Earn Your MSW — Be Part of the Solution
Admission & Application Requirements
Candidates must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. We additionally prefer that applicants have 1-2 years of in-field work or volunteer experience.
Academic Requirements
- Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university, or foreign equivalent, with a minimum of 18 units of interdisciplinary liberal arts coursework, spanning both social and biological sciences
- Strong academic promise to perform successfully at the graduate level; typically evidenced by a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (based on a 4.0 grading scale)
- Experience in providing service to people preferred, such as 1-2 years of social work-related or volunteer experience preferred
Please note that Advanced Standing and International candidates have additional requirements.
What You'll Need to Apply
- General personal information, like academic history, standardized testing scores, achievements, etc.
- Resume
- 2 recommendations
- Official Transcripts
- Answers to Short-Answer Questions
For full details on what the MSW admission process looks like, please visit our MSW admissions page.
Who Should Apply
Social workers make a real difference, driving change at a policy level, within an organization, or by working with individuals one-on-one.
USC's Master of Social Work will empower you to pursue bold, compassionate solutions to complex social challenges. Our program will prepare you for a wide variety of career paths — in public, private and nonprofit sectors — and will give you the flexibility and expertise to move from one setting, population and organization to another with ease.
If you care about changing the world for the better, a degree in social work will give you the skills and experience to make a real difference in the lives of individuals and society as a whole. These students are making changes with their MSW — you could be one of them.
Meet Our Heroes in Social Work
Christina Munguia, MSW '21, one of the first openly transgender graduates at USC, is a behavioral health counselor for Casa de Zulma, the first ever publicly funded Enhanced Bridge Housing project for transgender women in Los Angeles County. Munguia helps to provide safe sanctuary and supportive services for its residents.- Christina Munguia, MSW '21
Danny Hang, MSW ’11, the son of refugees from the Vietnam War, won his first election to public office as a member of the West Hollywood City Council. His inspiration to mount a political campaign began with his educational experience at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.- Danny Hang, MSW ’11
Michael Washington, MSW ’19, is a retired Marine and firefighter. Now, as a social worker and therapist he uses his personal story to help his fellow veterans and first responders address issues of stress, PTSD and suicide. Washington was featured in “Honoring our Kings, Celebrating Black Fatherhood,” a special on OWN hosted by Oprah Winfrey and Sterling K. Brown.- Michael Washington, MSW ’19
Monique Bingham, MSW '21, is NASW's 2022 Emerging Social Work Leader. She works as a mental health therapist at the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, which strives to end mass incarceration in California. Her own father was incarcerated when she was a child, and released when she became an adult.- Monique Bingham, MSW '21
Learn More About the MSW
Attend an Admissions Event
The Office of Recruitment and Workforce Development hosts in-person and virtual events throughout the year so you can get info on the school, get help on your application, and hear directly from students, faculty and alumni.
Talk to Other Students
Can't make it to one of our events? Talk to one of our student ambassadors instead. They're current students who are able to share all the details about what it's really like to get your Master's of Social Work at USC.
We See Solutions
Society is creating more dynamic and complex problems. At the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, we help our students see solutions so they can make a difference in the lives of the people they meet.
We See Paths to a Better Future
From tracks with specialized coursework to graduate certificates that can be completed at the same time as your degree, we help you hone in on and improve the skills you need to work with the populations and people that call to you.
We See You Here
at the Suzanne Dwoark-Peck School of Social Work
Make a change. Make the world a better place. Make the decision to earn your MSW.