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Home » Master of Science in Social Work » Distance Education Program


M.S.S.W. Distance Education Program

Effective June 2008, the College of Social Work began a Distance Education M.S.S.W. program for students who are unable to come to campus for classes due to their physical location. (The Distance Education program is designed specifically for students who live outside of a 25-mile radius of the Knoxville and Nashville campuses.)

The College of Social Work is offering three distance education (DE) programs of study as follows:

  • DE Full Time Program. (Beginning Fall 2010) Full-time DE students begin classes in the fall semester of admission  and complete the full-time program (60 semester hours) in two years,  or four (4) semesters, of full-time study. They complete the foundation  curriculum during the first year and the concentration curriculum  during the second year.  Applicants must have a 2.7 or higher to be considered for this program.
     
  • DE Advanced Standing Program. The DE Advanced Standing program is a part-time program where students take six credits hours per semester and complete the M.S.S.W. degree requirements (36 credit hours) in two years. Applicants to this program must have a B.S.W. from a school of social work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education and a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 to be considered for the DE Advanced Standing program. DE Advanced Standing students begin classes in the summer term of admission. Note: students may finish the DE Advanced Standing program in 18 months to two years.
     
  • DE Extended Study Program. The DE Extended Study Program is a part-time program where students take six credit hours per semester and complete the M.S.S.W. degree requirements (60 credit hours) in three or four years. DE Extended Study students begin coursework in the fall term of admission.

For a listing of the classes you'd take each semester in each program, please see the MSSW Forms page and click on the document for the desired program/ concentration.

The Distance Education M.S.S.W. program is held to the same standards as the traditional on-campus M.S.S.W. degree. Curriculum and course descriptions, fee information, and application instructions can be accessed from the M.S.S.W. Program main page, or via the links to the right on this page.

The distance education program is fully accredited by the CSWE (Council on Social Work Education) and taught by the same professors who teach on campus. The degree you receive will be a Masters of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Distance Education classes will be taught primarily online. For some classes, students should expect to meet at a central location for a few face-to-face meetings. Such sessions will occur only a few times per semester and will take place on Saturdays. Student internships will be arranged within a reasonable driving distance from the communities within which Distant Education students reside.

Computer requirements for Windows computers may be found at:http://liveonline.utk.edu/techsupport/pc_requirements.shtml . Computer requirements for Mac computers may be found at:
http://liveonline.utk.edu/techsupport/mac_requirements.shtml .

Please be sure to take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions page. In addition, please take a look at a short video demonstration of Centra (the technology used by many of our online classes), done by Dr. Lyle Cooper at https://www.sworps.utk.edu/stimulus/2008_fall/centra_demo.html

For more information about our Distance Education program, contact Kate Chaffin, Distance Education Coordinator, at 615-256-1885, ext. 141 or kmcclern@utk.edu.