If you’re anything like me, choosing electives can feel like a thrilling sense of freedom and also overwhelming pressure to pick the “best” course. When it comes time to register for electives, don’t worry that you won’t have anything to choose from. Each semester, a variety of elective courses for the Online MSW program are offered. In fact, there are three new electives that are now being offered online: Human Sexuality, Loss & Bereavement, and Criminal Justice in Social Work.

If you are on the Traditional Track, you generally will register for electives in the fifth semester of the program. I have just completed the process myself, and wanted to share what I did to narrow down my choices. Leading up to this registration, I had been feeling nervous that the electives offered next semester wouldn’t be what I had hoped to take. I am happy to report that this was not the case–in fact, there were so many courses that sounded interesting, I had a hard time picking just one! 

When registration time draws near, keep an eye out for an email from your Student Success Coach. That will have all the information that you need on the details and important dates in the upcoming semester, as well as step-by-step instructions on how to register. Be sure to read through the entire email and Registration Guide. 

After you’ve read through everything, you’ll want to follow the Registration Guide and sign-into Canvas. You’ll be able to see what courses are on offer for that semester, and which professors will be teaching. Please keep in mind that at the time of registration some classes may not have a professor assigned yet. 

I highly recommend reading through the course descriptions along with the names carefully. There are certain keywords that might give you hints on what the course will entail. Here is what I’ve noticed: 

• Are you looking for a class that will teach practical administrative skills? Look for phrases like: technical skills, fundraising, management, administration, or grant writing.
• Do you want a course that can provide more information and practice with a specific perspective or theory? Keep an eye out for course descriptions that highlight: “a ‘person-in-environment’ perspective”, “systems perspective”, “biopsychosocial perspective”, or any of the other perspectives we’ve learned about. If there is one that you would like more information and practice with, keep an eye out for course descriptions which highlight that perspective. 
• If you’re looking for a course on working with older adults, don’t just limit yourself to classes that have “Aging” or “Gerontology”. The same goes if you want to work with kids and classes that are “Children” focused. Courses that have the phrase “Across the Life Span” can cover multiple age ranges, from the beginning to the end of life. Keep in mind that learning about specific populations can teach you lots of transferable skills that may help if you decide to switch to working with a different population in the future.
• Similarly, if you want a course that delves into policy, don’t just look at policy courses. Also consider courses that have “legislation”, “advocacy” and “justice” in the description as you decide what course to take. 

The pressure of choosing the “best” electives can be stressful, but hopefully the information in this article can help relieve some of that. Just think of all the hard work and effort you’ve put into the program so far. You’ve made it to the point where you can start taking electives. Congratulations and best of luck on the rest of your journey!