Onboarding
MSW Advising
Advising Hold Removal
All newly admitted students will have an advising hold automatically placed on their account that prevents course registration. Your advising hold will be administratively removed after you fill out and submit the following form:
MSW Intake: Standard Form & Enrollment
Once you have submitted the form, the advising hold will be removed within 7-10 business days. You will receive an email to your ASU email notifying you for the next steps in enrollment.
What if I’m not quite ready to begin? Can you hold my admission for me?
- Yes! This is called deferring your admission. You can technically do so on your own if you just need to push the program back a year.
- The recommendation is to defer to the next admissions cycle in line with your established plan of study (i.e., Standard Downtown Phoenix and ASU Sync students can only defer to the following Fall).
- If you want to know what options are beyond the year deferment, we recommend making an advising appointment to discuss your options.
Other ASU Holds
It says I still need to send my transcripts, who do I talk to about this?
If your admission process is still requesting your transcripts, send an inquiry to [email protected] and remember to include your name and ASU ID number.
Interactive Plan of Study (iPOS)
The Interactive Plan of Study (iPOS) is an agreement between you (the student), the Academic Unit and the Graduate College. Once your iPOS is submitted and approved, it should be used to monitor your progress toward graduation, serve as a reference point to ensure you are registering for the correct courses each semester and is the final point of review before you receive your degree.
Once your iPOS has been approved, should you make any adjustments to your schedule, you will be prompted to return to the iPOS to update your courses accordingly.
We ask that each student submit their iPOS by the final day of the semester in which they are admitted.
Your iPOS will become available approximately 90 days prior to the start of your first semester. The Social Work Academic Unit will send out instructions on how and when to complete the iPOS. This information will be sent in the semester in which the iPOS needs to be submitted.
Class Registration
Continuing MSW students do not have holds placed on their account prior to registration. Once your registration window opens, you are able to register for your assigned classes.
Registration Dates:
Class registration happens three times per year. The Summer and Fall semester registration dates begin in February and Spring registration typically begins in early October. The specific registration date and time for each student auto-populates in their MyASU home page within the My Classes box.
Registration Process:
Once your registration window has opened, you may either refer to your assigned plan of study in Canvas or your approved Interactive Plan of Study (iPOS) to determine your upcoming classes. There are instructions on how to complete your iPOS in modules that are forthcoming.
Add/Drop Deadlines and Refund Policy:
Drop/Add & Tuition Refund Deadlines
Students are responsible for dropping or withdrawing from their courses; ASU does not drop a student for non-attendance. The School of Social Work is congruent with the ASU refund policy.
Registration Directions:
If desired, you may download this step by step guide to registering for your courses: MSW Registration Directions
Transfer Credit Process
The ASU School of Social Work accepts social work credit from graduate-level CSWE-accredited institutions. A student can acquire a maximum of 30 transfer-credit hours that may be applied towards their MSW degree.
The transfer coursework must be completed within the last 3 years of the admission term to the ASU MSW program, and have a grade of "B" or better (3.0 on a 4.0 scale). The ASU Graduate College does not accept Pass/Fail credit.
If you would like to have coursework considered for transfer credit, please complete the form below. Once the form has been submitted, allow 15 business days for evaluation.
Transfer Credit Evaluation Request Form
Exemption Process
MSW students who earned a Bachelor's of Social Work degree from a CSWE-accredited (Council on Social Work Education) program or a BA-CASP degree (ASU undergraduate degree) within 3 years of the date of admissions to our MSW program are eligible for course exemption consideration. Below are the guidelines and the petition form that can be completed and submitted to [email protected] for consideration.
Eligible Courses
The courses that are eligible for exemption are: SWG 531 (Social Policy and Services), SWG 533 (Diversity and Oppression in a Social Work Context), and SWG 585 (Macro Social Work Practice).
Guidelines
Students must receive a grade of at least A- (3.667 on a 4.0 scale)
Course Exemption Information (BSW/BA-CASP graduate, ASU)
- SWG 531 can be fulfilled by SWU 332/SWG 432
- SWG 533 can be fulfilled by SWU 374/SWG 474
- SWG 585 can be fulfilled by SWU 411
Concurrent degree programs are specially-designed academic programs which provide high-achieving graduate students the opportunity to complete 2 distinct but complementary graduate degrees at the same time. Students must meet minimum admissions standards for both programs and be accepted individually by both colleges offering the concurrent program.
The School of Social Work offers concurrent degrees with the following programs:
Graduate College Policy regarding Concurrent Degrees (see ASU Graduate College Policy & Procedures)
Students may pursue concurrent degrees in different academic areas with prior written approval from the head of the Academic Unit for each degree program and the Graduate College. A separate online application is required for each degree program. For concurrent master's programs, a maximum of 20% of the minimum total credit hours for the completion of both degrees may be shared. For concurrent programs that include a doctoral program, a maximum of 12 credit hours may be shared. The total number of credit hours common to both degree programs may vary from this maximum value only when the Graduate College has formally approved coordinated degree programs.
Coursework common to both programs must constitute a well-planned and meaningful part of each of the programs and may only include coursework completed after admission to both degree programs. In all cases, the guidelines below must be followed:
- Students must maintain continuous enrollment as previously defined. Registration in both programs may be required each semester. Please see the Academic Unit for specific satisfactory academic progress and program rules. Students may request a leave of absence (LOA) to maintain continuous enrollment, but a separate request must be submitted for each program. Students may not be registered for coursework for either program while on a leave of absence.
- Graduate credit transferred from another institution may be applied toward only one of the degree programs.
- Culminating experiences (e.g., capstone courses, theses, applied projects) and comprehensive examinations cannot be shared between concurrent programs.
- The 15 to 30 blanket hours allowed for doctoral programs from a previously awarded master's degree may only be applied to one of the doctoral programs.
- The maximum time limit for completing degree requirements and graduation apply to each concurrent degree individually. (6 years for master's; 10 years for doctoral).
Deferrals
Students may request a deferral of their initial semester of admission to the next semester for which the degree program is admitting students. This is only applicable for new students who have not begun their first semester. This request must be made prior to the drop deadline of Session B of the session you were admitted in.
Steps on how to submit a deferral:
- Log into your MyASU.
- In the box on the right labeled 'My Programs', click 'Social Work (MSW)', then 'Degree requirements', and 'Request a change'.
- Here, you will be able to submit a deferral request.
For In-Person Standard students, you will defer a year. For example, you can defer from Fall 2025 to Fall 2026.
Campus Change
If you choose to change your campus, you will need to submit a change request. We recommend scheduling an appointment with an advisor before submitting a campus change request, as it may affect your plan of study and iPOS. We also recommend reaching out to Financial Aid if there will be any tuition changes.
Steps to submit a Campus Change:
- Log into your MyASU.
- In the box on the right labeled 'My Programs', click 'Social Work (MSW)', then 'Degree requirements', and 'Request a change'.
- Here, you will be able to submit a campus change request.
Please keep in mind that it may take up to 15 business days to complete your request.
ASU requires records of your immunizations to continue enrollment. Sometimes, Health Services will place an immunization hold on students after they’ve had time to register so that they can ensure placement in their courses. Information on the process can be found on your MyASU page or on the Health Service Immunization page. If you attended ASU previously, this may not be applicable. However, you can verify your status with the Health Services department.
University Resources
Pat Tillman Veterans Center
The Pat Tillman Veterans Center assists active-duty, veteran and veteran-dependent students with their military education benefits and offers programs, events, and a place where student veterans can connect with and support each other.
Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services (SAILS)
The central campus resource for students with disabilities to ensure access to their education and help increase awareness in the university community.
ASU Tuition Estimator
Many factors play a part in determining what your final bill looks like such as your major, your campus, how many credits you take and your residency status. The tuition estimator is an easy-to-use tool that shows you what you can expect to pay. Simply input a few pieces of information into the tuition calculator and see the costs.