MSW at University of Toronto of Wilfrid Laurier?

[iheartmagic]

Hello!

I've been admitted to the 2 year MSW programs at U of T and Laurier respectively.

The U of T MSW is a traditional brick and mortar program while Laurier is mostly online with in-person practica.

Does anyone have any insights into how these programs compare? I'm very interested in pursuing clinical work and already am employed in the field. Going to U of T means I will have to leave my current position, while going to Laurier allows me to continue working at this particular job. 

Thanks!

[gillis_55]

This question is several months old and I’m sure you’ve made your decision already, but thought I would answer it for future people seeing this question. 

I am not a social worker but I’m a research assistant at a social services agency and have heard many conversations about this between the SWs and their managers. Both schools are reputable in social work and known to be more applied in their emphasis. But based on what I’ve heard I would strongly recommend an in-person program versus an online one. Both directors of clinical work (one of which is a professor at York as well) said they think online classes are not equivalent to in person classes for learning and training. Doesn’t mean they wouldn’t hire someone who had an online degree, but that they would need to compensate for it with lots of applied experience. Obviously this is anecdotal and plenty of other managers may disagree. However, U of T also has very strong connections for placements - they basically guarantee them whereas other schools sometimes make you find them on your own and some struggled with that (not sure about WLU specifically).

I’m curious what you ended up choosing and what your experience has been so far - I’d love to be proven wrong about online programs as it’s a huge benefit to be able to keep working. 

[angelicpiano]

What were you stats when you got into U of Toronto? GPA, major (bachelor's), and experience (years and where). Based on previous marks, I think a 3.8 at YorkU is feasible for me next year, maybe even higher if I try. My major is french studies and linguistics. I do have the social science course requirements and A+ in research methods, but I am still worried about getting. I cannot volunteer because of COVID-19, but plan to volunteer at the York Sexual Violence Centre and a crisis line, once the city opens up.