Incoming Students FAQs

Deposits and Financial Aid

After Admission

Field, Registration, and Advising

Contact Information

FAQs

Deposits and Financial Aid

How do I pay my deposit?

  1. Visit pi.tt/studentcenter. It will prompt you to accept or decline. Once you accept, it will prompt you to pay online. If you cannot find your log in, call the Pitt help desk: 412-624-HELP (4357).

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What happens after I deposit?

  1. After you pay the tuition deposit, you’ll get an email from Pitt’s help desk assigning you your Pitt email address
    1. Check your junk mailbox; it often gets filtered into junk
  2. Please pay attention to your Pitt email account once you officially deposit. You will begin to receive important information about setting up your field placement, registration and exemption exams. During this time, the Student Services team works diligently to ensure everyone is set up for all program aspects.

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When should I do FAFSA?

  1. Complete as soon as possible by visiting the FAFSA website. However, this can be completed during the Summer prior to the start of Fall Term so it is fine if you deposit and start the process late.
  2. University of Pittsburgh Federal School Code: 008815
  3. Everyone in graduate programs is awarded a set amount of slightly more than $20,000 which is applied evenly over the academic Fall and Spring Terms, unless you direct OAFA otherwise. If you don’t need all of financial aid award, try to make the smartest financial decision for yourself, as you aren’t required to take the whole amount. Keep in mind that interest will accrue with these loans while you’re enrolled in classes.
  4. Amounts get “packaged” for graduate students in June/July

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What else can I do for funding?

  1. We encourage you to look at our website, as there are numerous stipend fellowships available, in addition to documents with various external scholarship opportunities.
  2. Scholarships and Fellowships Link
  3. Create a PittFund$Me account via the Pitt portal. It’s a scholarship database created by the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid in which you can create a profile and the system will match you to eligible opportunities for you to apply for. Student are advised to visit the site frequently as opportunities become more available closer to the term start dates. Opportunities can also arise at the beginning of Spring and Summer terms.

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How much is tuition?

  1. This differs by year and school within the University. So, if you are a joint degree student, pay close attention to different school rates (you get charged the tuition rate for the primary school-most credits enrolled). These are typically announced during the Summer months- most often during July. They will be announced by the University Financial Aid Department (Not Social Work) and applied to your Pitt Pay account.
  2. Rates differ by residency status (in-state/out-of-state) and full-time/part-time
  3. Link for more tuition information.
  4. 2023-2024 academic year rates (2023-2024) can be found at www.tuition.pitt.edu

Fees.

Residency information/petitioning.

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What are some available Scholarships/Fellowships?

  1. SSW Scholarships and Fellowships
  2. Pitt Scholarships and Funding

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After Admission

I still need to send my transcripts- what do I do?

  1. Friendly reminder, do NOT send to the University OAFA. You need to send to the School of Social Work Office of Admissions, and clearly outline this if you are physically mailing. If it goes to Office of Admissions & Financial Aid (OAFA), we will not receive it.
  2. If physically mailed, it must be official and sent/sealed directly from the School’s Registrar.
  3. If physically mailed, it must be official and sent/sealed directly from the School’s Registrar to the School of Social Work’s mailing address: 4200 Fifth Avenue, 2101 Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, PA 15260
  4. You can alternatively send an official transcript electronically directly from the registrar to Jessalynn Oliver if your school has this option. sswadmit@pitt.edu

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What are Exemption Exams?

Incoming students who have not earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work are eligible to take exemption exams for Human Behavior and the Social Environment  (HBSE)  and  Generalist Social Work Research course. Additionally, students beginning the MSW Program who have earned their bachelor's in social work and who did not receive advanced standing credit for the aforementioned  courses may also wish to take this exam if they believe they have mastered the material. Students who pass these exemption exams will be awarded the credits for these courses (up to six total credits) toward the completion of their MSW degree and be exempt from taking the class(es). 

For the HBSE course, students who have completed undergraduate work in human, family, and community development may know this material and wish to take this exam to determine if they can exempt from this class. The current text book for this class is:   Rogers, A.T. (2019). Human behavior in the social environment (5th ed.). Routledge.

For the Generalist Social Work Research Course, the current text book is:  Engel, R. J., & Schutt, R. K. (2017). Practice of research in social work (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Exemption Exam Dates for 2024: Exemption Exam Dates for 2024 will be announced soon. 

Find Exemption Exam FAQs here.

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What do I do if my degree is not yet conferred and I want to enroll in classes?

  1. When you request transcripts, you’ll need to click the box indicating “hold for degree conferral”.
  2. If your degree conferral won’t happen until the end of August, the SSW will need a signed letter sent directly from your registrar to the SSW Office of Admissions indicating the successful completion of all degree requirements.
    1. After the degree is conferred, we must receive an official transcript showing the degree conferral date.
    2. Be sure to have the registrar send the official transcript directly to the School of Social Work either electronically to sswadmit@pitt.edu or hard copy to: 4200 Fifth Avenue, 2101 Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, PA 15260

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What if I am a joint degree student?

  1. You need to apply to each school separately. E.g., if I am applying for MSW/GSPIA, I need to apply to each program separately, following each school’s respective application process.
    1. Please note, this often means submitting materials separately to each school as they are not permitted to share applicant materials such as references and transcripts.
  2. To determine tuition and courses, you need to speak with your academic advisors, and/or each joint degree representative present in both schools.
    1. These contacts in the School of Social Work can be found for each joint program here.
    2. Please make sure you are communicating with individuals in the other school as well.

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What do I need to know about residency?

  1. If you want to petition for in state residency, the website for that info is here. They can answer any residency related questions.

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Field, Registration, and Advising

When will I hear about field education information?

  1. After you deposit, you’ll get pertinent information about your field experience (emailed), and online forms to complete. Depending on if you are entering as a non-advanced or an advanced standing student, you will be contacted by a Field Faculty Advisor to discuss field placement options. Advanced standing (completed BSW/BASW degree from an accredited school within 7 years) students are contacted sooner than non-advanced standing students to discuss field placement options due to earlier start dates for field placement.    
  2. Regardless of your standing, your field placement will be discussed thoroughly with your Field Faculty Advisor and then again during orientation.  Field is a critical component of your education and will be discussed throughout your Pitt career.
  3. You can find more information about Field Education on our website

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What will my course sequencing look like?

  1. This differs based on if you are a full-time (FT), part-time (PT), Advanced Standing (AS), or non-AS student.
  2. Please look at our MSW Handbook, which can be found on our website under Academics and Polices & Handbooks.
  3. Per the document table of contents, this information begins on page 20, and is sorted by student status, DP or COSA, AS status, etc.
  4. Information about certificates and joint degrees are immediately following these sections.
  5. Your academic advisor can help guide you. But, also ensure you are following the handbook and policies.

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How do I register for classes?

  1. You will be registered for classes in June/July online with detailed instructions provided from Susanna Cammarata, Academic Registration and Records Manager.

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When will I hear from my assigned advisor?

  1. You will be assigned this person prior to the student orientation in August.

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Where can I find important contact information and phone numbers?

OFFICE OF THE DEAN

Elizabeth M.Z. Farmer
Dean
412-648-4338
efarmer@pitt.edu

Penelope (Penny) Miller
Administrator, Office of the Dean and Center on Race and Social Problems
412-624-7379
prm15@pitt.edu

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Helen E. Petracchi
Acting Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
412-624-6334
hpssw@pitt.edu
 
Toya Jones
Director, BASW Program
toyaj@pitt.edu
412-648-9306
 
Dr. Yodit Betru
Director, MSW Program
ykb2@pitt.edu
412-624-6387

Sara Goodkind
Director, Doctoral Program 
sara.goodkind@pitt.edu
412-648-9432

Bethany McLaughlin
Coordinator, MSW Program
bam277@pitt.edu
 
Emmett Mix
BASW and PhD Program Assistant
Emm459@pitt.edu

REGIONAL MSW PROGRAMS

Stephanie Eckstrom
MSW Program Director – Bradford 
sae102@pitt.edu

Misha Zorich
MSW Program Director – Johnstown
maz49@pitt.edu

ADMISSIONS AND STUDENT AFFAIRS

Jessalynn Oliver
Recruitment and Enrollment Manager; Ombudsperson
(412) 624-6302
j.oliver@pitt.edu

Leah Mafrica
Recruitment & Admissions Coordinator
Lam365@pitt.edu

Tiara Teague
Student Liasion
tjt54@pitt.edu

CAREER SERVICES

Bobby Simmons
Director of Career Services
(412) 624-6354
bobby@pitt.edu

CENTER ON RACE AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Ron Idoko
Associate Director
ron.idoko@pitt.edu

CHILD WELFARE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Dr. Helen Cahalane
Administrator 
(412) 624-6386
hcupgh@pitt.edu

COMPUTER/TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT

Frank Puchalski
Systems Administrator
(412) 624-3195
franksp@pitt.edu

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

Dr. Jaime Booth
Acting Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
jmbooth@pitt.edu
412-624-8216

FIELD EDUCATION

Tonya Slawinski
Director 
tslawin@pitt.edu
412-648-4533
 
Melvin Cherry
Field Education Coordinator and Lecturer
412-624-6572
mcc59@pitt.edu

John Dalessandro
Field Education Coordinator and Lecturer
412-624-5969
dalessan@pitt.edu

Amy DeGurian
Field Education Coordinator and Lecturer
(412) 624-6033
aad62@pitt.edu 
 
Alicia Melnick
Field Education Coordinator and Lecturer
(412) 624-4071
ada65@pitt.edu

Deborah Robinson
Field Education Coordinator and Lecturer/Director of the Home and School Visitor Program
(412) 624-3844
dcr16@pitt.edu

LIBRARY SERVICES

Arif Jamal
Liaison Librarian
jamal@pitt.edu
412-648-775

RECORDERS OFFICE /ACADEMIC RECORDS

Susanna Cammarata
Academic Registration and Records Manager
suc112@pitt.edu

University of Pittsburgh department numbers/ links that you may find to be useful

Office of Admissions and Financial Aid (FAFSA): 412-624-7488, finaid@pitt.edu

Disability Resources and Services: 412-648-7890

Office of Veterans Services

Office of International Services

Off-Campus Living

MSW Student Executive Council

Union of Black Social Work Students

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