Arizona State University MSW Personal Statement Guide
Introduction
While schools evaluate MSW applications by taking all pieces of the application into account, the personal statement is generally considered one of the most important pieces of the MSW application process, and Arizona State University is no different. In their FAQs section, they note that the personal statement is used to evaluate your understanding of the social work profession and ASU program, as well as your writing abilities. Given this, it’s important to spend some time drafting and revising your statement to ensure you’re able to submit the strongest personal application.
ASU offers program streams for applicants with a BSW background, as well as a non-BSW stream. They also offer both in-person and online programs, though the personal statement directions are the same for all program applications.
If you’re considering applying for an MSW program with ASU and are feeling overwhelmed by the personal statement, that’s normal! Below, I’ll cover formatting guidelines from the school, provide tips for how to answer each prompt, and address common mistakes applicants make in their personal statements.
ASU Personal Statement Formatting Tips
While not all schools do this, ASU provides some general formatting tips, as well as a specific template to use when writing the personal statements. The general guidelines are to use size 12 font, double-space the document, and use 1-inch margins.
However, ASU also provides a specific template that they request applicants use when writing the personal statement. This template follows APA formatting quite closely, but best practice would be to follow the requests of the school when working on applications, so I would recommend just using their specific template!
The ASU MSW personal statement formatting template can be found in the FAQs section on their website (question 20 at time of writing)
Additionally, if you choose to include academic references in your personal statement, we recommend following APA formatting. This includes starting the references section on a fresh page, starting with a “References” heading, and using a hanging indent for the references section.
If you’re looking for more guidance on formatting your personal statement with APA, check out our APA personal statement formatting guide!
ASU Personal Statement Requirements
The Arizona State University personal statement should be between 4 and 6 pages, and answer the 5 prompts provided by the school. As mentioned above, the prompts for the standard (non-BSW entry) and advanced standing (BSW entry) are the same.
Prompt 1:
Describe your experience, background and/or relationships that have influenced your selection of social work as your professional career (family, education, employment, diversity experience, volunteer involvements, and personal characteristics, etc.). Describe challenge(s) or barriers that you have faced in your pursuit of higher education, what motivated you to persist, and how you overcame them.
Prompt 1 Tips:
Be specific about why social work: it’s common for people to want to enter the field to “help people”, but this reasoning is vague and doesn’t help you stand out from other applicants. Instead, giving clear, specific reasons for why you feel inspired to pursue the field of social work specifically can help set you apart.
Give examples from your experience: the reader will already have a copy of your resume, so you don’t need to repeat yourself in terms of the day-to-day tasks you completed in your professional experience. Instead, include an example or two that illustrate your skills, and explain why the example fits with your motivations or goals in the field.
Be honest about challenges you navigated (but explain how you overcame them too): ASU’s prompt is unique in that it invites applicants to explain any challenges they may have had to overcome, particularly when pursuing education. Being transparent about this within reason (i.e. only including necessary details), and also acknowledging how this will make you a better social worker helps to illustrate your humility as well as your ability to grow and learn from past experiences.
Prompt 2:
Describe your understanding of the responsibilities of the social work profession and specifically the role and responsibilities that you wish to be able to assume as a professional social worker. How have you incorporated social work values in your human service experiences and interactions with others?
Prompt 2 Tips:
Tie in your understanding of the field with your goals: while you could speak to the field generally to answer this prompt, incorporating your specific goals in the field when writing about your understanding of the field helps ensure this section feels cohesive with the rest of the statement. Depending on your experience professionally, it may also make sense to highlight how this has shaped your understanding of social work.
Review the NASW code of ethics before writing this section:the NASW code of ethics will help give you a clear idea of what the field of social work actually is, which is particularly helpful for applicants with a non-BSW background. I would even recommend mentioning the code of ethics and referencing it directly in this section (using APA formatting) to demonstrate to the reader that you have familiarity with the field and the code of ethics that guides social workers.
Again, include an example: like the section above, this is a great place to consider including a brief example from your professional experience where you demonstrated one or more values of social work. This doesn’t mean the example has to be social work related, but by clearly illustrating which values are present in an example, it shows not only a deeper understanding of the field, but also that you naturally gravitate towards the same values that the field holds.
Prompt 3:
Describe your reason for selecting ASU, your thoughts on the School of Social Work’s Mission Statement and how it will contribute to your short- and long-term career goals. The Mission Statement can be found on our website here: https://socialwork.asu.edu/content/mission-statement
Prompt 3 Tips:
Be specific about why you’ve chosen ASU: there are so many MSW programs across the country, so it’s important to clarify why you are applying to this specific school (and no, “it’s the closest one to me” isn’t a great answer here). Instead, I would use this section to show an alignment between what you aim to do in the field, and what the program offers. To do this, I would recommend doing some research on the focus of the program, including areas of research, courses offered, etc. and highlighting the parallels between these and your educational and professional goals.
Set clear goals for both short-term and long-term: even though at this stage you may not be totally sure what you want to do post-MSW, giving some clear goals for the future is important in the personal statement because it shows that you have a plan to be intentional with your MSW and future career. When discussing your goals, I suggest being as specific as possible to help set yourself apart from other applicants. For example, one applicant might write “I want to be a therapist”, which gives a general idea of what they want to do, but isn’t very unique. Instead, writing something like “I want to be a therapist with women who have experienced trauma, and work in a non-profit setting” goes a lot further to demonstrate clarity and intention with what you want to do in the future. It’s okay if you have a few ideas in mind at this stage, but choosing one to focus on for the personal statement helps create the strongest narrative.
Prompt 4:
The ASU School of Social Work is committed to social justice and the dignity and worth of all individuals. Social workers must maintain a commitment to equity by fighting to eradicate racism and all forms of injustice. What is your understanding of social justice and its role in social work, and how will you work to address the inadequacies of our social systems in combating racism?
Prompt 4 Tips:
Again, consider including an example here: it might feel like I’m repeating myself here (I am – this is because it’s that important), but this prompt is another great place to include an example from your personal or professional experience up to this point. By using a brief example, you can show the reader your commitment to social justice rather than just telling them, which can help strengthen your application and set you apart.
Tie in your past experience and/or future goals: to help ensure your statement is cohesive, relate your understanding of and commitment to social justice. This also helps keep your discussion in this section more specific and tailored, rather than general and surface-level. To do this, it might make sense to speak to macro-level barriers to social justice that you are aware of or expect to face in your area of interest, and write about how you would mitigate them as a social worker.
Prompt 5:
The School of Social Work MSW programs require the completion of professional Field Practicum. Students must complete 960 hours (two internships) in the Standard MSW program or 480 hours (one internship) in the Advanced Standing MSW program. Internship equates to approximately 16 hours per week in each semester. Because the internship is such a significant component of the program, please detail your plan for managing the rigorous demands of coursework and internship along with your other obligations.
Prompt 5 Tips:
Get clear and specific about how you will complete the internships: although it might seem tedious, clearly addressing how you will be able to free up the necessary time to complete practicum requirements is important to show that you have the time and resources to attend the practicum for 16 hours a week. If you have spoken to your workplace about this or made specific arrangements, I would mention that here to show the admissions committee that you are thinking ahead about what this will look like for you as an MSW student.
Mention your other obligations: speaking specifically (but briefly) to other obligations you will be balancing while in the MSW program is important here, because ASU wants to make sure that successful applicants will be able to balance program requirements with other obligations, and therefore be able to complete the program. I’d suggest being up front about other commitments that you have, because this shows that you have thought through how you will navigate this in the program. For example, mentioning any family responsibilities, professional requirements, or other commitments shows that you have a clear plan for how to successfully complete everything.
Common Mistakes to Avoid for the ASU Personal Statement
Mistake #1: Re-using the same statement for multiple schools
What to do instead: While it can be tempting to write one statement and submit it with your MSW application to multiple schools, I recommend writing a fresh statement for each application you’re submitting. Although you will most likely be able to use a lot of the same ideas and examples across multiple statements, writing from scratch each time ensures that you are fully answering each unique prompt from the school and tailoring your answers accordingly. This is especially important for the ASU MSW personal statement because they clearly state on their website that if applicants do not answer each of the required prompts, their application will be denied.
Mistake #2: Not using examples in your personal statement
What to do instead: Although the prompts do not explicitly ask for applicants to use examples when responding, we recommend including at least an example or two throughout the statement (prompt 1 would be a great place to do this!) Including examples, particularly from your professional experience, not only allows you to go a step further in highlighting your skills and relevant experience but also helps to demonstrate your critical thinking and problem-solving skills to a stronger degree. Additionally, using examples can help avoid making the personal statement feel too “resume-y” and enable you to expand further on the points you may have included in your resume.
Mistake #3: Being too vague about your understanding of the field and your goals
What to do instead: Since this is something the school is specifically asking for in the prompts, it’s super important to ensure that it’s clear to the reader that you have a strong understanding of what social work is, and relatedly, why you are pursuing a degree in social work specifically (rather than another similar profession). This is important for applicants both with a BSW and a non-BSW degree, though for BSW applicants, the admissions committee may expect a stronger explanation of your understanding of the field. In either case, one way I suggest demonstrating this is through referring to the NASW code of ethics. You could also do this by including an example, as suggested above.
Not sure where to start with the NASW code of ethics? We have an entire post breaking it down and discussing how to include it in your MSW personal statement.
Next Steps
Navigating MSW applications and personal statements can be a tough process, especially when applying to multiple programs. If you’re not sure where to start, I recommend brainstorming your past experience (both social work and non-social work), motivations for pursuing your MSW, as well as your career goals once you have completed your MSW. Then, you can expand on this to begin developing the narrative of your MSW personal statement, for ASU, as well as other applications you may be working on.
Need more support? We are happy to help! Check out our free personal statement template to guide you through brainstorming and writing your rough draft.
Or, for more tailored guidance, we offer personalized statement editing to help you ensure you’re submitting the best version of your personal statement with your MSW application!
Applying to other MSW programs? Check out our other school guides here.
Note: MSW Helper is not affiliated with Arizona State University. All guidance in this post is based on publicly available program information and our experience supporting MSW and MSSW applicants. Always defer to the school’s official website for the most current application requirements.
