Distance Education

Distance Education Offerings by Accredited Programs

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) currently does not keep information about distance education offerings in the database of accredited programs. The list of programs offering online or distance education we have compiled is not intended to be exhaustive. Representatives from accredited programs can have their programs added to the list by sending an e-mail to aholster@cswe.org, along with providing information regarding to whom the program is offered and the methodology used. All accredited programs are subject to the same accreditation standards and review criteria by the Commission on Accreditation, regardless of the curriculum delivery methods used.

You will have to contact these programs to learn in which states they offer their online programs. Almost every state requires a social work degree from a CSWE-accredited institution to apply for a license and sit for the licensing exam. Practicing social work without a license is illegal, except in very narrow practice environments. See the online CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs for more information. The directory records can be sorted by program level and by state.

Many programs offer weekend and evening classes for nontraditional students. Interested students should talk to the directors of admission at the schools in their state or nearby states and see what they offer.

Baccalaureate Level

This list is sorted by program name and was last updated on December 14, 2012.

Brescia University (KY)

• BSW degree completion program
• Online (weekly chats, discussion forums, and Wimba interactive classrooms)
• Students do not receive all of their credits from Brescia University since it is a degree completion program. The majority of students have attended other colleges or universities for most of their general education courses. They may already have an associate’s degree from their local community college or have a bachelors degree. Then at Brescia, they are able to take any prerequisite they may not have had and all of their social work courses.
• More information: http://www.brescia.edu/academics/divisions_and_schools/social_and_behavioral_sciences/programs.php

California State University, Chico (CA)

• BSW Distributed Learning Program
• Three-year, year-round program involving 3-9 units per semester that begins at the junior year
• Blended-learning program offered primarily online with two weekend intensive visits to the campus in Chico, California, ever semester
• Students must complete field practicum in one of 18 designated northern California counties
• More information: http://www.csuchico.edu/swrk/programs/distributedlearning/index.shtml.

Humboldt State University (CA)

• Two- and three-year program
• Distributed Learning methodology: live webcasts, chats, web tours, small group discussions, shared projects, virtual role plays, on-campus intensives, community field experience
• More information: http://humboldt.edu/socialworkonline

Metropolitan State College of Denver (CO)

• Video casting hybrid format
• More information: http://www.mscd.edu/socialwork/about/education.shtml

Salisbury University (MD)

• Classes are simulcast and broadcast using interactive TV (ITV), online, and hybrid technology
• Open to students in non-urban sections of the state
• More information: http://www.salisbury.edu/socialwork

Masters Level

This list is sorted by program name and was last updated on March 8, 2013.

Boston University (MA)

• Part-time, online MSW program
• Clinical Social Work Practice Concentration
• Open to students anywhere in the United States
• More information: http://www.bu.edu/ssw/academics/online/

California State University, Long Beach (CA)

• Part-time, three-year MSW program using interactive television and online resources with frequent in-person visits by faculty
• Classes on Saturdays with 16-hour per week field placements during second and third academic years
• Children, Youth, and Families Concentration
• Currently offered at Sonoma State University and Ventura College sites
• More information: http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/chhs/departments/social-work/distance-education

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (PA)

• Online MSW program
• Advanced Standing and Regular Track
• Family Social Work Practice Concentration
• Open to students anywhere in the United States
• More information: http://www.edinboro.edu/departments/social_work/msw_program.dot

Florida State University (FL)

• Advanced standing and part-time only
• Asynchronous instruction via the Internet
• More information: http://ssw.fsu.edu/index.php?clickLink=online-offcampus

Fordham University (NY)

• Part-time, 3-1/2 year, MSW program
• Clinical concentration
• Currently open to residents of NY, NJ, and CT, residing 50 miles beyond Fordham campuses for more information:http://www.fordham.edu/academics/colleges__graduate_s/graduate__profession/social_service/master_of_social_wor/online_msw_program/index.asp

Humboldt State University (CA)

• Four year, reduced-load program with advanced standing two year option
• Distributed Learning methodology: live webcasts, chats, web tours, small group discussions, shared projects, virtual role plays, on-campus intensives, community field experience
• One long weekend on-campus intensive per year
• More information: http://humboldt.edu/socialworkonline

Indiana University (IN)

• Online MSW program
• Advanced Standing and Regular
• Advanced Generalist Concentration
• Open to students anywhere in the United States
• More information: http://mswdirect.iu.edu

Michigan State University (MI)

• Part-time program using interactive video or video conferencing at locations around the state
• Clinical social work concentration
• For people who live more than 50 miles from BOTH the East Lansing AND Flint campuses
• Hybrid or blended program combining face-to-face, videoconferencing, and online instruction
• More information: http://www.msu.edu/~swdisted/index.html

Our Lady of the Lake University (TX)

• Online MSW program 
• Advanced Standing and Regular Track
• Specific emphasis on Hispanic children and families and social services across the life span
• Open to students anywhere in the United States
• More information: http://www.onlineprograms.ollusa.edu/overview/msw-101NZ-3417XV.html 

Salisbury University (MD)

• Classes are simulcast and broadcast using interactive TV (ITV), online, and hybrid technology
• Open to students in non-urban sections of the state
• Advanced Standing or Regular Program options
• More information: http://www.salisbury.edu/socialwork

Texas State University-San Marcos (TX)

• Advanced standing and regular track
• Priority given to applicants who reside more than 50 miles from an accredited MSW program
• Online program, augmented by Webcasting and periodic face-to-face skills institutes
• More information: http://www.socialwork.txstate.edu/On-Line-Masters-Program.html

University of Denver (CO)

• Partnership with Colorado Department of Human Services, Pueblo Community College, and many other Four Corners agencies met a need for MSW education in the rural and tribal communities of the Four Corners area
• Classes simulcast and broadcast from Denver using Interactive TV (ITV); online and hybrid courses using Web-based technology
• More information: http://www.du.edu/gssw/distance-ed/4corners.html

University of Hawai’i at Manoa (HI)

• Interactive television, computer-based and hybrid education delivery
• Open to residents of neighbor islands
• More information: http://www.hawaii.edu/sswork/de/index.html

University of Louisville (KY)

• Open to all students in the United States who have earned a baccalaureate degree and open to U.S. citizens living abroad in rare circumstances
• Advanced standing program for students who have BSW degrees from CSWE-accredited programs starting in Fall 2014
• Offering part-time and full-time programs, including 3-year and 4-year curriculum plans
• More information: http://louisville.edu/online/master-of-science-in-social-work/mssw

University of New England (ME)

• Online option for students in the off-campus site at Presque Isle, Maine
• More information: http://socialwork.une.edu

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC)

• Three-year distance education program
• More information: http://ssw.unc.edu/programs/masters/de/traditional

University of North Dakota (ND)

• MSW for BSW students
• MSW for non-BSW students
• More information: http://distance.und.edu/degree/about/?id=msw4bsw2&page=1107

University of Southern California (CA)

• Live classrooms facilitated online
• Open to students anywhere in the United States
• More information: http://sowkweb.usc.edu/academic/mswatusc-index.html

University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)

• Online MSW program
• Designed for both in-state and out-of-state students
• Full-time, part-time, and advanced standing programs
• Primarily online with very limited face-to-face meetings
• Clinical or macro concentrations
• Certificates available to online MSW students in Gerontology, Veterinary Social Work, and School Social Work
• More information: http://www.csw.utk.edu/students/mssw/distance_ed.html

University of Utah (UT)

• Part-time, three-year program
• Friday nights and Saturdays through hybrid of distance technology and traditional classroom study broadcast in Cedar City (SUU), Richfield  (Snow College), Orem (UVU), and Ogden (WSU)
• More information: e-mail sorensen_s@suu.edu

Valdosta State University (GA)

• Web-based and weekend courses
• More information: http://www.valdosta.edu/sowk/overview/options/options.shtml

 Virginia Commonwealth University (VA)

• Structured part-time distance education program for clinical concentration
• More Information: e-mail hfabelo@vcu.edu