Application Information & Proceedures

Application Procedures

How you apply to the PhD and MSW-PhD programs depends on whether you have ever been enrolled as a graduate student at OSU.

1. If you have never been a graduate student at OSU, you need to apply to both OSU and the College of Social Work PhD program.
2. If you have been a graduate student at OSU, but did not earn an MSW, you need to apply to the College of Social Work PhD Program and submit a request for Transfer of Graduate Program to the Graduate School.
3. If you have earned an MSW from OSU within the last six years, send PhD application form, references, personal statement, and writing sample to the College of Social Work PhD Program. We will request the necessary transcripts from your MSW file. If it has been longer than six years, please also submit transcripts.
4. All applicants should submit to OSU or confirm that OSU has current (no older than 5 years) GRE scores.

New OSU Graduate Student Applicants
For information on or to apply to The Ohio State University Graduate School, please visit the Graduate Admissions website. The site will provide you with application requirements and instructions. Applications to OSU must be completed on-line and you should be prepared to pay the application fee when you submit your application.
http://www.gradapply.osu.edu/

Application Documents to submit to the PhD Program Office
All applicants should submit the following materials to the PhD Program Office

• College of Social Work PhD/MSW-PhD application form
• Three OSU reference forms and Letters of Recommendation
  You may download these forms or have recommenders complete them on-line.
• Background and Professional Goals Statement (5 double-spaced pages)
• Resume (one to two pages)
• Writing Sample
• One official transcript from each institution attended, other than OSU
• Graduate Associateship Application form (required only of applicants seeking funding)

Application Documents to submit to Graduate Admissions or the Graduate School

More Details

Letters of Recommendation

All applicants must have three letters of recommendation sent directly to the College of Social Work or submitted on-line. Persons providing references should include graduate or undergraduate faculty members who can address the applicant's suitability for a research career.  In addition to sending a letter of recommendation on the recommender's office letterhead stationery, recommenders must complete a reference form provided by the Ohio State University Admissions Office. New OSU graduate student applicants may ask references to submit the recommendation on-line. Recommendation forms may also be downloaded from the Admissions website. Applicants are responsible for obtaining references.

Background and Professional Goals Statement

The Background and Professional Goals Statement is the document that ties your application together and provides the admissions committee with insight as to why you would like to pursue the PhD or MSW-PhD and what your qualifications are. It is given considerable weight and should be prepared with great care. The document should be approximately five double-spaced typewritten pages.

The Background and Goals Statement should include the following:

1. Background (undergraduate and graduate education, employment, and professional activities)
2. Specific interests in social work and/or other disciplines
3. Research experience, including thesis and other published and unpublished writings
4. Research interests and the contributions your research will make to social work
5. Reasons for pursuing a PhD or MSW-PhD in Social Work and how the degree(s) fit(s) into your career goals

Writing Sample

The writing sample should be written solely by you, the applicant, demonstrate your ability to write and think analytically, and reflect the highest level of research that you have conducted to date.

Transcripts

New OSU Graduate Student Applicants should send one official transcript of each institution attended to the Admissions Office and one to the PhD Program Office (total = 2 official transcripts of each institution attended). See the Admissions website for more details: http://www.gradapply.osu.edu/.

Previous OSU Graduate Students need not send OSU transcripts, but should send to the PhD Program Office one official transcript for all other institutions attended since attending OSU. If it has been longer than 6 years since attending OSU or earning your degree, please send a transcript from each institution attended.

GRE

The GRE is required of all PhD and MSW-PhD applicants. MSW-PhD applicants not holding a master's degree need a combined verbal and quantitative score of 1100 (old test) and writing score of 3.5 or better. Although, the PhD Program has not set minimum score requirements for other applicants, higher scores strengthen your application.

We strongly encourage applicants preparing to take the GRE to familiarize themselves with the test and dedicate some regular study time for the exam prior to taking it.

Applicants can request that ETS send GRE scores for exams taken previously. Typically scores are good for 4-5 years. On its website, GRE will indicate a cut-off date for previous exams. If your exam scores are older than this, even if recorded in OSU’s student data, you are required to take the exam again in order to complete your application.

For information on the GRE, other tests, and official GRE study materials, please see:  http://www.ets.org/. Where you can find information concerning score interpretation.

GRE codes

• 1592 = OSU Institution code
• 5001 = Social Work Field code

Please see the Admissions website for more details on admission requirements: http://www.gradapply.osu.edu/

Please see the Graduate School website for more details on fellowship requirements:  http://gradsch.osu.edu/

International Applicants

International applicants must meet financial and English requirements for admission. See the Admissions website for information on these requirements.

University requirements for English proficiency have typically been 550 (TOEFL paper test), 213 (TOEFL computer test), 79 (TOEFL internet test), 82 (MELAB), or 7 (IELTS). These tests should have been taken within the last two years.

Admitted international students must attend an international student orientation program offered by the Office of International Affairs – International Students prior to being permitted to register for classes. English composition placement tests are part of this orientation. Please be sure to see the OSU ESL Programs website for information on required written and spoken English language testing (composition course placement and requirements for teaching assistants).

• Admissions: http://admissions.osu.edu/grad/index.asp
• Office of International Affairs:  http://oia.osu.edu/
• ESL Programs: http://www.esl.ohio-state.edu/

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