Students admitted to the MSW program may be asked to complete a supplemental writing assignment either upon admission or during their progression through the program.
The goal of the supplemental writing requirement is to offer formal structure, support, and resources to students who have been identified as having deficiencies in their writing quality. Students who are asked to complete the supplemental writing requirement during the admissions process are notified in their formal admissions letter and required to complete the writing requirement during their first semester of classes. Students who are identified later during their progression through the program may be notified by their advisor, through a student success meeting, or an academic review. Students who do not successfully complete the writing requirement during the semester in which it is assigned may be placed on academic probation and/or subject to a full academic review.
Supplemental Writing Assignment Requirements:
To complete the Supplemental Writing Assignment the student must complete each of the following:
- They must log three or more hours of tutoring with staff at the Eberly Writing Studio in conjunction with an assignment in one of their classes. The assignment will be determined by the MSW committee and/or the student’s advisor and should include an in-depth writing assignment that involves some sort of outside research and/or literature review. It is strongly recommended that students work with a graduate-level tutor if at all possible.
- They must watch the YouTube video of the Lunch and Learn Seminar presented by Nathalie Singh-Corcoran and Catherine Fonseca: “Writing and Research Skills for Social Work” and complete the tasks in the associated Google Form. For information about accessing the video and the Google forms, students should reach out to their advisor.