MSW Requirements

Application Requirements

When creating an application, we strongly encourage you to use a Gmail account to ensure that you don’t miss important emails regarding application status updates, admission decisions, etc.

To apply for admission to any of our MSW programs:

  • You will need to hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university, or be enrolled in a course of study that will result in the award of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university before you begin your MSW studies.
  • We do not have a GPA requirement for Traditional or Human Service Experience track applicants. However, all Advanced Standing applicants are required to have a minimum GPA of 3.0.

The following application requirements need to be submitted online with your completed application (please scroll down for additional details about each requirement):

  • $95 non-refundable application fee: paid by credit card when submitting your application electronically
  • Personal statement: 3-4 pages, double-spaced, it must be a minimum of 3 full pages
  • Current résumé or CV: no page limit
  • Three references: one reference is required from a faculty member or advisor if you are currently in school, and/or from a supervisor if you are working.
    • Please note: all letters of recommendation must be written/dated within one year of the time you submit your application. If you have any questions, please email busswad@bu.edu
  • Transcripts: should include all previous undergraduate and, if applicable, graduate academic institutions, including study abroad transcripts – we will accept unofficial transcripts for the application review process but we will need official versions if/when you’re accepted before you start the program.
    • If your study abroad courses are not listed with grades on your U.S. transcript, or your transcript is not in English, or your transcript is not on a 4.0 grading scale, please provide an official English transcript at the time you apply by having it evaluated by one of the credential evaluation services listed here.
    • When you send official transcripts electronically from the National Student Clearinghouse, choose “other” from the dropdown list of schools and then type in our email address to ensure it gets to the right department: busswad@bu.edu.
    • Please email us if you have questions about where to send your transcripts. You can also upload unofficial transcripts within the application portal.
Please note:
  • Applicants may only apply for one campus per application cycle.
  • Academic credit is not given for life experience or previous work experience.
  • If you have applied and were not accepted, you will need to wait one year to reapply to any of our campuses.
  • Please note our off-campus and on-campus sites begin their programs in the fall, so if you applied for fall 2025 you will be eligible to apply again for fall 2026 entry.
  • Additionally, because our online program accepts students three times per year, if you applied for spring 2025 you will need to wait until spring 2026 to apply again.
  • Please email busswad@bu.edu if you have any questions.

Requirement Details