BSW FAQs

No, Carleton’s Bachelor of Social Work would be considered an in-person program. A majority of the core SOWK program requirements are in-person courses that require compulsory attendance. However, BSW students are welcome to complete any of their elective requirements online.

Yes, but please be aware that when you are a part-time student you will need to arrange your social work course sequencing according to specific requirements that are outlined in the Undergraduate Calendar with completing prerequisite courses, course availability and offerings and practicum terms.

No, the BSW admission criteria are the same whether you plan on attending full-time or part-time. A student’s registration (how many courses one takes in a term) would dictate if they are considered part-time or full-time studies.

No, the BSW program would only be for a Fall term admission.

No. The application deadlines indicated on the School and Admission’s website for BSW are rigid to ensure fairness for all. Late applications are not accepted by the School of Social Work. It is the responsibility of the applicant to be aware of the application deadline and we ask all applicants please ensure to respect these deadlines.

No, we do not offer pre-submission review of Supplementary Applications.

Think social work, human work, social service, change work, community engagement, volunteer work. The closer your experiences are to the broad field of social work, the better. We ask all applicants to use their own judgement for this section of the application.

This will depend on the type of diploma or degree, but in general, college graduates are admitted into the second-year entry of the BSW program, it will take those students approximately 3 years to complete the degree (attending full-time). While those with previous Undergraduate degrees are usually admitted into third-year entry, it will take those students approximately 2 years to complete the degree (attending full-time).

Please refer to Transfer Credit Information on Carleton’s Admissions website.

We aren’t able to guarantee year of admission in advance as full transfer credit evaluations are only completed once an applicant has received an offer of admission. If admitted to the program, applicants receive a full transfer credit evaluation at that time to determine their year of entry. While admissions attempts to grant as much transfer credit as possible, transfer credit will vary depending on the availability of information about your completed courses (e.g. course outlines), the existence of equivalents at Carleton, and other factors.

Your best source of information is Transfer Credit Information on Carleton’s Admissions website.

Each year, far more people apply for admission to the School of Social Work than we can accommodate. All of our programs have limited enrollment, making admission to the BSW quite competitive.

No. Unfortunately, each year there are several qualified applicants who will not be offered admission to our program since we have limited spaces. We accept applications to the first, second, or third year of the program and encourage those who remain interested to consider re-applying in the future.

There is no appeal process at the School of Social Work. But rest assured, all applications are given full consideration by the program’s Admissions Committee. They thoroughly review and discuss each one before their final and irrevocable decisions are made.

As for suggesting improvements, the BSW Admissions Committee is not able to do this. Instead, the members of the committee recommend that unsuccessful applicants compare their applications with the Evaluation Criteria listed on the BSW Admissions webpage and reflect on where there might be room for improvement before applying again in the future.

Carleton students in another program outside of Social Work or who are registered as Special Students can take SOWK 1001, SOWK 1002, SOWK 2301, SOWK 3001 and SOWK 3002, subject to availability. Once you have Special Student status or if you are already in an alternative degree program then please submit a Course Registration Override Request in Carleton Central if you receive a registration error when attempting to register for one of these courses.

Occasionally, spaces are available in SOWK 3206 or 3207 (these courses would count as Free Electives in the BSW), but SOWK 1001 & 1002 are the recommended prerequisites. With the exception of courses required by a student’s minor, all other BSW courses are restricted to Social Work students.

The best point of contact for information about cost of tuition and fees would be the Student Accounts Office. Their office has a helpful estimator device for this. Please see the following link: http://carleton.ca/studentaccounts/