Social Work Research Waiver Exam

SR 743 Introduction to Social Work Research I Waiver Exam Information 

If you are interested in taking the SR 743 waiver exam, carefully read the following information. 

Overview

Our program offers entering students with a strong research methods background the opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency by passing a research examination. Those who pass may waive the Research I (SR743) course requirement. To pass, you must receive a threshold grade of 70 or higher, and you then must replace SR 743 with an elective in your program.

Please note: If you are an Advanced Standing student who would like to test out of Research I, you must still take the exam, and, if passed, you will not need to replace SR 743 with an elective class.

The waiver exam is available online to those enrolling in any of BUSSW’s four MSW programs: Charles River Campus, Off-Campus, Online and Worcester Hybrid.

The approximate cost of the waiver exam is $25. 

You may only take the exam once.

To find out which dates you can take the exam, read through your program’s information in the drop-down boxes below.


FIRST STEP: Creating a BU email address


In order to take the waiver exam, you must have a Boston University email address. This is because the exam will be taken on Blackboard, an online database system that requires a BU login. 

To create your BU email, you must follow the instructions in your MSW acceptance letter and, if required, pay your deposit. You will then receive welcome materials and information from the Registrar on how to create your BU email address. 

Please note: Each program receives their acceptance letter and BU email set-up instructions at different times.


Registration Info & Dates by Program



Prepare for the Exam

The exam consists of multiple choice and true-false questions. To prepare for the exam, we suggest:

  • Review course concepts in the assigned textbook, Engel, R.J. & Schutt, R.J. (2017) The Practice of Research in Social Work 4th ed.
  • You may also opt to get an earlier or later version of the textbook at a lower cost; either textbook will provide valuable study content. 


PLEASE NOTE:

To register for the exam, all students must submit the mandatory Research Waiver Exam Interest Form by the date listed in their program’s drop-down box above.

After you’ve completed the Research Waiver Exam Interest Form, there is nothing more you need to do. Once the exam sign-up deadline passes, we will send emails to all interested students with further instructions on how to access the exam, select date and time, and the exam requirements.

WAIVER EXAM INTEREST FORM

Contact Us

If you have questions about the research waiver exam, please contact Teisha Albert Pankey at sswsupp@bu.edu.