standing students will receive another package in the mail shortly after their initial letter of admission. This package will have instructions about registering for courses and about orientation.

Fall students will come to a one-day advisement in June where they will receive instructions about registering for classes and about orientation. This meeting lasts about two hours.

5) How do I get a GA (graduate assistantship)?

Students need to know that there are not many GA's in the College and that, along with requesting one in the College; they should look elsewhere around the University. Like looking for a job, a student must go to the other departments, libraries, housing offices, etc. and fill out applications, take their resumes, and search.

If a student obtains a graduate assistantship in the College of Social Work, the student will work one day a week in the college with staff or faculty or in the field placement agency. The student will be paid for that day and will also receive a tuition reduction.

The College of Social Work does not know until July how many assistantships it will have or who those students will be. Letters will be mailed in July to those students selected for a graduate assistantship in the College.

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FIELD

1) What is field placement?

Field placement is the time that is spent at a human services agency where students integrate classroom theory with the practical experiences that are provided at the agency. Since field placement is part of the curriculum and a grade is received (either Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory), students must register as if it is a class and pay fees. Students complete an application for field placement, interview with potential agencies, and must be accepted into field placement.

2) How do I complete field placement?

Students take field placement 2 full days a week concurrently with their other classes. Students spend two semesters in the same agency the first year for Foundation field instruction (SOWK 781, SOWK 782). In your second placement or advanced year, students also spend two semesters in another agency which specializes in your area of concentration (SOWK 783, SOWK 784: Individuals, Families and Groups) or (SOWK 785, SOWK 786: Organizations and Communities.) The College of Social Work requires that a certain number of days (hours) be completed at the agency each semester. This requirement is listed in the Field Manual Calendar.

There is also an option of a summer block field placement. Students must have two years of paid social work experience before they are eligible for this option. Students are placed in an agency for 5 days a week for 14 weeks from May - August and must also register for summer sessions and pay summer tuition.

Some students are also eligible for an Employment Based field placement at their place of work.

3) Who is a field instructor, a field liaison and a preceptor?

A field instructor is an MSW with two years post-degree experience who supervises and provides the learning experiences of the student at the field placement site. In the event, that the agency has no direct MSW, the student will have a preceptor who works at the agency and who will direct the daily learning experiences of the student. However, even with a preceptor situation, the student is always assigned a MSW field instructor. A field liaison is usually a faculty or adjunct faculty member who is assigned to the student and field agency. The field liaison's primary duties are to provide open communication and educational consultation between the agency, and the college and student.

4) When do we begin field placement and how many do we have to do?

The majority of field placements begin in the middle of August. Summer block placements begin in May. Advanced standing students do one internship. All other students do two. For more information visit: http://www.cosw.sc.edu/field/calendar/index.html

5) How are field placements determined?

Students are provided with a list of agencies. Each student independently arranges to interview with the agencies she/he is interested in. If both the student and the agency agree to placement, they each notify the field office which provides final placement approval. For detailed information visit: http://www.cosw.sc.edu/field/placementprocess.html

6) Do I have to complete my placement in Columbia?

No. About fifty percent of the placement sites are in Columbia. The others are spread throughout South Carolina and parts of North Carolina and Georgia. The school tries to find placements near the student's residence whenever possible. For more information on agencies and their locations visit: http://www.cosw.sc.edu/field/agencies.html

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CURRICULUM

1) Who can take the waiver exams and when are they offered? Which courses offer waiver exams?

Waiver exams are offered for SOWK 712, SOWK 716, SOWK 741, SOWK 742, and SOWK 791. To be eligible for SOWK 712, SOWK 716, SOWK 741 and SOWK 742 waiver exams, a student needs to have a BSW from a CSWE accredited social work program. This does not apply to the waiver exam for SOWK 791. There is information about waiver exams on the COSW webpage, along with application required to take the exam(s). (This form cannot be transmitted electronically at this time.) We post information about upcoming waiver exams on the web, put information in students' boxes, and make announcements in classes where there are students for whom this information would be relevant (e.g. in 712 and 741 about upcoming 716 and 791 exams).

2) What classes (electives) will help me with or are required for SC licensing laws?

To take the LISW-CP exam, a 45 hour course in psychopathology is required. Our SOWK 760 meets this requirement. To take the LISW-CP exam a 45 hour course in psychodiagnostics is also required. As of right now, the licensure board grants 21 hours of credit towards this 45 hour requirement to someone with an MSW from USC. Neither of these requirements applies to the LMSW, which is the licensure level our graduates would be applying for upon graduation.

3) Is there an advantage to the IFG or OC sequence? Do you have suggestions for how to decide?

The first consideration is where one's interests and passions lie in relation to social work practice.  Then, it is useful to think about where one's current strengths lie. If someone has had experience in IFG related work prior to coming to the MSW program and wants to balance this with OC work, then perhaps the OC concentration is a good decision. However, if someone has a strong foundation in OC work, then s/he might want to go even further in depth in this area through the OC concentration. When schedules permit, students might want to take their electives in the methods courses from the other concentration. Finding electives in other departments that complement a student's chosen concentration (e.g. something on grant writing for an IFG student) may also be useful. It might also be helpful to look at sample syllabi on the web to see the content in both concentrations as this might help a student to better understand what is actually taught as a way of focusing or confirming their interests.

4) What is the difference between the IFG and the OC sequences?

For students already enrolled in the program, three methods courses (723,724 & 725 for IFG students or 733, 734 & 735 for OC students), SOWK 747 or 748, and the field placement.

For full and part-time students who enter the program in the fall of 2007, and for advanced standing students who enter in the summer of 2008, and those who enter the program after that, four methods courses (723,724, 725, and 726 or 733, 734, 735, and 736) and the field placement. See your Student Manual for more information.