To avoid redundancy and/or repetition of social work content, the School provides an advanced standing (AS) option in the MSW program to applicants who meet the requirements outlined below.
The applicant:
Advanced standing credits may be awarded up to a maximum of 24 hours for the courses listed in Table 1. Students not eligible for advanced standing can avoid content redundancy by successfully passing a proficiency or "test out" examination [see below] for some foundation courses. Successful passage of a test out examination eliminates a course but not the credit hours and, as a result, a student must enroll for an equivalent number of credit hours in some other graduate course in or out of the MSW program. Field instruction courses are not subject to waivers.
Table 1. Baccalaureate Social Work Courses Eligible for Advanced Standing Credit**
| BSW Course /Title | MSW Course Equivalent | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| SW 3510--Human Behavior/Social Environment | SW 5500 | 3 |
| SW 3210--Social Policy & Social Services | SW 5200 | 3 |
| SW 4110--Practice w/Individuals & Groups | SW 5100 | 3 |
| SW 4300—Social Work Practice with Communities | SW 5300 | 3 |
| SW 4350—Human Service Organizations | SW 5350 | 3 |
| SW 3700—Diversity & Social Justice | SW 5700 | 3 |
| SW 4800/4850--Field Experience I & 2 | SW 5800 | 6 |
| Possible AS Credits | 24 |
**Only students who received a final course grade of B or better in those baccalaureate social work courses [as shown in Table 1 or their equivalents] are eligible for waivers of credit in the advanced standing [AS] program.
Courses and credits hours earned at another CSWE accredited graduate program in social work may be accepted for graduate credit at the University of Missouri‑St. Louis. Such acceptance, however, must be in accordance with established policies and procedures of the advanced standing [AS] program and the Graduate School. Requests of this nature will be reviewed on a case‑by‑case basis.
In compliance with Council on Social Work Education’s [CSWE] Accreditation Standard 5.2, the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ Undergraduate, Graduate and Professional Catalog/Bulletin contains the following statement: “academic credit cannot be given for life experience and previous work experience, in whole or in part, in lieu of field practicum or foundation year courses.” Thus, the School of Social Work will not under any circumstances grant academic credit to any MSW program student for life experience and/or previous work experience, in place of the field practicum or of other courses in the master’s program professional foundation curriculum.
Our BSW and MSW programs are both fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
