Applicants for CoSW Graduate Certificates are required to be either currently enrolled graduate students in good standing or have received their degree from a regionally accredited institution.

As a reminder, our college-based certificates include Child Welfare Practice, Clinical Social Work, Trauma Responsive Practice, Military Behavioral Health, School Social Work, and Substance Use Disorders.

How to Apply

Follow the steps below to submit your Graduate Certificate application. After submission of your application, the certificate director reviews your application materials and then forwards a recommendation to the Graduate School. The Graduate School makes an independent admissions determination based largely on your transcripts. You will receive notification of the admissions decision from the Graduate School to the email address you provided in your application.

Please contact our Admissions Officer at coswadmissions@uky.edu if you have any questions about the application process.

Step 1

Applicants must set up an online account in the application system and establish a username and password. Keep your log-in information as you will need it if you wish to return to continue an unfinished application, review a completed application, or submit a new application through the Graduate School.

Step 2

Select your Plan of Study

• Select Online or On Campus — Child Welfare Practice and Military Behavioral Health are found after selecting “On Campus” (all classes are available online). Clinical Social Work, School Social Work, Trauma Responsive Practice, and Substance Use Disorders are found after selecting “Online”
• Applicant Category — “Graduate Certificate”
• Applicant Program — Select the Graduate Certificate you are applying for
• Entry Term — Select the next available term

Step 3

Attach Supporting Documentation

• All current MSW students — Upload an unofficial PDF copy of your UK transcripts. Unofficial transcripts can be downloaded from myUK under the Student Services Tab > myRecords
• If you are not a current UK student, upload unofficial PDF copies of undergraduate and graduate work from all institutions attended.
• Clinical Social Work, Trauma Responsive Practice, Substance Use Disorders, School Social Work, and Child Welfare Practice — Transcripts are the only required supporting documentation. Recommendations and a personal statement are NOT required.
• Military Behavioral Health — Please consult with your academic advisor about recommendations and the personal statement: Academic advisors can be reached: swgraduate@uky.edu
• School Social Work — For students seeking School Social Work Certification in the state of Kentucky, additional steps are required for application. Please contact Janet Doss for detailed instructions.

Step 4

Submit your application.

The application fee for currently enrolled graduate students is waived. For all other certificate-seeking students, there is a non-refundable $65.00 domestic ($75.00 international) Graduate School application processing fee required at the time of submission.

Application Deadline — The Graduate School requires applications to be submitted no later than one month prior to the start of the term the applicant intends to begin graduate work. Current graduate students planning to earn a graduate certificate in conjunction with their MSW degree must apply for the certificate no later than a month prior to the start of their final semester in the MSW program.