Advanced Standing Master of Social Work - Online

To be eligible to apply for admission, applicants must have earned a BSW from a CSWE-accredited program prior to the beginning of the MSW Advanced Standing program in early July. All BSW courses must have grades of B or better.* Admission is selective and not guaranteed.

*Applicants to the advanced standing program may be admitted conditionally if their GPA or BSW course grades do not meet the required admission criteria. Such cases will be considered on an individual basis by the admissions committee. Students who are admitted conditionally must earn at least a 3.00 their first term to continue in the advanced standing program as a fully accepted student.

Background Check and Drug Screening

To ensure their safety and maintain high-quality care of patients, clinical affiliates of the university require students to have a criminal background check. All students entering the Quinnipiac MSW program are required to undergo a criminal background check (through the university vendor) prior to beginning classes. This is a mandatory component of the program. In addition, MSW students may be required to undergo a criminal background re-check and/or drug screen prior to any of their field placements. The results are made available to the student through their own personal and secure online portal. Whenever a Quinnipiac MSW student may need proof of criminal background check for field placements, the student will release the information directly from their personal portal to the clinical site. The cost of the criminal background check and any re-checks and/or drug screens is the responsibility of each individual student.

Additional Program Costs

As a clinical education program, the MSW program requires some expenses that go beyond standard university tuition and fees:

1. Clinical/Fieldwork Education Travel (e.g., gas, parking, public transportation): You are responsible for the costs associated with travel to and from field internships. Costs – variable.
2. Background Check: Quinnipiac University and its clinical affiliates require that all students undergo a criminal background check, through the university vendor, prior to beginning classes (University Criminal Background Check Policy). Please note that placement sites may require that students participate in the agency’s background check, in addition to the one required by the university.
   1. University background check cost – $63 for all domestic addresses for the past 7 years or $158 for students who have resided in New York state in the last 7 years due to NY state surcharge.
   2. Some students may be required to do an annual re-check one year after the initial background re-check. Cost – $32 per annual re-check.
3. Drug Screening: Some sites require physical and/or substance use drug screens as well as fingerprinting. MSW students are expected to comply with all agency requirements prior to beginning field internships.
4. Liability Insurance: All students have liability insurance coverage through the university, free of charge, while performing required clinical activity. Students may choose to purchase additional coverage at their own expense.
5. Exxat and APPROVE: Students enrolled in the MSW program must enroll in Exxat and APPROVE. 
   1. Exxat is the clinical tracking and assessment program used by the School of Health Sciences. Cost – one-time payment of $150 per student enrolled in the MSW program (students are responsible for this cost).
   2. APPROVE is the program within Exxat that tracks all student health and safety records, provides documentation to prospective clinical sites, and provides notification of impending expiration dates. Cost – $35 - first year, after which it is $10 per year.