Senior Rule

Select BSW senior students can save money and get a leg-up on their graduate degree with the Senior Rule admissions status for the MSW program.

Senior Rule is an admissions status for select Wayne State undergraduate seniors that allows them to take a limited number of graduate courses that can be applied to their MSW degree, saving them time and money.

Benefits

Save time and money!

  • BSW students participating in Senior Rule have the option to enter the growing social work job market even faster by taking courses from the MSW program during the senior year of their bachelor's program, and thus, complete the MSW degree in less time. 
  • Students will pay undergraduate tuition fees for their MSW courses, which is nearly one-third less than the graduate tuition rate for Michigan residents.
  • Senior Rule provides the opportunity for students to apply graduate credits to a future MSW degree, even if they want to work in the community for a few years. Graduate classes have a 6-year expiration date, so students can always come back to WSU and utilize the graduate courses toward their degree within that timeframe.

Eligibility

To be eligible for Senior Rule students must be in their last undergraduate semester at Wayne State, with a minimum 3.0 upper division GPA. Students must register for at least one credit that is required for completion of the undergraduate degree, and only those courses taken in excess of the undergraduate degree requirements will be awarded graduate credit.

Undergraduate and graduate courses combined may not exceed sixteen credits for the final semester of undergrad degree work.  Senior Rule status is available for one semester only. Students who have completed all requirements for their BSW degree are not eligible for Senior Rule.

Apply

An Application for Graduate Admission must be approved before registration under Senior Rule. After the undergraduate degree is conferred, the student must notify the Graduate Admissions Office in order to convert to a regular admission to the master's program.

Please follow the instructions on the BSW Senior Rule form, remembering to talk to your advisor about this option.

Contact

Geoffrey Jones, LLMSW
Academic Services Officer II
bt3545@wayne.edu