Writing Your Statement of Purpose
When submitting your application documents, including your statement of purpose, please put your first and last name on all documents and indicate Distance Learning Clinical Social Work Traditional or Advanced Standing.
Social Work is a profession that addresses the needs of vulnerable populations. We are bound by a professional Code of Ethics (see MSW bulletin) that mandates our professional behavior. Students admitted into our graduate program are expected to act in a manner that reflects these standards.
We wish to evaluate as accurately as possible your qualifications for a professional education in social work and the appropriateness of the program for your educational needs and goals. Therefore, it is important that you respond to EACH of the following questions. Please type your replies, double-spaced, in three to six pages. This is one of the most important parts of your admission application. It is your opportunity to share with the Admissions Committee information about yourself that we will use to evaluate your appropriateness for the program and the profession.
Before submission, make certain that you give the committee members a clear picture of your interests, experiences, and objectives. Remember, each of these questions is scored individually, along with your writing skills, so please answer to the best of your ability.
Type out the questions below in your statement of purpose and answer them accordingly.
- Give specific examples how your past experiences and academic achievements have led you to choose social work as a profession.
- The social work profession is guided by the NASW code of ethics: https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English - This code includes working with diverse populations and clients/communities whose values and beliefs may be different from yours. Discuss how your personal values and beliefs are or are not compatible with this professional standard. How will you reconcile any conflicts between your personal values and the requirement of the profession?
- Describe an ethical dilemma (Ethical dilemmas, also known as a moral dilemma, are situations in which there is a choice to be made between two options, neither of which resolves the situation in an ethically acceptable fashion) that you have faced in your life. How was it resolved?
If you feel that your present record does not reflect your potential, please share with the Admissions Committee in your Statement why you think you can manage the demands of graduate education.
