All students complete elective credits as part of the MSW degree program. Students can complete any graduate-level course in the School of Social Work or graduate courses elsewhere at the University of Michigan to meet elective course requirements.

In keeping with the multicultural mission of the school, students may apply up to 4 graduate-level language credits toward their MSW degree. The language under consideration must have relevance to the population (see volume 2, section 08.03 for the policy regarding undergraduate language courses) of interest to the student and must be approved by the advisor. These credits will be counted as elective credit.