How To Complete Your University of Denver Career Goals Statement

If you are applying to the University of Denver's Master of Social Work (MSW) program, one of the most important parts of your application is the Career Goals Statement.

The Graduate School of Social Work notes that your rationale for entering the profession, self-awareness, critical thinking, and writing skills are all important factors considered during the admissions process. Unlike a resume, which highlights what you have done, the Career Goals Statement helps the admissions committee understand why you want to become a social worker, how your experiences have shaped you, and how you think about professional values and ethics.

The statement consists of two required essay prompts. Together, your responses should be no more than 1500 words and typically average four to six double-spaced pages.

Let's break down each prompt and discuss what the admissions committee is looking for.

MSW Helper is not affiliated with the University of Denver, and this is not official admissions advice.

Essay Prompt 1: Career Goals and Personal Reflection

Part 1: Rationale for Pursuing an MSW

Prompt:

Identify the significant factors that influenced your decision to pursue an MSW. Discuss how your past experiences, career goals, educational journey, and personal values shape your intention to use the MSW in the future.

When answering this prompt, many applicants make the mistake of just listing their experiences. The admissions committee will have your resume, so it is important to showcase your critical thinking skills by tying together your experiences with your motivation. 

Think about the experiences that most led you toward social work. These may include:

• Employment experiences

• Volunteer work

• Community involvement

• Personal experiences that shaped your worldview

• Academic experiences

• Advocacy or leadership roles

You may have multiple experiences where you gained insights that led you to social work, but not everything needs to be included in the prompt response. It is always best to have fewer examples that are more thoroughly described, than to try and fit in every experience/example. It won’t be possible to answer all components of the prompt in the word limit you have if you try and include every example (and they will have your resume), so think about the one(s) that can help you best answer the question. You also want to ensure that you aren’t spending all of the space you have just describing the experience. Only 1-2 sentences is needed to provide context, and the rest of the space should be spent explicitly discussing how the experience motivated you to pursue social work, not just that it did. 

This prompt is also asking how your experiences, values, and goals inform how you plan to use your MSW degree in the future. Perhaps in one of your employment experiences you observed gaps in care and systemic barriers that need to be addressed, and you aim to use your MSW degree to address these barriers and fill the gap. You can use this part of the prompt to discuss this further and tie together your experiences, insights, and goals. Be sure you are specific about your goals as this will help you to stand out as an applicant. 

Part 2: Personal and Professional Attributes

Prompt:
Describe how your personal, professional, and/or academic experiences have shaped your perspective on social work issues. Reflect on how these experiences have influenced your ability to maintain professional judgment and performance, particularly during challenging times.

With this prompt, the admissions committee is looking for evidence that you can reflect critically on your experiences and understand how they influence your perspectives. What insights have you gained from your experiences that have informed how you view injustice, systemic barriers, gaps in service, etc.? What are those views that you have formed and how were they formed? Similar to the last prompt, rather than just listing your experiences, it is important that you think critically about what it was about these experiences that shaped the way you view social work issues. 

For the part of the prompt asking how these experiences have influenced your professional approach, rather than just describing difficult situations, focus on how you were influenced and what you learned from these experiences that inform how you approach your work. 

For example, you might discuss experiences such as working with clients who faced barriers to housing, healthcare, mental health services, income support, disability services, or culturally appropriate care. You can reflect on how these experiences helped you understand that many social work issues are shaped not only by individual circumstances, but also by broader systemic factors such as poverty, discrimination, colonialism, stigma, service gaps, waitlists, and restrictive eligibility criteria.

You could also discuss challenging moments in a helping role, such as supporting someone in crisis, navigating concerns about safety, recognizing the limits of your role, receiving difficult feedback, or learning from a mistake. The focus should not only be on what happened, but on what you learned from the experience and how it shaped your professional judgment. For example, you may have learned the importance of consultation, supervision, documentation, boundaries, cultural humility, advocacy, or slowing down before making assumptions.

Essay Prompt 2: Social Work Values, Ethics, and Personal Reflection

Before writing this prompt, take the time to thoroughly read the Social Work Code of Ethics. The admissions committee specifically expects applicants to reference it in their responses.

Part 1: Ethical and Value-Based Conflicts

Prompt:

Identify potential value-based or ethical conflicts you might experience between your personal values and the professional values outlined in the NASW Code of Ethics.

One of the biggest mistakes applicants make here is claiming that they do not anticipate any conflicts. Even if your values heavily align with the social work profession, the reality is that social workers regularly encounter situations where personal beliefs, assumptions, experiences, or values may differ from those of clients, colleagues, or organizations.

Potential areas of conflict could include:

• Religious or spiritual differences

• Political beliefs

• Personal beliefs about family structures

• Views related to substance use

• Working with clients whose values differ from your own

For example, you may hold strong personal beliefs about what constitutes effective parenting based on your own upbringing or experiences. However, you may encounter parents whose parenting practices differ from your own values, but do not constitute abuse or neglect. This could create a conflict between personal judgments and the social work principles of dignity, respect, and cultural humility. 

The focus should not be on proving that you hold the "correct" values. Instead, demonstrate that you understand the importance of recognizing your own biases and managing them professionally. As mentioned, be sure that you are tying this back to the professional values of social work, as highlighted in the code of ethics. Provide specific examples and explicitly discuss how your values may conflict, rather than just listing your values.  

Part 2: Reconciliation and Approach

Prompt:

Explain how you would address or reconcile these conflicts. Discuss strategies you might use to navigate ethical dilemmas and maintain alignment with the social work profession's core values.

For this prompt, the admissions committee wants to know what you would do when a conflict arises, as this helps show how aligned you are with social work approaches and ethics. 

Examples you could include are: 

• Self-reflection

• Consultation with supervisors

• Seeking supervision

• Reviewing the Code of Ethics

• Continuing education

• Cultural humility

• Professional boundaries

• Commitment to client self-determination

For example, if a social worker's personal values differ from those of a client, they might first engage in self-reflection to identify the source of the discomfort and consider whether any personal biases are influencing their perspective. They could then seek supervision or consultation, review relevant ethical standards, and focus on the client's goals and right to self-determination. Through this process, the social worker can ensure that decisions remain guided by professional ethics rather than personal beliefs.

The strongest responses demonstrate an understanding that ethical social work practice requires ongoing self-awareness, critical reflection, and accountability. Rather than avoiding difficult situations, social workers are expected to recognize potential conflicts, seek appropriate support and guidance, and remain committed to promoting client well-being, dignity, respect, social justice, and ethical practice.

The Optional Statement

The University of Denver also provides an optional section where applicants can address special academic or personal circumstances.

Many applicants choose not to complete this section, and that is okay. 

However, if there is context that would help the admissions committee better understand your application, this can be an appropriate place to discuss:

• A lower GPA during a specific semester or year

• Personal or family challenges that affected academic performance

• Medical circumstances

• Significant interruptions in education

• Unique life experiences that may not fit elsewhere in the application
  

Keep the focus on providing context rather than making excuses. Briefly explain the situation, discuss what you learned, and highlight how you are prepared for graduate study and success in the program. 

Conclusion

The University of Denver's Career Goals Statement is designed to help the admissions committee understand who you are beyond your grades and resume.

The strongest applications clearly connect past experiences, current motivations, future goals, and professional values. Be sure your responses demonstrate reflection, self-awareness, and a strong understanding of the social work profession. 

Looking for Support With Your Application?

MSW Helper provides individualized guidance for applicants to social work programs. Visit MSW Helper for application help or register for an upcoming MSW Application workshop.

Related Resource: US MSW Programs