MSW Student Advising
Academic and professional advising for Berkeley Social Welfare master’s students are shared responsibilities of the MSW Program faculty, professional graduate student services staff, and Berkeley Graduate Division partners in student progress. Students can view their assigned advisors on the Advising Card in their CalCentral dashboard.
Faculty Advisers
Individual faculty academic advisers are assigned to students to provide personal, one-on-one advising on academic and professional issues and to provide information, as necessary, to address special academic needs or problems. Adviser assignments are made at the beginning of the fall semester.
Field Consultants
Field faculty oversee and provide advising and assistance with all aspects of field education, including field education requirements; policies, criteria, and procedures for selecting field settings; placing and monitoring students; maintaining field liaison contacts with field education settings; and evaluating student learning and field setting effectiveness.
Graduate Student Affairs Officer (GSAO)
The Graduate Student Affairs Officer (GSAO), also known as the Graduate Advisor, is a professional staff member who is responsible for liaising with the Graduate Division on behalf of the School, and for providing day-to-day academic and procedural advising on degree requirements, progress and completion; course enrollment; petitions; general financial aid questions and student funding opportunities; and overall School, Graduate Division, and University policies and procedures.
Head Graduate Adviser
The Head Graduate Adviser is a tenured member of the Academic Senate faculty, appointed by the dean of the Graduate Division each academic year, on behalf of the Graduate Council. The Head Graduate Adviser is an official deputy of the Dean of the Graduate Division in matters affecting graduate students, and is the campus-designated authority to sign documents or make requests to the Graduate Division on graduate student academic matters. Signature authority for routine administrative matters in the School of Social Welfare is delegated as appropriate to the Graduate Student Affairs Officer.
Academic Progress Advisors
Graduate Division Academic Progress Advisors in the Graduate Degrees Office assist graduate students with degree milestones, academic probation or dismissal, or other issues that cannot be resolved by the departmental degree program.
Curriculum Committees
MSW Curriculum Committee
Within the School of Social Welfare, the MSW Program is overseen by the MSW Curriculum Committee, which includes faculty co-chairs of each specialization area, and student representation. The MSW Curriculum Committee has responsibility for setting, monitoring and evaluating academic policies for the MSW program.
MSW/MPH Concurrent Degree Committee
The MSW/MPH Concurrent Degree Committee provides oversight of and management for the MSW/MPH Concurrent Degree program. This Committee is comprised of faculty and staff members from each school and also includes MSW/MPH student representation. Responsibility for chairing the Concurrent Degree Committee normally rotates between the schools every two years. A primary function of the Committee is to provide pre-application advising and consultation to enrolled students and their faculty advisors.