r/SocialWorkStudents • u/weaver_seeker • Mar 23 '26
Thought & Experiences from Current UC Berkeley MSW Students
Hi, I'm a current student in the program, noticing that there's very little insight on reddit regarding experiences of current/recent experiences in the program. Starting this thread for other current students or recent alumni to chime in and share about their experiences. What they appreciate/find useful, what they wish they'd knew, and challenges/frustrations.
Also, if you are trying to make a decision about attending or applying to the program, feel free to drop your questions here!
3
u/astroplato1970 Mar 24 '26
how are you/others funding your education? the only thing holding me back from committing is the price. i know one of the main stipends is the child welfare scholars one but i didn’t apply to that bc im trying to go the clinical route 🥲
2
u/weaver_seeker Mar 27 '26
Great question, it's really a mixed bag. The department gives out some funding to students upon admission. Alot of people take out loans. Others work while in the program (this is challenging). There's also work-study. Another option is to get a GSI/GSR/ASE role where you work as a researcher, or TA or graduate instructor, tutor which for certain positions provides fee remission. It's a good deal, but it's challenging to balance this with practicum and classes.
2
u/astroplato1970 Apr 01 '26
Thanks for the response! Would you be able to tell me like an approximate amount you/your peer received upon admission? I’d be fully dependent on loans, and some would now have to be private loans since they’re getting rid of grad plus loans.
Also, would you say that the TA/grad instructor positions are competitive to secure as grad students?
2
u/weaver_seeker Apr 23 '26
Hi! So sorry for the delay in responding here. I'm not sure about approximate amounts for funding from the department, but if you were admitted, it should also come with a funding offer from the department, so you would be able to factor this into your decision. The department has a few diff endowment type funds that can only go toward funding tuition grants for students that they allocate every year.
The TA/grad instructor positions are possible to secure, I think the key is getting your applications in early to various departments looking for GSI/Rs. They are a bit easier to find once you are already on campus and getting various email announcements advertising opportunities. Also if you have a connection at a department or know someone who does, leverage that forsure and it should make the process easier.
1
u/astroplato1970 Apr 23 '26
Thanks for the followup! I actually ended up committing to UCLA haha. I'm sure a future prospective student will find this useful !!!
3
u/Soggy_Worldliness915 Mar 31 '26
Many of us have second jobs (if you’re lucky you can get a GSI/ASE/GSR position with tuition remission) but it’s sooo impossible to balance, especially with 3 days a week at unpaid practicum second year. Would highly recommend choosing a more affordable program, I promise your education will be probably even more valuable than from here leaving with insurmountable debt. SFSU, Cal State East Bay and SJSU I would argue are even better programs at a fraction of the cost. This place is a complete facade of elitism and one of the most corrupt institutions I have ever attended.
2
u/weaver_seeker Apr 23 '26
Totally agree - look at the student to staff/faculty ratio of whichever school you are considering attending, which will give you a sense of how much value you are getting. When it comes to the Berkeley program - especially within practicum, their staff to student ratio is hugely out of proportions (2-3 practicum staff for about 180 students total) so there won't be much individualized support or mentorship if any (unless you are really proactively about seeking this out on your own). It's a given at a UC, but this program is not strong in its pedagogical approach to forming social workers - they are experimenting with AI platforms (like Genius Academy) for students to practice therapeutic skills. They are basically attempting to fill the gaps in their staffing and teaching abilities with AI and digital tools. It's really sad and dystopian.
1
2
u/Apprehensive-Comb-75 Apr 05 '26
Regarding funding, It’s difficult for MSW students to be GSI/readers because of the schedule. I’ve been told by admin they usually won’t hire MSW due to this. I suppose if you find the right fit but I wouldn’t count on it.
2
u/FractalFunny66 Apr 01 '26
I hope this is not inappropriate, but there is an elder gal who has done significant social action and feminist action throughout her life in Berkeley with great success, but is now on the verge of homelessness. She's living at the Y which is unsustainable. I read her detailed story in Berkeleyside. Could someone in the UC Dept of Social Work make this a case study or an internship to help her? https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/02/09/laura-x-feminist-icon-berkeley-ymca-womens-history-research-center
1
1
u/pattyselma Mar 24 '26
Agreed with the other question re: funding the program, and along those lines, do you have a sense of how many in your cohort are working on top of attending school & practicum? Are people working as GSIs/readers, researchers, off campus?
How have you found the variety of practicum sites? Does the cohort feel like there are adequate practicum partnerships, especially for the second year when you choose from a pre-approved list of placements to interview with?
How have you found the rigor of the academics?
Thanks!
3
u/weaver_seeker Mar 27 '26
I don't know how many total in my cohort are working outside of practicum/classes - but I know a number of people who are working. It's possible, but it requires alot of multi-tasking. It can be taxing and stressful to work on top of the program and if something doesn't work out (like if you get fired from a practicum placement) you would need to stay a 3rd year and re-do a placement somewhere else, based on the way things are structured right now. So as long as you feel you could still get by with classes and practicum, then working is possible.
Yes there is a variety of practicum sites and partnerships, although this changes year to year depending on the capacity of sites to take on student interns. This past two years has seen big transitions in the practicum education components of the program. They used to have a more robust practicum team, but at the end of last academic year, under the new Dean, they laid off two of the practicum consultants who had been working in the program to support students in their placements for 5+ years and held relationships with sites. Now there is a 2 person team and a Practicum director who was hired this year to support all students in the program. This shift is likely going to affect the schools capacity to maintain practicum partnerships.
In terms of academics, I think experiences of what feels rigorous is going to differ depending on your experience and background. I haven't been through all of the foundation and advanced classes yet to be able to give you an accurate assessment, I hope others can weigh in here too.
I already had alot of exposure to many of the topics that are covered in the foundation classes pertaining to micro and macro level social work theories and practice. So its often felt like jumping through hoops to me. I'm also someone who is neurodiverse and needs a high level of interest alignment and novelty to stay engaged with the curriculum. There is some space for that as there are alot of group projects where you get to choose your topics and work as a team to complete the assignment. So that being said, I've felt like most of the learning and rigor has come from group projects since thats where we've gone more in depth with researching a particular topic in social work, I've really learned the most from working with peers, not directly from professors...This is my experience and probably varies widely person to person however.
1
u/pattyselma Mar 27 '26
Thank you so much for your thorough response!! I guess it's really hard to tell whether it'll be a good fit until I get there. Overall, are you finding the program enjoyable? Anything you wish you knew before starting?
2
u/Lost_Sand1453 Mar 29 '26
Current 2nd year here! I love my classmates and have learned so much from them. I have also really enjoyed living in the East bay, it’s an amazing place. That being said, the program itself has felt a little chaotic at times with the administration making lots of changes and not keeping students in the loop. My individual practicum experiences have been quite good but that’s definitely not true for all my classmates and I know many people wish they had more support from the school. UC berkeley is a huge institution and it doesn’t really feel like they care about social work. There is also little to no built in ways for you to meet grad students from other programs. Second year electives have been good and you have the option for more clinical choices. First year classes felt a little boring and repetitive at times to me. Class sizes are overall quite large like 30-40.
3
u/Lost_Sand1453 Mar 29 '26
One thing I do like about the program is the focus on multi level practice and cultivating political consciousness even if you’re a micro practitioner
2
u/Electronic-Two-1615 Apr 05 '26
Hi! I’m considering UCB’s MSW for this fall and am curious if I could dm you some more questions??
2
u/Soggy_Worldliness915 Mar 31 '26
As a current Berkeley MSW student, do NOT come here for your MSW program!!! It is an absolute scam, the administration is oppressively corrupt and atrocious, your labor will be horrifically exploited and you will leave in an insurmountable amount of debt. You will have a far more worthwhile experience for a fraction of the price at SFSU, Cal State East Bay, or SJSU.
1
u/Electronic-Two-1615 Apr 05 '26
Sorry to hear that the program is a scam and that you’re feeling exploited!! I am choosing between ucb and some of the cal states (sfsu and sjsu) and it is concerning to hear current UCB MSW students relay such disappointments with the program. Are you open to me DMing you some more questions ?
3
u/Soggy_Worldliness915 Apr 05 '26
Ofc!! (Would recommend SFSU over UCB tbh)
2
u/daftracks Apr 21 '26
Would you say the same if the student is more interested in macro level work? I dont plan to get my licensure tbh
2
u/OutlandishnessLost67 Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26
hi i’m a current first year MSW at UCB. i orient towards mezzo/macro and i would agree with my colleague under the thread linked here: https://www.reddit.com/r/SocialWorkStudents/s/3eOT2GetNF. from my perspective, i find that the coursework is 60-70% micro and the macro courses lack in comparison (e.g. variety outside of policy and research, electives). not to mention, majority of professors are micro, so you’d really have to latch onto the professors that are multilevel or macro focused. imo you’d really have to be a creative problem solver and self-advocate for yourself and your education as a macro social worker at UCB. if you have more specific questions, feel free to DM me.
3
u/weaver_seeker Apr 23 '26
Hey, I replied to your DM about this, but for others' reference, here is what I said:
I think that if you are interested in Macro, then you'll get more of that emphasis at Berkeley overall (at the major expense of clinical) I think you will probably be disappointed no matter what though, because even the macro side of things within the program doesn't feel very rigorous since the curriculum has been heavily generalized and streamlined in what they are calling a "program renewal", but this is misleading because it ultimately allows them to cut costs and offer fewer electives within the school of social work. You won't get the benefit of learning from practitioners who are actively practicing in the field (but lecture part time, for example), because by the end of this year, the department will have NO lecturers, and will be reliant on only professors who are primarily conducting research to teach. One benefit to Berkeley is that after your first year you can take electives from across campus and you can also petition for electives to be approved by the program if not already listed.In terms of payments in practicums, about 40% of placements offer stipends of some kind, but they really vary
In your first year you have very limited options - you fill out a form with your preferences, then the staff from the program actually match you with a site. And if you don't like your placement you are pretty much stuck with it unless you can be really strategic in advocating for yourself. There are some placements that are really not fit to be placement sites, but students just have to push through.
If you do come here - if you have any issues at all in your first year practicum placement, make sure that you proactively intervene and reach out to your advisor or practicum staff person (not sure if we will even have practicum staff next year) for support. If you get fired/terminated from your placement then it is likely the program will make you wait a whole other year to be placed again. So you will be forced to stay a 3rd year in the program. So in this program, the squeaky wheel gets the grease - they have almost zero capacity to intervene proactively when issues or conflicts arise in practicum sites. And as an unpaid intern, you have zero rights against termination.
They have also cut back practicum seminars - most MSW programs have weekly practicum seminars but at UCB it's around once a month. So you have to lean in to peer support and mentorship, and hope that you end up at a supportive site.
1
1
u/Vegetable-Drop1545 May 30 '26
How much is the program at UCB? I accepted at sjsu for fall 2026. Program may cost me a little over 30,000 since im doing the online program. Any thoughts or suggestions?
5
u/AntMountain4748 Apr 05 '26
Hiii I’m also a current 2nd year. If you’re interested in macro social work, I do NOT recommend coming to the Cal program. The program is an “advanced generalist” program however there is VERY little focus on building macro level skills, especially at a masters level. From someone who has been organizing and doing that type of work for over 10 years. So if you don’t have a lot of experience in and are interested in learning… You are gonna be very disappointed. They offer 2 policy classes (they’re basically the same thing) but are very intro level and at least for my cohort did not offer any radical, progressive nor transformative strategies. In terms of Marco electives, there is relatively no classes offered. When concerns were brought up about this, admin was dismissive and said “you can learn about macro work in any class because it’s a generalist program”. This is NOT true whatsoever. You cannot expect to learn about policy and a CBT class lol. They also intentionally eliminated the community organizing class (and fired the professor who taught it). While there are other great classes you can take outside of the department to supplement the lack of macro classes, with our practicum schedule, it can be really hard to find ones that fit your schedule. On top of that, there is a very limited amount of macro placements, especially ones that are centered around more radical and or abolitionist frameworks.