Apply to the MSW Program

Welcome and thank you for your interest in applying to our program!

We are no longer accepting applications for Fall 2024. Our application for Fall 2025 will be available in August.

Reviews of our applications began on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. 

Decisions about admissions will be sent in mid-March 2024.

Students will have two weeks to accept their offers of admission.

More details about the admissions process will be found in the admission letter for admitted students.

Application Information

The Application Instructions for the Department of Social Work contains all instructions about the application process, including the admissions essay prompts. 

Any additional questions about admissions should be directed to swadmission@csueastbay.edu

You may also be interested in learning more about our stipend programs for students committed to working in public child welfare, integration of primary care and behavioral health, and medication-assisted treatment of substance use disorders.

We are pleased to offer two program options:

  • Full-time, in person program on our Hayward campus
    • This program takes two years to complete and is designed for students who are able to come to our Hayward campus on weekdays. Students attend class two weekdays per week in person on campus throughout the academic year.  Classes meet on Mondays and Wednesdays in the first year. Students take three to four courses (12-16 academic units) per semester. This option requires a practicum-internship of 1,080 hours that takes place in-person two weekdays per week in the first year and three weekdays per week in the second year in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

  • Extended program (mostly online)
    • This program takes three years to complete and is designed for students who have work/personal obligations during the day and prefer online learning. Students attend weekly synchronous (Zoom) classes plus up to two in person meeting days per month on our Hayward campus for practice skill labs. Students will take two courses (8 academic units) per semester. Students in this program will also complete 1,080 hours of internship; internship will begin in the summer before the second year and is anticipated to require approximately 12-14 hours minimum per week on weekdays. Our program focuses on educating students and serving communities within the nine-county SF Bay region. At this time, we are offering only our Community Mental Health concentration in the extended program. This new program is made possible by a Social Work Education Capacity Expansion Grant from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information.

MSW Application Information Sessions

We warmly invite and encourage all applicants to attend one of our Zoom information sessions to learn more about our program. Information sessions last for 1 hour and are a great place to ask any general questions you might have about our program.

The university will host a virtual Spring Graduate Fair on March 14, 2024 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Our graduate coordinator will be present to answer any questions about our program. More information will be provided as the date draws closer.

Departmental information sessions for Fall 2025 admissions will resume in September 2024.