MSW Traditional Part-Time (Online)

Program of Study

The Social Work faculty and staff wish to congratulate you on your acceptance into the Online Traditional Part-Time (4 year) MSW Program at Westfield State University. As an online student, most of your courses will have a weekly meeting time, and these class meetings will be held on Zoom at 5:15 or 7:15 on Monday or Thursday evenings. A few courses will be fully online, asynchronous, and self-paced, and will not have a meeting time, which limits the number of evenings you need to be on Zoom.

We look forward to welcoming you to our MSW Program community.  This letter, and our accepted student website, will provide you with important information about your courses, advising, registration, and summer orientation programs. 

The MSW Program has a required Incoming MSW Student Orientation for all incoming students that will be held in June. This year orientation will be held virtually via Zoom on Thursday, May 29th from 6:00-8:00 pm or Tuesday, June 3rd from 6:00-8:00 pm. Please complete the MSW Orientation sign up form in the MSW Accepted Students webpage. Once you register, you will receive a Zoom link to attend orientation for your selected day. 

At the orientation session, you will meet some of the MSW faculty and staff, review program requirements and receive other important information about the program and learn more about Westfield State University. In preparation for the orientation, please review this program of study and your acceptance letter. 

If you have any questions after reviewing this information, please feel free to contact me. 

I look forward to seeing you at one of the orientations in June. 

Sincerely,

Mark Horwitz, PhD, MSW, JD
Professor and MSW Program Director 

Some of you may need to complete either a Human Biology requirement and/or an American National Government requirement. The Human Biology requirement and the American Government requirement need to be completed by 9/5/25. You can complete these requirements at any college or university that offers these courses. 

IMPORTANT: If you are uncertain that you’re missing a program prerequisite, please review your acceptance letter. Your acceptance letter will indicate if your perquisites are complete or otherwise. If you have any additional questions, please contact: Ron Cummings at rcummings@westfield.ma.edu, SOCW administrative support.

If you are interested, WSU also offers options to complete these requirements in house: 

The following procedures and policies must be followed before the Program of Study is considered acceptable toward the Master's Degree. This form must be typed or printed clearly.

1. The Program of Study form is developed based on the program and time frame in which you were accepted. After the study plan is reviewed, it must be signed by a) the Program Director, and b) the student.
2. Any change in the original program must have the approval of the advisor and the Program Director.
3. The Program of Study is developed in adherence to the following policies:
   • Students are expected to complete their degree requirements within six (6) years from the date of the first course accredited toward their degree, including transfer credits from other regionally accredited institutions. No credit will be given for a course older than 6 years at the time of graduation.
   • No more than nine semester hour credits taken at Westfield State University prior to matriculation may be applied toward the degree. Once (6) semester hours have been earned, Pending Application Waiver must be submitted and approved prior to registering for (3) additional credits. All such credits must be appropriate to your Program of Study and must be approved by your advisor.
   • A program of study is designed in consultation with an advisor in accordance with the requirements for a degree in a specific concentration. The advisor is not responsible for his/her advisee’s meeting Graduate Division regulations and deadlines. You are personally responsible for knowing and following all university rules and regulations.
4. Academic Integrity
   • Students in the graduate program are expected to have a high standard of integrity. Any graduate student who cheats or plagiarizes on examinations, papers, assignments, or within a research setting is subject to dismissal from the program. Cases involving academic integrity shall be referred to the Dean for adjudication. (See Graduate Catalog & MSW Program Manual).