Hey!! So I got ahold of the admissions office and asked if there was a particular funding package with this program, and they said we're on our own ? Just wanted to update you!
Hi! Sounds good. I actually talked to Maxine as well and she gave me probably the same number. Financial services and admissions are attached to the same number. It was hard to get through, lots of waiting but defs let me know if you're told anything different!
I am not a Social Work major, however I myself applied to 2-year MSW programs (Western, U of Toronto and University of Windsor). I also applied to the post-BSW at Windsor. I did not get into any of the 2 year programs, only the post-BSW. At first I was really stressing about the extra year as I already did a fifth year in my bachelor's degree. However, I talked to a social worker and also did my own research and came to the conclusion that this option is better than doing a 2 year master's.
Let's start with the pros of a post-BSW. You can skip to the end where there is a more concise answer. I am comparing the practicum hours out of interest.
1. First let's look at the practicum hours you need at post-BSW programs:
University of Windsor - 700 hours minimum in year 2/last year of the program
Western University - 225+ hours in first year and 500+ in second year. Approximately 725 hours total.
As I am going to apply to one year master's programs after my post-BSW, I will write down how many hours I will need for those programs and then compare with the 2 year programs. Keep in mind that regardless of whether you do a post-BSW of 2 year MSW, for the most part you will only be doing a practicum for two years. For a post-BSW it is usually in the second and last year of the program (except Western which has it each year of the post-BSW), then during your one year MSW and for the two year MSW, you do a practicum each of the two years.
1 -Year MSW programs:
University of Toronto - 575 practicum hours
University of Windsor - 450 practicum hours
Western University - 450 practicum
York University - 450 practicum hours
Now let's look at the 2 year programs.
University of Toronto - You do approximately 450 hours in Year One and then merge with the Advanced standing (1-year MSW) students and do 575 hours in the second year. (Total 1,025)
Western University: 450+ hours each year. (total approximately 900 hours)
University of Windsor - 450 hours each year (total 900 practicum hours)
York University - 550 hours in first year and 450 in second year. (total 1000 hours).
I only looked at universities I applied to this year. For the most part for 1 year MSW's you get only 450 hours with the exception of U of Toronto. In the 2 year MSW programs for the most part you get 900 hours Max in one program 1,025.
If you we compare this to taking the post-BSW + 1-year MSW route, you get minimum 1,150. If you get a 1-year MSW at U of Toronto, you now have 1,225 practicum hours.
After these long calculations my point is that with a post-BSW even though you only do a practicum for one year and then another one year practicum in your MSW, you get more hours than doing two years of a practicum in the 2-year MSW. Why do you need more hours? Social Work is a competitive field, the more hours you have the better it is for your resume.
2. A post-BSW is also good if you are not yet sure what group of people or setting you want to work in. My programs has courses on working in the community, with families etc. With the practicum, you can also explore a field you think you might want and make sure that you are sure of the specialization you want to do. I want to do clinical social work, but I want to explore all of the MSW fields through courses etc. to be certain I am making the right choice for me.
3. The final reason (not final, there are many more, but final important reason an psot-BSW is good). Without a BSW, your options for 2-year MSW programs are really low compared to Advanced Standing programs. Some universities do not have 2-year MSW options, or require certain courses such as 6 sociology courses, human development, statistics etc. Hence, I only applied to a handful of programs. With a post-BSW you are on the same level as a BSW students and have so many more options for programs.
Here are the cons:
The obvious con is that it takes an extra year. However, the Windsor 2-year MSW program for example is 32 months. Which is almost two years. Other MSW programs require to be in the program 12 months a year (for some you finish your course work in June and do the practicum in the summer). The post-BSW I am and the York one is only two semester's a year so September to April. So you get the summer off to work and save up for your future or for rent/living expenses if you will be renting or living on campus.
Another con is that you have to go through the stressful period of applying to master's programs in your second year and going through the harsh waiting game. However, with a post-BSW it is a lot easier to get in, so if you have very good grades, a good reference from your prof and practicum, and perhaps some volunteering you should be set. 2-year MSW programs require a lot of volunteering to show you did not make this choice on the whim, I got rejected at Western for not enough hours.
I would recommend doing a post-BSW program first.That being said, if you really want get into only U of Toronto or another school, that has a 2-year program that you qualify for, and do not think you care to much about an extra 200-300 hours of practicum, go for the 2-year MSW. It is ultimately up to you, I just laid out some points that helped me not feel so bad about not getting into an MSW and realize that a post-BSW is a better choice for me and my future career.
I just got accepted to York’s post-grad BSW. I will likely be declining as I have been accepted to an MSW program. But this might be good news for those of you on the waitlist for York
emnull98 got a reaction from YouBetterSocialWerk in Canadian MSW Applicants 2021