Applicants are required to submit a personal statement responding to each of the bullets below. The statement should be written double-spaced in APA format with a cover page and include one reliable reference for item #5. Each bullet point should have a distinct heading.
Please email your documents to [email protected].
- #1 - Motivation for pursuing MSW degree
- #2 - Statement of professional goals
- #3 - Relevant learning and growth through professional and volunteer experiences
- #4 - Expectations regarding attending a Christian university for the MSW program, and approach to faith integration in scholarship and service. Although no admissions requirements exist regarding faith orientation, Christian and other religious perspectives will be presented and discussed in classes.
- #5 - Discussion of a social problem of interest to you, including your perceptions of the causes of and potential solutions to the problem. Include at least one reliable reference.
- #6 - Discussion of an ethical challenge you have encountered in professional, field, or volunteer work, and how you resolved it.
- #7 - Recognition of challenges and stress related to social work profession.
- #8 - Discussion of specific changes you will make to accommodate the rigor of the MSW program. What specific three things will you change to make 20-25 hours available to complete the program? How will you accommodate an internship in your work schedule?
- #9 - Discussion of how applicant will set and maintain boundaries to deal with the stresses/challenges identified.
| Criterion | Unsatisfactory | Basic | Proficient | Distinguished | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spelling | Frequent misspellings that severely impact readability and detracts from understanding of content | Multiple misspellings that may impact meaning, readability, or tone | Moderate number of errors, common mistakes | Nearly error free | |
| Grammar | Frequent, critical grammar errors that severely impact readability and detracts from understanding content. | Multiple errors that may impact meaning, readability, and/or tone and should have been caught (e.g. ‘a error' instead of ‘an error') | Moderate number of errors, common mistakes (e.g. lack of pronoun/antecedent agreement, misuse of punctuation) | Nearly error free | |
| Fluency | Frequent use of inadequate general language, cliché, and slang. Frequent use of imprecise construction that severely impacts readability or clarity. | Multiple instances of imprecise construction and usage that may impact readability or clarity. | Employs direct and clear language throughout most of the essay. Spots that could be improved have minimal impact on readability or clarity. | Exhibits near professional command of language | |
| Organization | Includes few or disjointed ideas and examples that lack clarity and/or logical support. | Provides limited ideas and examples of logical support. Ideas are not supported and lacks structure | Develops items with clear ideas, examples, and logical support. | Extends the topics with perceptive ideas, unique examples and support. Presents a well-crafted response to all required questions. | |
| Response to Prompt | Fails to address assigned topic. | Partially addresses the assigned topics. | Consistently addresses the assigned topics. |
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*Be sure to use APA formatting
Personal Statement Rubric
Please make sure to answer each point on the rubric below. Use APA formatting. Include headings from the personal statement rubric below (for example: “Motivation for Pursuing MSW” and “Relevant Background Experience”). For #5, applicant must have at least one reliable reference.
| Content | Comments | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Motivation for pursuing MSW | |
| 2. | Statement of Professional Goals | |
| 3. | Relevant learning & growth through professional and volunteer experience - What skills have you gained? What have you learned about yourself? How are you more equipped then when you were in your bachelors' program? | |
| 4. | Expectations of a Christian MSW program. Approach to integration of faith, scholarship, and service. | |
| 5. | Discussion of a social problem of interest to applicant (including perceived causes and proposed solutions) - cite one reliable reference | |
| 6. | Discussion of an ethical challenge applicant faced and how it was resolved | |
| 7. | Recognition of challenges and stress related to social work profession. | |
| 8. | Discuss specific changes you will make to accommodate the rigor of the MSW program. What specific 3 things will you change to make 20-25 hours available to complete this program? How will you accommodate an internship in your work schedule? |
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| 9. | Discussion of how applicant will set and maintain boundaries to deal with the stresses/challenges identified. |