Building a New Career in Social Welfare

UC Berkeley Master of Social Welfare current student Rose Wirtz knows what it means to build a meaningful career and what it takes to pursue a new one.

After earning her undergraduate degree in urban studies from Berkeley and spending a decade working as a project manager and a grants administrator in the affordable housing sector, Rose found herself drawn toward a different path. Inspired by a lifelong interest in equity and community care, Rose decided to make a career change into the psychology and social welfare domain.

To prepare for that transition, Rose began our Post-Baccalaureate Program in Psychology, seeking both an academic foundation in the discipline and confidence that graduate study was the right next step.

Because I didn't have a psychology background, I wanted to make sure that the academic side of the field held my interest before applying to grad school.

What draws you to working in social welfare?

I've always been interested in how we live together, take care of each other, and work toward equity and justice. The pandemic opened my eyes to how intertwined our physical and mental health is. As someone with a disability, I was galvanized by what I was seeing: health systems breaking down, a lack of concern for older adults and vulnerable populations and widespread socioemotional suffering.

What brought you to our program?

I needed a refresher on being back in the classroom! And because I didn't have a psychology background, I wanted to make sure that the academic side of the field held my interest before applying to grad school.

I took:

• Developmental Psychology Across the Lifespan
• Psychology of Personality
• Abnormal Psychology
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Seminar on the Graduate Application Process
• Counseling and Psychotherapy as a Career Option

I also added a statistics class to brush up and fulfill certain grad school admissions requirements.

I learned a lot from my fellow students and found that many of them were on similar paths as me, which was reassuring. The program seems to attract motivated, smart and interesting people, and the instructors and staff were communicative and supportive throughout my time. My favorite classes were Psychology of Personality, Developmental Psychology Across the Lifespan and, hugely surprising to me, Introduction to Statistics.

Congrats on your acceptance into a master’s program! How do you feel our program prepared you to be a competitive applicant?

Having an opportunity to be back in a classroom setting, take multiple classes a semester, and balance classes and homework on top of everything else was a helpful trial run for what grad school will be like.

Because I'm a career changer, I also think that my participation in the program helped show admissions committees that I had given this some thought and had taken time to start preparing for and refreshing the academic material of grad school.

Also, having been out of school for quite some time, being able to work with Extension instructors on a letter of recommendation was crucial for my applications.

The program seems to attract motivated, smart and interesting people, and the instructors and staff were communicative and supportive throughout my time

What are your plans after completing your current studies?

I hope to work with older adults, people with disabilities/chronic illnesses and those going through end-of-life care.

However, my future M.S.W. degree is versatile enough that it may lead me to many different roles within the social welfare space.

What advice would you give somebody who is thinking about applying for the post-bacc program?

I think this program is great for someone who wants a package deal:

flexible curriculum that will work with your schedule

frequently offered classes in multiple formats

staff and instructors who understand that you're likely applying to grad school and will need transcripts, letters of recommendation, et cetera.