The Ohio State University

MSW Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission to the Master of Social Work Program, applicants must:

• have an average point-hour ratio of 3.0 or higher (based on 4.00 = A) for all previous academic work or a combined score of at least 1,000 on the verbal and quantitative areas of the aptitude portion of the Graduate Record Examination for students with less than a 3.00 average point-hour ratio;
• have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.  Applicants with degrees from non-accredited institutions may be considered for admission pending satisfactory performance on the GRE; and
• have completed at least one-fourth of undergraduate course work in three basic areas of academic study: the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences (including human biology).

International students whose native language is not English and who have not received a degree in an English-speaking country must submit evidence to the Admissions Office of adequate training in the use of English.  Either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP) must be taken for this purpose.  The minimum acceptable scores are 550 (paper exam)   or 213 (computer exam) for the TOEFL and 80 for the MTELP.

In the College of Social Work, graduate international students for whom English is not the native language must demonstrate fluency in spoken English through testing (SPEAK-score of 230) and possibly course work before the student will be permitted to enter the field practicum.

New students enter the full-time, as well as part-time, MSW Program in autumn quarter.   Advanced standing students begin during the summer quarter.  Students from non-English speaking countries who fail to pass the proficiency examination in English often enroll summer quarter to begin the required English courses.