How much does ranking matter?

[Econ_Friendly]

Hello everyone,

 

I come from a background where program ranking is extremely relevant in determining the potential for your job placement after graduation (especially from grad programs).  I have looked at the criteria for ranking in social work, and the criteria doesn't seem as relevant.  My wife, whom has applied to MSW programs, is also very unsure about how much ranking matters.  I was hoping this community could help us in our decision of where to attend.

 

My wife is most interesting in "children and family" programs, but has applied to other MSW programs (or specializations within MSW programs) as well, including clinical, marriage and family therapy, etc.  

 

She has a great profile.  She's applied to a ridculous number of programs (as have I, since we are trying to find a good match), and so far she's been accepted by every school that has sent out results, including those in the top 20.  She ended up applying to at least 1 program for each 1 that I applied to, so even if she does get rejected someplace, we should still be able to find a match.

 

Wherever we go, we'll be there for 5 years while I do a Ph.D.  After that, we'll be moving again (Maybe out of state, maybe not) depending on where I am placed.  As a result, ease-of-moving from one state to another is important.  I thought that name recognition (and general "sense" of a program's credibility) was more important than actual rank.  For example, there might not be much difference between, say, Tulane at 44, and Ohio State around 20.  

 

I've rambled a bit here, but hopefully what I am asking makes sense.  I just want to make sure she makes a choice that she is happy with while also having complete information.

[Econ_Friendly]

Perhaps I asked the wrong question, since the post on "do you (think) you want a PH.D" indicated that ranking is not so critical for the MSW.  Another question, perhaps that is more crucial, is:

 

"How Important is specialization?"

 

Can you only get certain SW jobs with a certain specialization, or does it just place you in a more advanced "pool" when applying for a job where your specialization is relevant?

 

Stated, perhaps, a different way:  Are there any SW jobs that you are effectively "opting out of" by not having a specific specialization?  For example, can you be a health care social worker without having a specialization in this?  

 

Or is everything highly based on placement?

[Cali_Coast]

I'd try seeing if mods could have you retitle this topic. You might get more responses that way as a lot of us are either waiting to see what we want to specialize in once we get into our second year, or having known all along. Either way, it's a good topic to see what specialization most who are starting this fall have chosen and why.

[BunnyMeadows]

I've heard that specialization is not critical. A professor told me that employers look for "MSW," paid experience and licensure. And aren't concerned about specializations.

[Econ_Friendly]

 

I'd try seeing if mods could have you retitle this topic. You might get more responses that way as a lot of us are either waiting to see what we want to specialize in once we get into our second year, or having known all along. Either way, it's a good topic to see what specialization most who are starting this fall have chosen and why.

 

 

Thanks - I would welcome this as well.  Anything to get more of a consensus.  

 

I've heard that specialization is not critical. A professor told me that employers look for "MSW," paid experience and licensure. And aren't concerned about specializations.

 

This seemed likely for most "areas," but some just seem "so specialized," like healthcare, that I wasn't sure.  Licensee is certainly extremely important, and something I forgot about when considering this question.  

[justastudent]

There was a great post on this by socialworkphd back a few years. Basically, I  believe that it boils down to: what region do you want to live? (1st job and subsequent contacts) How strong is that school's alumni group? same reason. Cheapest tuition. Reputation among the employers.  I don't think specialization matters, but internship is critical. So if you want to do child welfare, hospital, schools, mental health etc.. you have to have that specific practicum experience before they will hire you. That said, concentrations are sometimes the gatekeepers to the practicum experience that you want.

If you want a PhD, disregard all of this!!!

[amers]

I don't really have any hard evidence for this, but I just recently decided what school I'll be attending in the fall and the issue of specialization was a big factor for me. DU (where I'll be going) offers more concentrations and options to specialize your studies than the other school I was considering (UT), although the latter is more highly ranked.

 

In the end, I decided that since I'm coming from a background outside of social work (marketing) and have some idea of what areas of social work interest/don't interest me, I'd rather be in a program that allows me to tailor my degree to the things I care about most. I think having a more in depth education on certain subjects will help me bridge the gap a bit since I don't have a BSW. But that said, both DU and UT have great programs and I'm sure I could have found a lot of success in either. I feel like it's more a personal choice about what you're looking for in a program and what's the best fit for your life and goals. Maybe that's just me wanting to defend my choice haha, but I don't really think that I'll have more trouble finding a job after I get my degree solely because I'm not coming from a top ten ranked program.

Edited February 23, 2015 by amers

[MermaidturnedMSW]

For me, specialization is everything. There are not a lot of programs that not only focus on policy but also have the flexibility that I would like. It was the major factor in choosing which schools to apply to and which one I will attend.

[esp.msw]

to the op, I don't think you "opt out" of any jobs by specializing. I think for the most part an msw degree is a generalized degree and experience is what weights more, ultimately. During the info session at ucla, the speaker spoke about having worked in a vast amount of fields thoughout his career.

[hyronomus4]

If you're sure you know what kind of jobs you're going to apply for after graduation then you should choose a specialization.  It's helpful when the coursework you do and the professors you learn from are related to what you're interested in.  I can also say from my experience if you're applying in a competitive job market then a relevant specialization looks good (especially if you're lacking in experience).  

[Cali_Coast]

I think having a specialization is a good thing to have to some degree. In terms of MSW programs, some schools make you pick a certain track and you can't deviate from that such as CSULB or SDSU. I agree with hyronomus4, if you know what you want to do after graduation, then having a specialization could be a great thing. You can tailor your classes around your strengths as well as expand upon it during your field work making you a better candidate.

 

On the other hand, having a specialization, like say the CYF track, you choose to solely work with children in a school setting, then yeah, that sort of narrows it down for you when it comes to jobs right after graduation. If that's the only population you truly worked with during your internships or even before you started the program it's not quite broad enough to just throw your hat in the pool of recent grads and apply to anything and everything related to social work, upping your chances of landing a job. You could wind up competing for limited jobs in a specialized area of social work against people that have their LCSW or at least x amount of years more than a recent grad. 

 

I thought about specialization a lot when it came to picking a program. Ultimately I picked a program that divided it up between a clinical practice concentration, and admin/community concentration. I picked the former because the classes within it are only recommended, not required making it easier to tailor classes to the health/mental health profession and also take classes outside of the social work department to satisfy requirements i.e. psychology or anthropology. 

 

I guess it all depends on how you look at it. But ultimately, like saidypoo said, it does come down to experience, the MSW just gets your foot in the door.