Faculty of Social Work Distance Delivery Program applicant admission requirements (2025-2026)

March 1, 2025

This information is available with, and constitutes part of, the application. It is assumed that all applicants have read and understood it prior to submitting the completed application.

Note that incomplete applications will not be processed. Please review the notes section in the next section for details on incomplete applications.

Programs offered

Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W)

A. Work Experience Requirements

Applicants to the Distance Delivery Bachelor of Social Work Degree program must meet all four of the following requirements to be considered eligible for admission into the program:

1. Residency outside of the city of Winnipeg at the time of application

Outside of the city of Winnipeg is defined as any location outside of the perimeter highway. This requirement must be satisfied by the date of application submission. (Note that the address listed in the application will be the address used to determine residency.)

2. A minimum of one year of work experience

A minimum of one year of work experience, equivalent to 1750 hours, within the last five years, (March 1, 2020 - March 1, 2025). Relevance and duration of work experience will be determined by the Admissions committee from the information provided in the work and or volunteer history statements. The 1750 hours of work/volunteer experience will be assessed and scored by the Admissions committee. Relevant experience, whether work/volunteer, is defined by the Faculty for the purposes of admission as:

“The involvement in programs and activities designed to enhance people’s development and well being. This includes the planning, organization, development and administration of programs for, and the provision of direct service to, people. The human service field includes but is not limited to, the following six areas: 1) personal social services, 2) health, 3) education, 4) housing, 5) income, and 6) justice and public safety.” ¹

All work experience will be assessed for Social Work relevance according to the process described below.

Tier I

Working in the capacity and having the responsibilities of a social worker including a range of professional functions assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation. Work experience assessed as Tier 1 will be scored at 100% of its duration.

Tier II

Working in a social service setting fulfilling a more limited range of responsibilities than Tier 1, including but not limited to; residential case worker, Child and Family Services support worker, case aide and research interviewer. Work experience assessed as Tier II will be scored at 50% of its duration.

Tier III

Working in a human service capacity as defined by relevant work experience that falls outside the definitions of Tier I and II.  Work experience assessed as Tier III will be scored at 25% of its duration.

In order for hours to be assessed, the applicant must describe in detail the roles and duties for each work/volunteer experience in the past five years. Point form answers are not accepted. Based on an in-depth description of your duties and work/volunteer experience, the selection committee will determine which Tier level your hours are allocated. This will determine the percentage of hours you receive towards the 1,750 total hours required.

Each work/volunteer experience must be described individually. The online application provides space to identify and describe each work/volunteer experience’s roles and duties within the last 5 years.

If there is no description or if it is less than 250 words, those work/volunteer experience hours will not be assessed and/or counted.

The online application will provide space to outline the number of weeks, hours per week and total hours for each role. Blank fields will be interpreted by the selection committee as zero (0) hours worked and this will make applicants ineligible for reconsideration. Hours outside of the five year period (March 1, 2019 - March 1, 2025) will not be considered.

Notes

One or more of following may result in an incomplete application and subsequent refusal:

Inaccurate calculations

Inaccurate number of weeks, and hours worked will NOT be recalculated by the Selection Committee. Inaccurate calculation/hours claimed will be interpreted as zero (0) and considered incomplete.

Incomplete descriptions of employment and volunteer history

Descriptions MUST be written in full paragraphs with complete sentences (minimum 250 words per description). Point form will not be accepted.

Providing supplementary information

The Selection Committee will not accept or review supplementary documents attached to your application (e.g. CV, resume, certificates, letters of recommendation, etc.).

Practicums and Field experience

Practicums and Field experience gained through an education or training program are not considered work or volunteer experience and will not be counted in the required hours for admission.

Exceptions for the five year period may be made for applicants who have been on leave or have had reduced hours from work during the above date range. Exceptions may include but are not exclusive to those who are away for; maternity/paternity and parental leaves, illness/disability/caregiving. Documentation will be required to substantiate absence over the past 5 years. The date range may be extended up to a maximum of 4 years. Students must contact an Academic Advisor from the BSW Distance Delivery program at ddsocial.work@umanitoba.ca for confirmation that they meet the exceptions criteria. Required documentation will be reviewed by the academic advisor. If deemed eligible the candidate will be authorized to submit hours of exception in the application. The deadline to submit requests for exceptions to the work experience is February 15, 2024. Please note, this does not guarantee acceptance into the program.

1. Adapted, with amendments from Barker, Robert L (1991). The Social Work Dictionary, 2nd Ed. Washington, D.C.: NASW Press.

B. Academic Requirements

3. Minimum Credit Hour and Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA) Requirement

Successful completion of a minimum of 30 credit hours of university level coursework by May 1 which are acceptable to the University of Manitoba with a minimum of 2.5 (C+) Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA) and no individual grade lower than a C. (See Section 4: Selection Process, A. Calculation of the Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA))

*Courses completed at a community/technical college which are deemed as “university level” by the University of Manitoba Admissions (Evaluations) Office, will be accepted and used for the admissions calculations and transfer credit thereafter. Any applicant without the 30 credit hours of acceptable university level courses at the 1000 level will be ineligible for admission.

4. Course Requirements

Applicants must now meet the following course requirements to be considered eligible for admission:

• Within the required 30 credit hours of university level coursework for admission, applicants must have successful completion of a minimum of 21 credit hours from the courses identified in the two tables below, with a minimum grade of ‘C’ in each course.
• All required courses must be at the 1000 level or higher.
• All successful applicants who are admitted to the BSW program will be required to complete any remaining required courses from these tables within their first 30 credit hours in the program.

Note for all future applicants: Effective for the Fall 2026 admission intake and beyond, all 30 credit hours from the course tables will be required by May 1 of the year of application to be eligible for admission.

Required core courses

*Strongly recommend taking courses from Psychology, Family Social Science and Sociology.

¹ Applicants who have completed PSYC 1200 (6) will only require 9 credit hours of non-Social Work electives.

² Students are encouraged to take courses designated by the Faculty of Arts as Social Science, Humanities, and Indigenous (SS/H/I) courses for their non-Social Work electives.

All successful applicants who are admitted to the BSW program will be required to complete any remaining required courses from these tables within their first 30 credit hours in the program.

External Applicants

The required courses WOMN (3 credit hours) and INDG (6 credit hours) must be transferable to the University of Manitoba if taken at an external institution. To assess whether or not your courses transfer to the required department (WOMN and INDG), please visit our online transfer credit database found here: Transfer Credit Resource. If you cannot find the courses in our transfer database, you will be requested to provide syllabi for assessment.

WOMN and INDG courses completed externally to the University of Manitoba will need to be within the 10-year limit and will be assessed by the appropriate department for equivalency. Courses completed prior to September 2015 cannot be used to meet the core course requirement. 

C. English Language Proficiency Requirements

All applicants whose primary language is not English and do not qualify for a waiver under the University of Manitoba’s English language proficiency regulations will be required to demonstrate proficiency in English through one of the options listed at the University of Manitoba Admissions web site.

Additional information regarding specific proficiency requirements, waiver information, and test options can be found on the English language proficiency requirements page.

• English language proficiency requirements

Results for most language tests, including TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo, expire two years from the test date. Test scores must be valid at the start of classes. Please confirm the validity of your test results.

D. Categories

1. Academic Achievement Category

Applicants to this category must meet all eligibility requirements (see Section 2: Eligibility Requirements, A. Work Experience Requirements, B. Academic Requirements) and will be selected based on the competitiveness of their AGPA (see Section 4: Selection Process, A. Calculation of the Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA)).

2. Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDID)

Applicants to this category must meet all eligibility requirements (see Section 2: Eligibility Requirements, A. Work Experience Requirements, B. Academic Requirements) and will be selected based on the competitiveness of their AGPA in each declared EDID priority group (see Section 4: Selection Process, A. Calculation of the Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA)).

This category is for applicants who are Canadian Citizens or Permanent Residents of Canada who are members of one or more of the following education equity priority groups listed below:

• Canadian Indigenous Peoples
• Racialized persons
• Refugees and/or Immigrants to Canada
• Persons with DisAbilities
• 2SLGBTQIA+ (Two-Spirited / Lesbian / Gay / Bisexual / Transgender / Queer / Intersex / Asexual +)
• Non-Indigenous University of Manitoba ACCESS Students

The purpose of this Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDID) Category is to achieve equality in professional education so that no person shall be denied educational opportunities or benefits reasons unrelated to ability. In the fulfillment of this goal, the aim is to correct the conditions of disadvantage in professional education experienced by Canadian Indigenous peoples, persons with disAbilities, immigrants and refugees to Canada, 2SLGBTQIA+, non-Indigenous ACCESS students and racialized persons. Giving effect to the principle of educational equity means more than treating persons in the same way; it also requires special measures and the accommodation of difference.

For the purpose of identification, the definitions for the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDID) priority groups are:

Canadian Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Peoples are all indigenous peoples of Canada including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.

Racialized Perons

Persons other than Canadian Indigenous Peoples who, because of their colour, are racialized persons in Canada.

Immigrants (Permanent Residents)

Immigrants are those who do not record Canadian Citizenship by birth, and whose native tongue is NOT English.

Refugees

A refugee is an individual who has left his/her country of residence because of persecution for belonging to a particular social, cultural, religious and/or national group, and/or for holding particular political beliefs, and has been accepted for residence in Canada.

Persons with DisAbilities

Persons with disAbilities are those who would consider themselves disadvantaged by reason of any physical, intellectual, mental, sensory, or learning impairment.

2SLGBTQIA+

2SLGBTQIA+ are persons who self-identify as two-spirited, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual +. While this definition is intended to be inclusive of sexual and gender variations, we recognize it is not meant to be exhaustive or excluding.

Non-Indigenous ACCESS Students

Persons who traditionally have not had the opportunity for university studies because of social, economic and cultural reasons, lack of formal education or residence in remote areas, and who are enrolled in the University of Manitoba ACCESS program.

A. Application Fees

Applications are not considered received until the application is submitted and the non-refundable application fee has been paid by the posted deadline.

All correspondence, including decision release information will be sent via email and posted to your application portal.

Please ensure your email account remains current and will accept emails from the University of Manitoba. Check your filters.

It is important to check your email and application portal regularly and specifically around the deadlines and important dates listed below.

B. Deadlines and Important Dates

Social Work Distance deadlines

C. Required Application Documentation

A complete listing of all previous or current attendance at university and college is required regardless of the number of courses completed or dates attended. If you register at any post-secondary institution after submitting your application, please notify the Admissions Office.

it is mandatory that ALL previous attendance at post-secondary institutions is declared on your application. Failure to disclose may result in denial of transfer of credit (if applicable) or acceptance and registration being withdrawn.

Students cannot be registered at more than one institution at a time. All newly admitted students must ensure that they have either withdrawn or completed their post-secondary studies prior to the start of September classes.

The following documents will be required to complete your application:

Please send all application documentation to the following address:

Admission for Social Work
University of Manitoba
424 UMSU University Centre
65 Chancellors Circle
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2

Electronic transcripts should be submitted to applicant.services@umanitoba.ca.

In order to be considered official, electronic transcripts must be sent directly from the email of the office responsible for issuing transcripts. Transcripts emailed or forwarded by the applicant are considered unofficial.

The University of Manitoba is a registered receiving organization with MyCreds^TM. Applicants from participating member universities and colleges can release their transcripts to the University of Manitoba through their MyCreds^TM portal. Applicants should select 'Share' and then 'Organization' instead of opting for 'email'.

Applications are not complete until all necessary documents are received. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that our office receives all required information.

Applicants must notify the Admissions Office immediately should they either enroll at a post-secondary institution not previously declared on their application or enroll in additional coursework not declared on the previously submitted final transcript provided for assessment. Applicants will be required to provide proof of registration.

D. Required Admission Documentation

All BSW applicants offered admission are required to:

• Sign a declaration regarding criminal convictions and whether they have ever been placed upon a child abuse registry as a perpetrator.
• Provide a completed Criminal Record (CR) check obtained through the local police service (may not be older than three months prior to the date of offer).
• Provide a completed Child Abuse Registry (CAR) or a Vulnerable Sector check (may not be older than three months prior to the date of offer).

A positive response on the CR check, the CAR or Vulnerable Sector check or the declaration regarding previous criminal convictions does not necessarily eliminate applicants; however it shall require that the applicant participate in a personal interview. The Faculty reserves the right, based on its findings, to declare an applicant ineligible for admission. Third party criminal record checks are not accepted; however, electronic copies submitted directly by your police detachment are accepted.

E. Transfer Credit Information

At the University of Manitoba, all prior course work from recognized post-secondary institutions will be considered as part of the application for admission process for our undergraduate degree and diploma programs.

Upon admission to the Bachelor of Social Work program, incoming students will only be allowed to apply courses from the University of Manitoba and any other post-secondary institution with a mark of ‘C’ or higher, with the exception of courses satisfying the Mathematics requirement to their degree plan.

Admitted students may be eligible to receive up to 48 credit hours (including required courses used in admission) transferred towards their degree, based on their previous undergraduate university-level studies.

Those presenting a recognized bachelor’s degree will have the Mathematics and Written English requirements waived. Proof of graduation is required. Those who have not completed a recognized bachelor’s degree will have their Written English and Mathematics course requirements assessed separately.

Students presenting studies at the diploma level (including social service worker programs) must have a minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework (deemed university level, transferrable to the University of Manitoba, and meeting the course requirements outlined in Section 2: Eligibility Requirements, Academic Requirements) to apply to the BSW program. Diploma coursework will be assessed on a course-by-course basis for transferability.

Applicants presenting only diploma level coursework may require additional university coursework to meet the required 30 credit hours.

Specific social work courses must be from CASWE-ACFTS accredited institutions to be considered transferable to the University of Manitoba. Such courses are subject to a 9-year limit for transferability. A maximum of 60 credit hours of course transfers from external institutions, including admission and elective credit, may be used towards the degree.

• Visit the Canadian Association for Social Work Education website

Students may be asked to provide comprehensive and accurate course outlines or syllabi, as issued by their institution of study, for all courses lacking a current evaluation for the Mathematics and Written English requirements. Course outlines or syllabi should include information on course objectives, outline of the units studied, textbook(s) used, assignments, and accompanying laboratory information, if applicable, to assist in the transfer credit assessment process.

An online transfer credit resource is available for information on current course evaluations receiving credit.

Note

Decisions on considerations of equivalency may not be finalized until after fall courses have started. While we appreciate that some institutions do not have course information readily available, many students have been able to provide the information requested by contacting the individual departments or instructors at their prior institutions. Students that are unable to provide the requested course information may render themselves ineligible for programs with specific course requirements. Only successful applicants will be notified of transfer credit results. Additional information related to transfer credit is available on the Admissions website.

Challenge for Credit

The Faculty of Social Work accommodates those students who are qualified and who can demonstrate an acceptable level of knowledge and skill, by allowing them to challenge for certain social work courses. Please refer to the BSW Student Handbook for more information.

Concurrent Course Registration

Students who are enrolled at other university/college(s) when they are admitted to the BSW program must complete all courses before the start of fall classes or withdraw from their program. As per institution policy, students cannot be concurrently registered at two institutions unless they have requested a letter of permission. Please see the Academic Calendar for guidelines regarding letters of permission.

Explore the Academic Calendar

A. Calculation of the Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA)

The Adjusted Grade Point Average (AGPA) is calculated to take into account the student’s most recent academic work and to allow for some elimination of the lowest grades within this work.

Only the student’s most recent 60 credit hours of university work, which are acceptable to the University of Manitoba, will be used in calculation of the AGPA.

If an applicant has completed a total of 36—60 credit hours of university work, the lowest marks will be dropped from the calculation of the AGPA in accordance with the above table. For instance, if an applicant has completed 36 to 59 credit hours, six (6) credit hours of the lowest grades will be dropped in calculation of the AGPA. If an applicant has completed more than 60 credit hours of university work, the AGPA will be calculated over the most recently completed 60 credit hours of university work, minus twelve (12) hours of the lowest grades. If it is not possible to clearly identify the most recently completed 60 credit hours of work, the term grade point average containing the most recent of the 60 credit hours will be used as a representative grade for the remaining hours.

In the calculation of the AGPA, all courses which have been assigned a final grade are considered “completed” university work, including failed courses and repeated courses. The exceptions to this are courses graded “Pass/Fail” or “Satisfactory”, and courses that have been assessed and awarded as university credit from either the Advanced Placement (AP) program, or the International Baccalaureate (IB) program; these are excluded from both the AGPA and from the most recent 60 credit hour count. Courses completed on a full or part time basis, in all undergraduate and graduate programs, and in Regular and Summer session (except the work taken after April 1 in the year of application) will be included in the AGPA calculation.

Should a grade be retained on your record yet excluded from your institutional GPA calculation, that grade will be used to meet admission requirements and the GPA calculation for your application to the University of Manitoba.

Note

AP or IB courses that have been awarded as university credit will be considered for transfer of credit if admitted to the Faculty. However, AP and IB courses cannot be used as part of the minimum 30 credit hour eligibility requirement.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to inform the Admission Office in writing of any deferred exams or grade changes.

All final grades, including grade changes must be submitted to the Admissions Office by the document deadline in order for them to be included in the final selection process. Grade changes will not be accepted after the documentation deadline date. If a grade is not available by the documentation deadline date, an ‘F’ grade will be used in the final admission determination and calculation. Courses completed at a community/technical college and deemed as transferable university level by the University of Manitoba Admissions (Evaluations) Office, will be counted in the AGPA (see Section 2: Eligibility Requirements).

B. Selection

Applicants who are determined as meeting the eligibility criteria (see Section 2: Eligibility Requirements) are compiled and applicants are selected through two categories.*

1. Academic Achievement Category

60% (approximately 45) of all available positions will be awarded on the basis of highest AGPA.

2. Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDID)

40% (approximately 30) of all available positions will be awarded on the basis of identification with an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDID) category(ies) and highest AGPA within the EDID categories. Applicants may identify themselves with as many categories as are applicable to them: Canadian Indigenous Peoples, Non-Indigenous ACCESS students, Racialized Persons, Immigrants and/or Refugees, 2SLGBTQIA+, and Persons with DisAbilities.

Spaces in the EDID priority group category will be proportionately allocated based on the number of eligible applicants in each EDID priority group. There will be a minimum of one space allocated to each EDID priority group as long as there is at least one eligible applicant.

Spaces for applicants in each EDID priority group will be awarded based on the highest AGPA.

If there are unfilled EDID spaces, these will be filled based on the highest AGPA from the remaining applicants in the Academic Achievement Category.

* Within the above categories, 20% of all available positions will be awarded based on residence within Manitoba.

All applicants applying under the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization category must identify themselves by completing the appropriate section on the Distance Delivery Faculty of Social Work application.

C. Tie Breaking Procedures for Offers

In the event of a tie, the following procedure will be used:

1. Increase the number of significant figures used in the calculation.
2. Where a tie still exists, the application that was received first will be used to break the tie.  All completed applications are time stamped upon submission; in the case of a paper application, these applications will be time stamped after they have been entered into the system by a University of Manitoba Admissions Office staff member.

D. Notification of Decision

Decisions will be posted to the applicant’s portal. Applicants must log into their application portal to view the decision and to accept or decline their offer. If the offer is not accepted and the subsequent deposit paid by the deadline date indicated in the letter, the offer will lapse. Lapsed offers will be considered a declined response. It is imperative that email accounts remain current and that emails and application portals are regularly checked.

Admissions decisions will be posted to the application portal by late June 2024. In order to accept an offer of admission a non-refundable deposit of $100.00 will be required. The deposit will be applied to tuition fees at the time of registration.

Individuals who wish to have their applications reconsidered should submit their request to the Chair of the Selection Committee, along with documented justification for the request. Past experience has shown that most inquiries can be satisfied at this level without further reference. Persons wishing reconsideration of the decision of the Selection Committee shall direct their request to the Chair within ten (10) business days of the posted decision date. All appeals must come directly from the applicant and not a third party (e.g. parent, sibling, friend, agent, etc.).

Should the student wish to pursue the reconsideration decision further, such an appeal will be made in accordance with the Senate Committee on Appeals Procedures.

• Review the Senate Committee on Appeals policy and procedures

Applicants are advised that appeals of reconsideration decisions by the Senate Appeal Committee focus on questions of correct adherence to published policies and procedures by the Committee of Selection, and not on subjective issues or the relative merits of the application.

The Faculty of Social Work and Admissions Office are able to assist applicants who seek counselling regarding admission to the Faculty of Social Work Distance Delivery BSW degree program. However, it is policy not to instruct applicants as to a specific course of action they should follow, but rather to provide the information needed for applicants to make their own choice with respect to the alternatives available. The following points require special attention:

1. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their plans with all who can usefully advise them, but they should be aware that second and third hand information about admission policies may not be accurate.
2. No official at the university can guarantee the admission of any applicant. Admission is determined by the Committee on the basis of an annual competition.
3. All applicants are advised to supplement any personal enquiries with a written request so that an official written response can be made. It is only these written responses which will be considered as evidence of any advice given (see Section 8: Contact Information).

The University of Manitoba is committed to providing all students equal access to learning opportunities. If you are a student with a diagnosed disability (permanent, chronic, or temporary) who may require academic accommodations, please contact Student Accessibility Services at 204-474-7423 or by email at student_accessibility@umanitoba.ca to learn more about the confidential supports that are available.

The following other contacts may also be useful.

The Distance Delivery Bachelor of Social Work Degree program is intended to target individuals who are employed in the social services and living outside of the City of Winnipeg, but who may not have had the opportunity to pursue professional social work education. The BSW degree intends to provide both a liberal arts and professional social work education. It provides students with knowledge and skills necessary for professional preparation for generalist practice in a variety of social work fields. The program is accredited by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE-ACFTS), and graduates are eligible for acceptance into schools of graduate studies.

The BSW degree is accepted as a professional degree by the Manitoba College of Social Workers and by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE-ACFTS), and holders of the degree are eligible for membership to the provincial organizations. The Faculty of Social Work is a charter member of the CASWE-ACFTS, which is also recognized by the Council on Social Work Education, in the U.S.A.

The program consists of a total of 123 credit hours; 75 of required social work credits and 48 academic electives.  The Faculty of Social Work offers a BSW program at three locations and through Distance Delivery. The three locations are: the Fort Garry campus, the Inner City campus, the Northern campus, located in Thompson, Manitoba, and through Distance Delivery.

The Distance Delivery Bachelor of Social Work Degree program is available for people living outside of the city of Winnipeg.  Access to high speed internet is required.  Delivery methods for the online component of the Distance Delivery Social Work Program include online study and web conferenced group based study.  Course exams are scheduled and arranged either online or, in or near the student's community.

Note

Under The Workers Compensation Act (Manitoba), students of the University of Manitoba who are engaged in a field practicum as a required part of their program are generally covered for injuries sustained in the course of and arising out of the practicum in accordance with and subject to the provisions of The Workers Compensation Act. The Workers Compensation Board will not make advance rulings in these types of cases.

Therefore, students who are not Manitoba residents and are trying to arrange a practicum outside Manitoba may experience difficulties or be denied a placement because the University may not be able to provide satisfactory workers compensation coverage in their province. Alternative arrangements can sometimes be made to accommodate such practicums but will have to be done on a case by case basis. Students are encouraged to contact the Field Education Coordinator at the earliest opportunity to determine if any such alternative arrangements are possible.

Students Residing in Quebec obtaining a BSW outside the province of Quebec

Students residing in the province of Quebec need to be aware that obtaining a BSW Degree from another province (such as the University of Manitoba) will have implications for becoming a member of Ordre des Travailleurs Sociaux et des Thérapeutes Conjugaux et Familiaux du Québec.

Ordre des Travailleurs Sociaux et des Thérapeutes Conjugaux et Familiaux du Québec

If a student wishes to practice in Quebec with a BSW degree from another province, two options will be available. Either to go through the equivalency process, or to become a member of the professional order of the province of study.

• Equivalency process
• Learn more about becoming a member of the professional order of the province of study