Social Work (Graduate Program)

For information regarding the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.   

Program Overview

The LSU School of Social Work was founded in 1937 in the era of the “New Deal” programs, reflecting a growing need for professional social workers. The school has a reputation for excellence in professional education and a long tradition of service to the professional community. The focus of the school is to educate competent, professional social workers and early childhood specialists and to use research to enhance the effectiveness of social work practice and practice in the fields of child and family studies and early childhood administration and leadership. The school has a commitment to culturally competent practice, an equally strong commitment to the social work profession’s core values of social and economic justice, respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, and the centrality of human relationships to well-being. The research infrastructure of the school includes active programs in the areas of juvenile justice, poverty, mental health, addictions, gerontology, community development, and child welfare. The school is a charter member of the Council on Social Work Education and its master’s program has maintained continuous accreditation with this body since its inception.

Administration

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School. Official transcripts, official test scores, and other materials that come from third-party sources must be mailed to: Graduate Student Services, 114 West David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. These paper documents are stored electronically and departments have access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

Applications for admission are received and evaluated by the department. Applicants must adhere to the application deadlines established by the Graduate School and the School of Social Work. Students seeking admission must submit satisfactory credentials from previous study, and three letters of recommendation. International students whose native language is not English must also submit an acceptable TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE score.

The MSW Program has an application deadline date of March 1 for Advanced Standing and March 31 for the Full-time and Part-time programs. The application deadline for the MSW Online Program is multiple times per year. Please visit our website for more information. Full-time and part-time students are admitted for the fall semester of each year. MSW Online students are admitted at six different points during the year. Admission decisions are based on the applicant’s academic record, letters of recommendation, letter of intent, work and volunteer experience, and resumé. A genuine interest in people and emotional stability are also important qualifications for admission to the school. No academic credit is granted for work or life experiences.

The following are requirements that must be completed prior to admission to the MSW program:

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
• Demonstration of a liberal arts undergraduate preparation through completion of at least 12 credit hours in the social and behavioral sciences (psychology, sociology, anthropology, human geography, economics, political science, curriculum & instruction, etc.), and at least nine hours in the humanities (literature, languages, history, women’s studies, art or music history, philosophy, cultural and comparative studies, communication studies, etc.).
• “C” or better in an introductory statistics course in any undergraduate department.
• A 3.00 cumulative GPA on undergraduate coursework.
• Evidence that the applicant possesses the personal qualities and aptitudes essential for the social work profession.
• A genuine interest in people and emotional stability are also important qualifications for admission to the school.
• Information concerning these qualities will be obtained from the student’s application materials and from present or former employers, teachers, and other persons acquainted with the applicant.
• Other materials as required in the application process:
  1. A completed LSU Graduate School online application (found on the Graduate School website).
  2. A completed School of Social Work supplemental application (found on the Social Work website).
  3. The MSW letter of intent (found on the Social Work website).
  4. Three letters of reference.
  5. Two official copies of all transcripts in sealed envelopes (all transcripts required, whether or not credit was earned or is desired, sent to the LSU Graduate School and School of Social Work).
  6. Professional resumé.

The PhD Program has a priority deadline date of February 1 and admits students for the fall semester of each year. Applications received after March 1 and/or incomplete by March 1 will be considered on a space-available basis. Admission decisions are based on applicant’s academic record, GRE scores, personal qualifications, and proposed departmental-level academic course plan.

The following are requirements that must be completed prior to admission to the PhD program:

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with typical liberal arts, social sciences, introductory statistics, and human biology courses;
• An acceptable grade point average in undergraduate coursework (as evaluated by the School of Social Work and the Graduate School);
• A master’s degree in social work from a CSWE accredited program or a closely related discipline. Preference will be given to applicants with the MSW. Students without the MSW will be required to enroll in SW 7004 Human Diversity and Oppression (3) . Please contact the PhD Director for further information.
• A GPA in graduate studies of at least 3.00.
• Acceptable scores on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) of at least 1000 or higher (old test) approximately 150 on both the quantitative and verbal sections (new test)
• Completion of a graduate research course with a grade of “B” or better.
• Other materials as required in the application instructions (items 1, 2 and 3 must be completed online):
  1. The completed LSU Graduate School online application (found on the Graduate School website).
  2. The completed School of Social Work PhD application (found on the Social Work website).
  3. A completed plan of doctoral study, a 4-6 page (2000-2500 word) typed statement that addresses the following:
     1. Describe your career goals in social work and how a PhD in social work will further those goals. Please state whether you plan to enroll on a part-time or full-time basis. If you plan to enroll full time, please clarify whether you hope to receive funding from the School and whether you plan to work part- or full-time while enrolled. Describe any relevant financial supports in place to assist you.
     2. What are your areas of interest and your ideas for research? If you have plans for dissertation research, please describe them. Identify any faculty members that share your area of interest(s). Faculty information can be obtained at www.socialwork.lsu.edu.
     3. What are your professional/scholarly areas for improvement, as you perceive them? Please describe your professional/scholarly strengths and abilities that you think will serve you well as a doctoral student.
     4. Please supply the admissions committee with one samples of your professional/scholarly writing that best illustrate your capacity for analytic and critical thinking. Briefly describe in your Plan of Doctoral Study why your writing selection is representative of these latter abilities.
  4. Three letters of reference.
  5. Two official copies of all transcripts in sealed envelopes (all transcripts are required, whether or not credit was earned or is desired, sent to the LSU Graduate School and the School of Social Work).

For more information on admission to the MSW or PhD program, please visit our website at www.socialwork.lsu.edu.

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance is available to some students. Support may be available through the student’s home department or other units in the form of research or teaching assistantships. A student should contact his or her home department for more information on available assistantship positions. To ensure consideration for financial aid, all application materials should be submitted in accordance with admission deadlines for the appropriate program.

Graduate Faculty

(check current faculty listings by department here) 

Priscilla D. Allen (M) • Gerontology, nursing homes, long-term ombudsman programs, policy issues
Cassandra Chaney (M) • African-American Family Dynamics; Narratives among Dating, Cohabiting, and Married African-American Couples; Religiosity/Spirituality and African-American Families; Black male-female relationship dynamics in popular forms of media (television, movies, song lyrics); Qualitative Methods
Wesley Church (M) • Juvenile delinquency, mental health delivery in the juvenile justice system, stigmatized incarcerated populations, family systems, and family dynamics
Charles Grenier (EM) • Medical, mental health, research methodology
Cecile C. Guin (3F) • Death penalty mitigation, truancy issues, grant writing, juvenile justice
Youn Kyoung Kim (6A) • Resilience and behavioral health problems, HIV/AIDS and risky sexual behaviors among youth, international social work.
Catherine Lemieux (M) • Substance abuse assessment and intervention, evaluation of correction-based substance abuse programs, role of social support in recovery, development and testing of innovative teaching strategies that emulate core social work competencies, service-learning
Michelle Livermore (M) • Poverty and related policies, social development, community social capital, civic engagement, employment of women living in poverty
Elaine Maccio (M) • Gay and lesbian issues, gender and women’s issues, diversity and multiculturalism, substance use/abuse and addictions
Brij Mohan (EM) • Mental health, social theory, philosophy of science, human diversity, oppression, international and comparative social welfare
Pamela Monroe (M) • Family policy, poverty, welfare reform, women’s labor force participation, economic revitalization/work force development
Timothy F. Page (M) • Child and family treatment, attachment theory, vulnerable children, narrative methodologies with young children, clinical practice
Sarah Pierce (6A) • Experiences in the parent-child relationship and in the teacher-child relationship; Developmental Systems Theory
Judith Lee Rhodes (3F) • School dropout prevention, school social work, juvenile delinquency, and educational attainment of youth-at-risk
Samuel Berwyn Robison (3F) • Program evaluation and intervention research, school and community prevention and early intervention, life pathways of at-risk children, political psychology of decision-makers, foreign policy analysis, and conflict studies
Jennifer Scott (6A) • Poverty, immigration, sociopolitical determinants of poverty, inequality and migration, international social work.
Katherine Stamps-Mitchell (M) • Primary Areas of Research Interest: Sociology of Families and Children, Life Course, Social Demography, Stratification, Fertility, Education, Public Policy
Scott Wilks (M) • Coping and resilience among dementia caregivers, custodial grandparent issues, gerontological social work
Mi Youn Yang (6A) • Poverty, child abuse and neglect, child well-being​

Programs

• Social Work, Ph.D

• Social Work, M.S.W.

• Dual Degree: JD/MSW

• Dual Degree: MSW/MPH