There are many excellent online MSW programs. However, not all MSW programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). This is important to note if you intend to become a licensed clinical social worker. That’s because licensure requires that you graduate from a CSWE-accredited master’s program. The CSWE holds a lot of sway because they ensure that programs they accredit meet certain high standards. This, in turn, ensures that graduates have the necessary knowledge and skills to carry out their job duties.
With online learning more popular than ever, it’s easy to find online MSW programs. Some online MSW programs have even relaxed their requirements for admission. For example, some programs no longer require you to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Regardless of a school’s admissions requirements, it’s important to determine if the programs you’re interested in are CSWE-accredited. That’s where this list comes in.
How We Ranked the Best CSWE-Accredited Online MSW Programs
For our ranking of the best CSWE-Accredited online MSW programs, the editors at Social Work Degree Center started with all CSWE recognized schools, focusing on those with an online MSW. Programs are ranked according to tuition, student reviews, and graduate salary.
1. University of West Florida
The University of West Florida offers a variety of online CSWE accredited MSW programs that are available 100% online. The University of West Florida’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs prepare graduates for a career in child protective services, foster care agencies, mental health centers, or drug abuse/prevention programs, among others. Applicants to the University of West Florida’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online must have earned the Bachelor of Social Work from a higher learning institution that was CSWE accredited within the previous seven years.
The University of West Florida (W Florida) is a member school of Florida’s state system and was established in 1963. The university’s campus in Pensacola is home to nearly 13,000 students across the 1,500+ acreage property, making it the 3rd largest in Florida’s state university system. The school’s mascot is the chambered Nautilus, which represents growth and accomplishment.
Degree: MSW Online
2. University of Iowa
The University of Iowa offers some of the most innovative and affordable online CSWE accredited MSW programs in the state. These CSWE accredited online MSW programs have residencies from U of I in four locations, Sioux City, Quad Cities, Des Moines, and Iowa City, with the entire part-time program completed in 3 years. The University of Iowa’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online rank among the top twenty percent in the country.
The University of Iowa (Iowa) is a research school that was established in 1847. The University of Iowa is recognized as Iowa’s second largest institution of higher learning, with a student enrollment that nears 33,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The University of Iowa is honored to host the Iowa Writer’s Workshops, with a history of more than a dozen Pulitzer Prize winners.
Degree: MSW Online
3. University of Houston
The University of Houston’s Graduate Social Work School offers online CSWE accredited MSW programs that are recognized among the best in the nation by several ranking agencies. All students enrolled in the University of Houston’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs must also complete at least 900 clock hours with regard to practicum/fieldwork. Classes for UH’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online include foundations practice skills, human diversity, and development, confronting oppression & injustice, advanced social policy analysis, ad cognitive behavioral interventions, plus a field practicum, to name a few.
The University of Houston is a multi-campus institution of higher learning that was established in the late 1920s. With more than 71,000 students, the University of Houston is among the Lone Star State’s biggest higher learning institutions. It is estimated the University of Houston contributes to the state’s economy, generating nearly 25,000 jobs yearly.
Degree: MSW Online
4. Troy University
Troy University offers two online CSWE accredited MSW programs – a concentration in direct concentration with a focus on military families or an organizational leadership, focusing on social work on an international basis. These CSWE accredited online MSW programs can be completed in one year for those with a BSW or two years for those students who do not hold a BSW at application. Classes for Troy University’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online include direct practice evaluation, assessment & psychopathology, cultural diversity, and advanced social work practice with groups, plus a practicum, to name a few.
Troy University was established in the late 1880s as Troy Normal School within the state’s university system. However, Troy University is now the flagship campus of the Troy System of Universities. The college-town campuses and online platform serve approximately 18,000 students each year. Highlight -The campuses for Troy University are located in Troy, Montgomery, Phenix City, and Dothan.
Degree: MSW Online
5. California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno offers one of California’s most affordable online CSWE accredited MSW programs. To be qualified for Fresno State’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs, applicants must hold a bachelor’s of arts or bachelor’s of science degree from a four-year accredited school. Students enrolled in California State University’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online do not offer rolling admissions and only one fall semester start date.
California State University, located in Fresno, was founded as a state-funded normal school for teacher training. The Fresno campus of the 23 school system is home to more than 25,250 students, a planetarium, and a commercial winery with products that have won hundreds of awards each year. California State University’s Equestrian Team is ranked among the top ten nationally-ranked teams.
Degree: MSW Online
6. Stephen F. Austin State University
Stephen F. Austin State University’s School of Social Work offers online CSWE accredited MSW programs that are among Texas’s most innovative CSWE accredited online MSW programs. Students enrolled in Stephen F. Austin State University’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online are required to complete 64 credit units at the master’s level to meet Stephen F. Austin State University’s graduation requirements. This MSW program from Stephen F. Austin State University offers a specialized concentration of a generalist practitioner in a rural context.
Stephen F. Austin State University (Austin State) operates as an independent school (one of only six in Texas) that was established in 1923. The university’s east Texas location covers more than 400 acres and serves more than 14,050 students each year online and on the small-town campus. The university is named to honor one of the state of Texas’s founding fathers.
Degree: MSW Online
7. University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma’s Zarrow School of Social Work offers one of Oklahoma’s best CSWE accredited MSW programs online. Degree candidates are required to finish at least sixty credit units at the graduate level – al online. Advanced standing applicants attending these CSWE accredited online MSW programs have to complete 36 credits units. The practicum placement for the University of Oklahoma’s online CSWE accredited MSW programs include 1010 clock hours over the two years.
The University of Oklahoma (Oklahoma) is a public institution of higher education that was established in 1890. The University of Oklahoma is also a space-grant school with more than 28,150 students attending classes online and on the university’s 3,000 suburban acres. The University of Oklahoma is home to two of the state’s preeminent museums – the Jones Museum of Art and the Noble Museum of Natural History – specializing in Oklahoma history.
Degree: MSW Online
8. Louisiana State University and A&M College
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College’s School of Social Work offers one of south’s best and most affordable CSWE accredited MSW programs online. Students enrolled in LSU’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs take classes delivered in seven-week long modules. LSU offers six start dates for its Oklahoma’s online CSWE accredited MSW programs, with most students completing the program in two years studying full-time or 3.5 to 4 years as a part-time.
Louisiana State University – Agricultural & Mechanical College was established in the mid-1850s as a land-grant school under the Morrill Land Grant Act. The university’s 600 acre campus serves as Louisiana’s state university system with nearly 35,000 students. In addition, Louisiana State University is a sea and space-grant school with the school’s campus situated along the Mississippi River.
Degree: MSW Online
9. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s School of Social Work offers two CSWE accredited MSW programs online – an advanced standing or traditional entry program. Applicants to UIUC’s advanced-standing CSWE accredited online MSW programs must have completed a BSW within the past seven years from a CSWE program and are required to complete 44 to 56 credits. Applicants to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s s online CSWE accredited MSW programs through the traditional track must complete 72 credits to graduate.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U of I) was founded in the late 1860s as a land grant school and industrial university. This flagship school of the state’s university system serves more than 52,250 students. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign continues its efforts across campus in terms of sustainable construction and renovations.
Degree: MSW Online
10. Simmons University
Simmons University offers one of Boston’s most innovative CSWE accredited MSW programs online. Simmons University offers multiple CSWE accredited online MSW programs – an extended, standard, accelerated, and advanced standing track. The fastest of Simmons University’s online CSWE accredited MSW programs is the accelerated standard or the advanced standing track, which both can be completed in only sixteen months. Classes for these MSW degree options include human behavior, social welfare policy, and social policy and communities, plus field education, among others.
Simmons University (SU) was established in the late 1890s as a women’s school. Simmons allows men to enroll at the graduate level, with a total enrollment of nearly 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students each year. Simmons University is a participating member of the College of Fenway’s consortium, with parts of the original social work school noted with the Boston Women’s Heritage Path.
Degree: MSW Online
11. Widener University
Widener University offers a variety of delivery options for its CSWE accredited MSW programs online. These CSWE accredited online MSW programs from Widener are available as a traditional admission (57 credit units) or advanced standing admission (36 credit units). In addition, students interested can opt for a dual degree of MSW and Master of Education with an emphasis in human sexuality studies. Classes for Widener University’s online CSWE accredited MSW programs human behavior and the social environment, interpersonal processes, and foundation generalist social work practice, to name a few.
Widener University was established in 1821 as a school for boys. Widener now operates as a multiple campus institution of higher education with satellite campuses in Pennsylvania and Delaware that serve 6,450 students each year. After being established as a boy’s school, Widener University operates as a military academy for more than eight decades.
Degree: MSW Online
12. Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University’s College for Public Health & Social Justice offers a Master of Social Work degree that is considered among the most innovative CSWE accredited MSW programs online. Saint Louis University’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs include classes in social work practice with individuals, families, and groups, behavioral assessment, foundation integrative practice seminar, and ethics in applied behavior analysis, to name a few. These online CSWE accredited MSW programs include these concentrations – applied behavior analysis, clinical, and community & organization.
Saint Louis University (Saint Louis) was established as a private academy in 1818. This Roman Catholic higher learning institution is recognized as the oldest school to Mississippi River’s west, with a student enrollment of approximately 12,550 undergraduate and postgraduate students. Saint Louis University is also considered the second oldest of all Jesuit schools in the country.
Degree: MSW Online
13. Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
The Edinboro University of Pennsylvania offers CSWE accredited MSW programs online that have been nationally recognized. These CSWE accredited online MSW programs from Edinboro offer students a one-year advanced standing program that requires 30 graduate semester hours and 500 clinical clock hours. The traditional online CSWE accredited MSW programs from Edinboro require two years and 60 credits, and 900 clinical hours. It is noted that Edinboro’s MSW program no longer has a human biology admission requirement.
The Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (Edinboro) was established in the mid 1850s as the Edinboro academy. Edinboro University serves more than 4,550 students online and from the school’s 500+ acre campus in Edinboro. Edinboro University of Pennsylvania was the first university in the world to offer a degree in music education with a dedication specifically to bagpiping.
Degree: MSW Online
14. New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University’s School of Social Work offers a Master of Social Work degree program that is ranked among New Mexico’s best online CSWE accredited MSW programs. New Mexico State University’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs focus on an advanced generalists’ practice for Southwest populations. These CSWE accredited MSW programs online are available as a part-time (finishing in three years) or full-time student (finishing two years), and a one-year option for students entering the program as an advanced standing student. Note part-time advanced-standing students can complete the program in 24 months.
New Mexico State University (NM State) was founded as Las Cruces College in the late 1880s. New Mexico State is recognized as one of the state’s two flagship institutions of higher learning. In addition, New Mexico State University is a land-grant school with multiple campuses and satellite facilities throughout the state. New Mexico State’s student enrollment exceeds 24,000 students.
Degree: MSW Online
15. Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Texas A&M University Kingsville offers online CSWE accredited MSW programs with a clinical and activist focus on diverse rural populations living along the US & Mexico border and surrounding areas. Students entering these CSWE accredited online MSW programs with an advanced standing can complete the degree in one year (30 credits). The traditional CSWE accredited MSW programs online require five semesters or two years if studying full-time. Classes for these MSW programs include intervention with elders, rural social work, foundations of social work, and populations at risk, to name a few.
Texas A&M University’s Kingsville campus was founded in 1917 as a state-funded normal school for teacher’s training. A&M’s Kingsville is considered the longest continuously institution of higher education in the Lone Star State. More than 8,450 students attend classes online and on the suburban campus of more than 1,500 acres. The Kingsville campus specializes in programs in engineering, the sciences, music, wildlife, and agriculture, among others.
Degree: MSW Online
16. Roberts Wesleyan College
Roberts Wesleyan College offers a Master of Social Work degree that is ranked among New England’s most innovative and best online CSWE accredited MSW programs. Students enrolled in Roberts Wesleyan College’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs have two academic tracks from which to choose – Child & Family Services and Mental Health. Classes for these CSWE accredited MSW programs online from Roberts Wesleyan College include social welfare & policy, human behavior, cultural diversity, & the social environment, and social work research, plus a field placement, among others.
Roberts Wesleyan College is a Christian institution of higher education that was founded in the mid-1860s as a seminary. The suburban campus in Rochester (upstate New York) is home to approximately 1,800 students each year. Roberts Wesleyan College holds the distinction of being the first school founded for Free Methodists living in North America.
Degree: MSW Online
17. Saint Leo University
Saint Leo University offers an MSW degree program that is among the most innovative of online CSWE accredited MSW programs in Florida. These CSWE accredited online MSW programs are available to students in these states, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Illinois, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina, Mississippi, North Carolina, and New Jersey. Saint Leo University’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online include two years of coursework as follows – Social Welfare Policy, Child Abuse, and Neglect, Social Work Research Methods, plus a practicum, among others.
Saint Leo University (SLU) was founded as a Roman Catholic university in the late 1880s. Saint Leo University’s rural campus and online platform serve nearly 12,000 students, which makes it among the largest of Catholic institutions of higher education in the nation. Saint Leo University was among the first school to offer distance learning to active military members during the Vietnam era of the early to mid-1970s.
Degree: MSW Online
18. Loma Linda University
Loma Linda University’s School of Behavioral Health offers one of California’s most innovative online CSWE accredited MSW programs, with its advanced clinical specialist program. Loma Linda University’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs do have limited residency requirements. These CSWE accredited MSW programs online are available to distance learners and working learners in need of flexibility and convenience. Note, these MSW degrees are part-time programs that take about three years to complete. Requirements include 52 semester hours and 1080 clock hours of field experience.
Loma Linda University was founded by 7th Day Adventists as a health science school in 1905. Loma Linda University’s campus and online platform serve approximately 3,300 undergraduate and postgraduate students each year. The academic medical center run by Loma Linda University serves more than 30,000 admitted patients each year.
Degree: MSW Online
19. Brandman University
Brandman University offers online CSWE accredited MSW programs that can be completed in one year for those advanced standing students. With six start dates available every year, students enrolled in Brandman’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs can enter the workforce after graduation in criminal justice, health care, mental health or nonprofit, human rights agencies. Brandman University’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online help students combine problem-solving skills with the compassion required to help others.
Brandman University is a member school within the Chapman university system that operates independently. Brandman University operates as a military-friendly school with about 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students each year. As a military-friendly school, Brandman University offers discounted fees and tuition rates for active members, their dependents, and spouses.
Degree: MSW Online
20. Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America’s School of Social Work offers nationally ranked online CSWE accredited MSW programs, as noted by US News & World Report. These CSWE accredited online MSW programs from CUA prepare students to sit and pass the LGSW – the Licensed Graduate Social Work exam. It is noted that graduates of the Catholic University of America’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online pass the LGSW exam at a rate of 95%. Students have the option of completing the program as full-time or part-time students.
The Catholic University of America (CUA) was chartered in the late 1880s and operates as a pontifical university administered by the US Catholic Church. The school’s campus in the Washington, DC’s Brookland neighborhood serves approximately 5,800 students each year. The Catholic University of America and the Knights of Columbus have a long historic supportive integrative relationship.
Degree: MSW Online
21. Barry University
Barry University’s Whiteside McDonnell School of Social Work offers two online CSWE accredited MSW programs – the advanced standing track that requires 32 credits and the traditional track that requires 63 credits. Additionally, these CSWE accredited online MSW programs require degree candidates to complete 1000 clinical field-education hours. Barry University’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online complete this program in about two to two and one-half years. Sample classes for this MSW program include models of intervention, introduction to trauma and resilience, psychopathology, and mind body connection, plus field education requirements, to name a few.
Barry University is a Dominican Sisters’ school that was established in 1940. As one of the nation’s biggest Catholic schools in the southeastern United States, Barry University serves approximately 7,500 students each year. Barry University maintains academic facilities in the state’s capital of Tallahassee and a school of law in Orlando.
Degree: MSW Online
22. University of Michigan
The University of Michigan now offers an online CSWE accredited MSW program. These CSWE accredited online MSW programs focus on the integrated practice of health, mental health, and substance abuse. UM’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online require students to complete a minimum of45 graduate credits – available online, part-time. These MSW programs are available for traditional or advanced standing students.
The University of Michigan is a research institution of higher education that was established in 1817, a couple of decades before Michigan was admitted to the union. The University of Michigan’s student enrollment exceeds 45,850 undergraduate and graduate students each year studying online and on the school’s campuses in Ann Arbor, Flint, Detroit, and Dearborn. The University of Michigan’s endowment as a sea ad space-grant school nears 9 billion dollars and is ranked among the largest in the nation.
Degree: MSW Online
23. West Virginia University
West Virginia University’s School of Social Work offers an MSW program that is ranked among West Virginia’s most innovative online CSWE accredited MSW programs. In addition, WVU’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs are considered among the most affordable and best in the market. West Virginia University’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online are part-time, so advanced standing students complete it in about two years, while regular standing degree candidates require three years to finish the degree. It is noted that these MSW programs have no residency requirements.
West Virginia University (WVU) was founded as an agricultural land-grant college in the late 1860s. Additionally, West Virginia University is a space-grant school that operates multiple campuses that serve nearly 30,000 students each year. West Virginia University is organized into fifteen colleges/schools that offer more than 340 academic and diploma programs.
Degree: MSW Online
24. University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work offers online CSWE accredited MSW programs that are nationally ranked. The University of Texas’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs classes include special issues in social work, life span development and human behavior, social work professionalism, and theories of human behavior, plus a practicum, to name a few. Traditional students enrolled in UT’s CSWE accredited MSW programs online are required to finish at least 61 graduate semester hours, with advanced standing students requiring 38 credits.
The University of Texas (UTA) was established in the mid-1890s and was once a member school of the A&M University system in Texas. More than 43,350 students attend classes online and on the school’s urban campus that covers more than 400 acres. The University of Texas also operates a satellite campus in Fort Worth.
Degree: MSW Online
25. Winona State University
Winona State University’s Rochester Social Work school offers a Master of Social Work degree program that is ranked among the top online CSWE accredited MSW programs in Minnesota. Call classes for Winona State University’s CSWE accredited online MSW programs are offered asynchronously, which provides flexibility and convenience. These CSWE accredited MSW programs online from Winona State University require a weekend Rochester visit each semester. In addition, Winona State University’s MSW program offers a trauma-informed clinical academic concentration.
Winona State University (WSU) was established in 1858 and is recognized to be the first established normal teacher’s training school that was located west of the banks of the Mississippi River. The university’s small-city campus and online platform are home to nearly 9,000 students each year. Winona State University has developed relationships with sister schools in Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Egypt, Mexico, Malaysia, and Australia, among others.
Degree: MSW Online
Is an Online CSWE-Accredited MSW as Good as On-Campus?
In recent years online degrees have become more respected, especially since traditional universities have been offering programs online. In most cases, online programs are essentially the same, and just as good, as a traditional classroom. Accreditation is more important than where the degree came from.
The school itself must be accredited, and Masters in Social Work programs must also be accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CWSE). This is the council charged with accrediting programs nationwide and ensures basic standards are met. Your school could be accredited and the MSW program not be accredited. It is important to make sure your school has both as both are required by almost all employers.
CWSE accredited MSW programs online carry as much weight as on-campus programs of both are accredited by the CSWE. Online CSWE accredited MSW programs offer the same education, and are just as good as degrees earned in a traditional setting. There can be a debate over which is better, and a lot of that is determined by what the individual needs. Some settings work better than others for certain people.
When looking for a job, CSWE accredited online MSW programs should be good enough to qualify a person. It is the accreditation that matters more than the setting where you studied. Accreditation should be your first question when looking for a school, and if it does not have that, you should keep looking.
How Important is CSWE Accreditation?
It is hard to overstate how important is CSWE accreditation. You could get your degree without it, but you would be very unlikely to get any kind of job in the field. The CSWE is a national organization that sets minimum standards for schools to follow, and it ensures those standards are met. It does not reflect the overall quality of the total education but does ensure that at least minimum standards are met.
The ability to get a job in this field is the reason why CSWE accreditation matters. It also assures everyone that solid material is taught with good methods. Every school is different, but the basic standards of any education should not change.
With any degree, there are some things a student should be able to do competently. A degree from an accredited program basically says the student has those abilities. This is how important CWSE accreditation is. It helps teachers know what to teach and helps would-be employers have confidence that recent graduates have a certain level of ability. It helps the student by assuring the student they will get the training they need to get the degree, and that they should be able to handle a job upon graduation. This is why CWSE accreditation matters, it helps everyone involved have confidence in the education.
Accreditation helps to ensure the online classes are just as good as the on-campus classes. Students doing a combination of the two should be able to go back and forth with ease. Hypothetically, if two students went to the same school, and one was on campus and one was online, there should be no difference in their education.
How Does an Online Program Get CSWE Accreditation?
Hopefully, any school would already have general accreditation from national and regional organizations. This would be a prerequisite to get any individual program accredited regardless. The school would have to apply to the CSWE, who would then investigate the program to make sure it meets minimum education standards. The CSWE would examine the curriculum and plans for education, and make sure all the core elements are in place.
Online CSWE accredited programs should be very similar to on-campus programs that have the same accreditation. In many cases schools make an effort to make the classes as similar as possible. People in the CSWE accredited online programs watch a video of the same lecture that students on campus saw. CSWE accredited online schools use the same curriculum, same books, materials, and everything else that students on-campus use.
Online CSWE accredited programs have been through examination by the accreditation agency. CSWE accredited online programs also have to have their accreditation reviewed regularly to make sure they are maintaining the standards they are charged with reaching.
It is also important to make sure you know who is doing the accreditation. Almost anyone can claim to be an agency and give accreditation. Online CSWE accredited programs have the authority and ability to make a sound judgment. CSWE accredited online programs will also allow you to transfer credits to other schools with the same accreditation in most cases. When you ask if a program is accredited, be sure to ask who did the accreditation to make sure it is legitimate.
Related:
50 Best CSWE Accredited Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs
Top 25 Accredited Online Masters of Social Work Degree Programs
