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Is Non-Binding Early Admission at the SSW the same as it is at undergraduate schools? |
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No. Non-Binding Early Admission was developed at the SSW to help give students for whom the geopgraphy of their field placement or financial aid are deciding factors in their application to Smith. The goal of the program is to provide students with allof the information they need to make an informed decision. Those who apply by Jan. 5 will receive an admission decision by the first week in February. Those accepted will also receive notification about the geographic location of their field placement and a preliminary financial aid award letter (funds from Smith only, not external resources). |
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Are there any reasons why I shouldn't apply Non-Binding Early Admission? |
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Yes. If Smith is your first choice, by all means, apply for Non-Binding Early Admission. If, however, Smith is one of several schools you are considering, it is not to your advantage to apply during Non-Binding Early Admission. Because of our calendar, Non-Binding Early Admission candidates will receive their admission decision well before they hear decisions from other Schools for Social Work. Once you receive our acceptance, you will be asked to accept or decline our offer within 2 weeks; you will not have heard from most other schools during this time period. |
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Is Non-Binding Early Admission binding? |
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No. |
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If I don't go Non-Binding Early Admission, do I jeopardize my financial aid? |
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Not at all. There is no financial advantage or disadvantage to applying Non-Binding Early Admission; all financial aid applicants are reviewed based on their need. |
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If I get accepted Non-Binding Early Admission, can I deger my decision to the Regular Decision deadline? |
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No, you must accept or decline your offer of admission within 2 weeks. |
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Are there limited slots in Non-Binding Early Admission? |
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Yes, a limited number of slots are reserved for Early Admission. You could receive one of three decisions through Non-Binding Early Admission: accept, decline, or defer to regular decision. In the later, your application is moved to the regular decision pool and re-reviewed after the final application deadline. |
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Is the Research Project (Thesis) a lot of work? |
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Yes! The Thesis is an independent or agency-connected research project that is both an exercise in research learning and a contribution to social work knowledge. It is begun in the required research courses and completed in the final placement year. Students often choose to examine unstudied or understudied topics that are at the cutting edge of social work and social services knowledge. Recent projects on racial and ethnic diversity, a wide range of women's issues, spirituality, trauma, practice innovations, culture-specific disorders and social work/social sciences theories have made invisible issues public and added to our professional knowledge.
Each student has a Research Advisor who is assigned to guide and support work on the Thesis exclusively.
Abstracts of all Smith Master's Thesis projects are published in the November issue of teh Smith College Studies in Social Work, a juried professional journal. In turn they are listed in paper and CD-ROM based databases of social work knowledge and are made known to other researchers. Several are published. The Smith Studies is available in most social work libraries and at many agencies.
Yes, the Thesis is a lot of work, but it allows you to learn about a topic of your choosing of relevance to social work. Our alumni rank it very high among the special aspects of studies at Smith.
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What are some examples of Smith Thesis projects? |
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Click here for a full listing of theses for the past few years. The winners and nominees of the Eleanor Clark Thesis Prize, awarded annually in memoriam to pioneer medical social worker Eleanor Clark, are noted.
Theses sinces the 1930s are located in the Neilson Library at Smith College.
Some theses are published in full in juried social work journals as well.
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What are the Master's Thesis deadlines? |
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Annually, the proposal and human subjects review deadline is the end of October, the literature review chapter deadline is the end of January, and the deadline for the bulk of the Thesis is about May 10. The final deadline for the completed Thesis is 12:00 NOON on the Friday of the fourth week of our summer session. Exact dates are published annually in the Thesis Guidelines distributed to all students doing the thesis.
The Thesis Breakfast celebration is held Tuesday of the fifth week; graduation follows in mid-August.
For post-residency students the deadline for submission for a December degree is roughly December 10th; for an August degree the deadline is roughly May 10. Specific dates are published annually in the Thesis Guidelines.
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How can I get information about Human Subjects Review and Committee meeting dates? |
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Each year's HSR User's Guide is available online via Moodle under Research Course 997. (All second and third year students are enrolled in this course.) Forms are also available on Moodle.
Laurie Wyman is the Administrative Assistant for the HSR Committee. You may contact Ms. Wyman at lwman@smith.edu.
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How do I get support with instrument development, planning a code book and with statistics? |
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The full Research Guidelines and many additional thesis resources are available online via Moodle under Research Course 997. (All second and third year students are enrolled in this course.)
Smith College SSW students who are working on the Master's Thesis (and, in some instances, on the Doctoral Dissertation) can get consultation on all these issues from Marjorie Postal, staff research consultant.
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How are the theses disseminated ? |
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To share the knowledge gained in your thesis work, students must disseminate their thesis work. This is usually a time to see how much you have learned and to gain recognition for your work. Students may elect to present their work a) in an on-campus professional colloquium, b) in the on-campus poster session, c) to a class which has relevant content (with permission of the instructor), d) discuss the work with a second reader selected from faculty and other appropriate professionals, e) do presentation to agency staff or at a professional social work conference. When the dissemination occurs away from Smith, a confirmation of dissemination must be sent to the Thesis Coordinator. This is a letter on agency letterhead signed by the moderator (who must hold an M.S.W. or Ph.D. in social work or a closely related field), your supervisor or agency directory; a copy of the conference schedule where you presented will also be acceptable. |
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What can social workers do? |
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Social work has been listed as one of the occupations with the largest projected job growth in the country - at least through 2006 (U.S. News and World Reports). Graduates from the School for Social Work take on varying roles in different settings including, but certainly not limited to: schools, private practice with children, adults or families, hospitals, street work with gangs, oncology units, prisons, campus mental health offices, mental health agencies, adoption agencies, battered women's shelters, eating disorders programs, juvenile detention support programs, and much more. |
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Do you have a Career Placement Office? |
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We have an excellent field placement program which offers a wide variety of services dedicated to helping students find a job after graduation. Experienced staff members provide resume and cover letter review, on-campus workshops during the summer academic sessions, and individual career counseling both on and off campus. The Office also houses individual reference files, a career resource library, and the Smith College Career Advisory Service, a computerized network of 15,000 college and social work alumni who have volunteered to advise other Smith students and alumni about their work and post-Smith studies. Services are free to students and to graduates for 2 years following graduation. |
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What is the average starting salary of your graduates? |
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In 2006, the average starting salary for graduates who responded to our inquiry was $38,729. The vast majority was able to secure a job in 3 months or less. |
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Where can I find information about social work licensing in my state? |
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For information on licensing by state, please visit: http://www.aswborg/lic_req.shtml. |
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