School of Social Work

About the MSW Program

Welcome to the Master of Arts in Social Work (MSW) Program and to the School of Social Work at California State University, Chico!

The faculty and staff of the School of Social Work have prepared the MSW Student Handbook to inform you about the School’s policies, procedures, and information regarding the program. It is important that you become familiar with the contents of your Handbook, as it will give you an overview of what to expect throughout your time in the program. It may save you considerable time and difficulty if you know this information from the beginning.

You should also obtain a copy of the university’s graduate studies guide: A Guide to Graduate Studies: Policies, Procedures and Format, which can be located at the Office of Graduate Studies.

The School of Social Work is housed within the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and is also under the auspices of the Graduate School. Therefore, the MSW Program is subject to the policies and procedures of those bodies as well as the university. To make yourself aware of those requirements, please become familiar with the most current version of the University Catalog.

As the policies and procedures of the School of Social Work are constantly under review and revision, please stay in close communication with the MSW Program personnel. The School of Social Work website is updated regularly and will give you the most current version of policies and procedures, as well as other valuable information. Your faculty adviser is also an important source of information.

Please review and refer to information contained in the current MSW Student Handbook.

MSW Application Information(opens in new window)

MSW Application timeline: October 1st to January 15th

The MSW One-Year Program includes the Concentration year plus a four-unit summer bridge course, requiring 34-36 units of course work and 720 hours of field education practicum experience. It is designed for those who have obtained a Bachelor in Social Work (BASW/BSW) degree that is CSWE-accredited within the last five (5) years, have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and who have exhibited outstanding performance in their undergraduate social work studies and/or employment in social services.

The MSW Two-Year Program includes the Foundation year and the Concentration year, requiring 61-63 units of course work and 1200 hours of field education practicum. The Two-Year MSW program requires a Bachelor’s degree from any discipline, completed at an accredited university

The MSW Three-Year Distributed Learning Program(opens in new window) admits students once every three years and is the same, fully-accredited curriculum as the campus-based, two-year program. As in the Two-Year Program, the DL program requires a total of 59-61 units of course work and 1200 hours of field education practicum experience. Additional admission requirements and course and schedule information are in the current CSU, Chico University Catalog and the CSU, Chico website.

If you have additional questions about our MSW programs, please call or e-mail:

MSW Program Contact Information
Chelsea Cornell, MSW(opens in new window) 
  • MSW Program Co-Directors
  •  MSW Program Advisor (last names A-M)
Meka Klungtvet-Morano, MSW
  • MSW Program Co-Directors 
  • MSW Program Advisor (last names N-Z)

Tayler Hammond
Administrative Support Assistant
Phone: 530-898-4944

Caroline Oster
Distributed Learning Advisor