School Social Work Certificate Application

Admission Requirements

MSW students seeking school social work licensure must meet all admission requirements of the MSW program. These requirements are:

1. University of Memphis Graduate Application
2. Completion of a bachelor's degree from an accredited university with a 3.0 grade point average
3. Submission of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts.
4. Submission of GRE (Graduate Record Examination) scores.
5. Master of Social Work Application.
6. Professional Goal Statement.
7. Three professional references.
8. Resume.

In addition, students seeking school social work licensure must have the following:

• Apply to the Teacher Education Program (TEP)
• Complete the TEP application
• Have an Undergraduate GPA of 3.0
• Take the PRAXIS CORE Test (BA students must take this)
• Submit verification of background check.

Returning students with an MSW degree

If you already have an MSW degree, then there are a few additional requirements to apply:

1. Completion of a Master of Social Work degree at any university accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). ***If you degree is not from an accredited program you will not be admitted into the School Social Work certificate program.
2. Have One-year post-MSW work experience in the field working with children and families (preferably in a school setting if applicable) is required before applying for admission into the School Social Work Certificate program. ***Students who graduated from an accredited MSW program 5 years ago or longer from the date of admission to the School Social Work Certificate program will be required to complete a portfolio process by enrolling in ELC 7115 - Experiential Learning Credit (for up to 6 hours of credit towards the 12 hour certificate) to verify their experience in the field and/ or previous field work.
3. Apply to UofM Graduate School as a Certificate seeking student (choose School Social Work Certificate). Once you are admitted into the University of Memphis as a certificate seeking student, email the School Social Work Certificate Coordinator, Dr. Susan Elswick (selswick@memphis.edu ) with your UID and your U of M email address.  She will supply you with a permit for the School Social Work Class and enroll you in a course for submitting your required School Social Work Certificate documentation. The documentation includes letters of recommendation, application materials, and information about state standards in practice. 
4. You will need to complete all steps of the application process as listed above.

For more specific information regarding the courses required if you already have an MSW degree, please refer to the School Social Work Certificate Program page

Graduate School Application

If you are a current MSW student, and have decided that you would also like to pursue the School Social Work Certificate, you will still need to complete an additional Graduate School Application. However, you can complete this second application without paying an additional application fee. The application page invites applicants to contact graduate admissions to obtain a coupon code so that your second and all future graduate program applications are free.  You can make the request through graduateadmissions@memphis.edu.  An admissions staff member will respond back with a coupon code you can use as you submit your application.

Minimum scores

GRE scores of : 3.5 writing; 143 verbal; 138 (350 on old GRE) quantitative or combined verbal & quantitative of 281 will result in the PRAXIS CORE examination being waived (this is applicable to graduate students only).

• If your GRE scores fall below the set requirements then you can schedule an appointment to take the Praxis CORE examination.
• If just your GRE writing score was below the requirement (3.5) but your Verbal and Quantitative Scores met the requirement, then simply schedule to retake the CORE writing.
• If your GRE Verbal and Qualitative Scores were below the requirement: 143 verbal (350 Old GRE); 138 (350 Old GRE) quantitative or combined verbal & quantitative of 281, then you must take the entire CORE examination in order to enter the TEP program.
• Click this link to find out more about the Praxis CORE requirements:
• Click this link to schedule to take the Praxis CORE: http://www.ets.org/praxis/