The School of Social Work Admissions Committee reviews applications with attention to a number of factors to assess your potential as a graduate student and social worker. This page provides an overview of our application review process along with suggestions for submitting a strong application.
For information on admissions requirements and application instructions, visit this page.
How Applications Are Reviewed
Each completed application is forwarded to the School of Social Work (SSW) by the Office of Admissions for review by the SSW Admissions Committee. The Admission Committee consists of SSW faculty members and professional staff. Each application file is assigned to two separate readers from this committee for thorough review. Using a rating form, each application is scored by these readers independently. The score is a total that is determined by adding the ratings on likert scales that assess the candidate’s essay content, essay quality, reference letter quality, work experience, and, if applicable, BSW field work experience. The reviewer also examines transcripts to ensure the applicant has the requisite undergraduate liberal arts foundation as well as introductory courses in sociology and psychology, and statistics. Once reviewers have assessed and scored applications, the Admissions Committee convenes to examine the rating scores of each reader for each applicant. A final composite rating is calculated and candidates are added to a pool. Once all applications are read and rated, the final incoming class is selected based on the scores, so those with the highest ratings are admitted first until we reach our class capacity; others might be denied admission or placed on a wait list. The two-reader rating system keeps the application review process unbiased and fair to everyone. We rely solely on the materials you submit to us to make our decision.
How to Strengthen Your Application
Because the success of your application relies on its quality, we provide the following to assist you by offering some tips on making your application as strong as it can be. Take a look before you submit your application.
Past Academic Performance
We encourage people from diverse undergraduate programs to apply—people in our program come from a range of academic backgrounds and may even be changing careers entirely. We require a minimum undergraduate GPA to qualify for the program. If you have an undergraduate GPA below 3.0, we still welcome you to apply, but we strongly encourage you to address your academic history in your essay. If possible, we also recommend that you secure at least one reference letter from a past or current academic instructor or faculty advisor who can share about your academic strengths and suitability for graduate-level coursework.
Work and Volunteer Experience
People apply to social work with diverse work backgrounds, and we honor this—many people are changing careers or are making a life transition. Certainly, work or volunteer experience related to social work is a great asset to your application. If you have no social work-related experience, skills from other fields or life arenas may be transferable to social work and we take this into account in rating this part of your application. While work or volunteer experience in an area related to social work makes you most competitive in the application process, we want to know about you as a worker, in whatever form, so please address this in your essay. We also recommend that one of your three reference letters is written by someone who has knowledge of your work capacity and skills, such as a supervisor.
Reference Letters
We require three reference letters from people who have known you in a professional or educational capacity, such as college professors and supervisors for your work, volunteer, or internship activities. While friends, family members, and therapists may know you well, they are not considered credible reference sources. Someone writing a reference letter should know you well enough to attest to your suitability for the social work profession and preparedness for graduate-level coursework. We encourage you to be thoughtful in your section of references, and identify people from multiple settings who can highlight your strengths in various contexts; for example, you might request one reference from a past professor, one from an employment supervisor, and one from a volunteer contact.
Strong reference letters are typically one page, single spaced, and include the following information:
- How long the person has known you and in what capacity
- A description of your personality and interest in the social work profession
- An assessment of your professionalism, including your judgment, dependability, and receptiveness to feedback
- An assessment of your academic skills (for references from education)
- An assessment of your work-related skills (for references from work or internship)
Essay
The essay is weighted heavily in the application review process. This is your primary opportunity to let us know who you are and why you want to be a social worker. Both what you choose to share with us and how you share it is very important. We examine both the content of your essay and the quality of your writing. Before you write your essay, reflect on the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, which is the foundation of the profession. Please also review the mission of the USM SSW to ensure that our program aligns with your professional aspirations. As you write your essay, think of the readers and what you want them to learn about you and your decision to apply to the social work program at USM. Please address the prompts outlined in the Application instructions directly, and write with clarity, precision, and authenticity.