1. Home
  2. Top lists
  3. USA
  4. Social Work Masters

Masters in Social Work Programs in the USA: Top 20

If you already hold a bachelor's in social work, you should not be applying for the same degree as everyone else. Advanced Standing exists precisely for you, and it can cut the master's to a single year. Applicants coming from any other subject take the long route instead.

That split, rather than the ranking, is the first thing to settle when reading these twenty programmes drawn from 294 on record — and one of the twenty is not a social work degree at all.

How this list is ordered: Ordered by each university's QS World University Rankings position where it has one, then by research citations recorded by OpenAlex; one programme per university, and universities with neither measure are left out.

Full time or part time
Full time84 29%Full or part time210 71%

Same 294 records.

When these programmes start
Fall63 49%Spring61 47%January2 2%Summer1 1%April1 1%August1 1%

Counted from the intake stated on 66 of 294 records. A programme listing more than one intake is counted under each.

1 Master Social Work Cohort

University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration3½ years
  • Research citations34,908,078

Bradford runs its social work master's in person, as a cohort, and built it around people who already have jobs. Classes are in the evening on campus.

The pace is deliberate: six credits a semester across 10 consecutive semesters, which spreads the degree over 3½ years with the same group of students throughout.

The specialisation is direct practice with individuals, families and small groups. A certificate in work with children, youth and families is available alongside it.

Full programme details →

2 Masters Wurzweiler School of Social Work

Yeshiva University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations2,031,215

Yeshiva's Wurzweiler school teaches social work with a strong health care accent. Social policy sits beside health care practice, palliative care and the ethics of medical decisions.

Palliative care is rarely a named strand in a social work master's, and it points the degree towards hospital and hospice work.

The delivery options are unusually wide: full-time or part-time, evenings or weekends, on campus, by live virtual class or entirely online.

Full programme details →

3 Masters Women’s Studies

The University of Alabama

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations4,511,886

Alabama's master's is in women's studies rather than social work, and it is an academic degree rather than a professional one. Feminist theory and the history of women's movements form the base.

Intersectionality is taught as the core analytical tool, connecting gender to race, class and sexuality. Students argue about how women are represented and positioned across different cultures. Core courses lead to electives and a capstone.

Graduates work in gender studies research, advocacy coordination, nonprofit leadership and teaching.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Gender Studies Researcher
  • Advocacy Program Coordinator
  • Nonprofit Organization Director
  • Educator in Women’s Studies
  • Community Outreach Specialist

Full programme details →

4 Masters Social Work

Loma Linda University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations2,096,477

Loma Linda holds together two things that often pull apart in social work: clinical practice with individuals, and advocacy aimed at the conditions that put them there.

Social justice and community engagement run through the taught content. Field placements provide the supervised practice, and they are where most of the real learning happens.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Substance Abuse Counselor

Full programme details →

5 Masters Social Work

Florida Atlantic University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations1,698,316

Florida Atlantic moves students from foundation skills to advanced practice in one degree, with policy analysis treated as a professional skill rather than background reading.

Human behaviour, social justice and community organisation form the taught core. Field placements run under close supervision, which matters when the work involves vulnerable people.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Community Service Manager

Full programme details →

6 Master of Social Work

Albany State University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations1,572,359

Albany State pitches its master's at people heading for community and healthcare settings, where social work sits beside clinical teams.

Social justice, human behaviour and intervention strategy make up the core. The emphasis falls on choosing the right intervention and knowing why, rather than applying one approach to every case. Field placements supply the practice.

Also named for this programme

  • Community Organization Leader

Full programme details →

7 Masters Social Work

Portland State University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations1,412,979

Portland State teaches social work as systems work. Students study how social systems produce the problems that arrive in a caseload, with diversity and justice running through the analysis.

Internships in agencies and community settings carry the practical half of the degree. Human behaviour and community organisation are core. The three named exits are community service management, substance abuse counselling and nonprofit leadership.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Community Service Manager
  • Substance Abuse Counselor
  • Nonprofit Organization Director

Full programme details →

8 Master of Social Work

Smith College

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations382,438

Smith builds the degree on social justice, diversity and inclusion, and keeps those commitments in the content rather than the prospectus.

Clinical practice, policy analysis and community organisation are taught together, so graduates can work with one person on Monday and a policy committee on Tuesday. Coursework and field placement alternate.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Community Outreach Coordinator
  • Substance Abuse Counselor
  • Nonprofit Program Director

Full programme details →

9 Master of Social Work

Purdue University Northwest

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations341,283

Purdue Northwest centres the degree on marginalised communities and what advocacy on their behalf actually involves.

Human behaviour, social welfare policy and community practice form the taught core. Understanding a specific population properly, rather than generally, is treated as a professional requirement. Theory pairs with supervised practice. Graduates work in community outreach and substance abuse counselling.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Community Outreach Coordinator
  • Substance Abuse Counselor

Full programme details →

10 Masters Social Work

Grand Valley State University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations280,959

Grand Valley State gives research methods a full place in the core, beside human behaviour and social policy.

That matters because funding and programme survival increasingly depend on showing results. Students learn to read the evidence and produce it. Classroom work alternates with supervised field experience.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Social Work Administrator
  • Substance Abuse Counselor

Full programme details →

11 Masters Social Work

Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations265,817

Edwardsville takes students from foundations through to advanced practice technique, with social welfare policy and social justice as the framing subjects.

The degree is aimed at serving diverse populations competently, which it treats as a skill to be taught rather than an attitude to be held. Fieldwork runs alongside the theory throughout.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Social Work Administrator
  • Community Outreach Coordinator

Full programme details →

12 Masters Social Work

Adelphi University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations220,601

Adelphi keeps clinical work and community work in the same degree, so students can see how an individual case connects to the agency and policy around it.

Human behaviour, the social environment and the policies that govern service agencies are all covered. Practical placements are central rather than supplementary.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Community Outreach Coordinator
  • Nonprofit Program Director

Full programme details →

13 Masters Social Work

Youngstown State University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations183,920

Youngstown State names the problems its graduates will meet: mental health, substance abuse, family breakdown and community welfare. Each gets proper attention in the curriculum.

Theoretical frameworks and research methodology sit underneath the practice teaching, so students can judge which approaches hold up. Academic study and supervised placement run together.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Social Work Administrator

Full programme details →

14 Masters Social Work

University of Washington-Tacoma Campus

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations180,654

Tacoma frames social work as advocacy. Equity and justice are not add-ons here but the lens through which human behaviour and social systems are studied.

Students work on the complexity of real systems rather than simplified cases, then apply that understanding in placement. Core courses are followed by practical work in community settings. Graduates become community service managers and nonprofit directors.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Community Service Manager
  • Nonprofit Organization Director

Full programme details →

15 Master of Social Work (Advanced Standing)

Alliant International University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations165,459

Alliant's advanced standing track is for people who already hold a social work bachelor's and do not need the foundation year again. It is delivered online and accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

The programme is 30 credit units and can be finished in as little as one year across three semesters, with cohorts starting in May and September.

To qualify you need a bachelor's in social work from an accredited programme, earned within the last seven years, with an undergraduate grade average of 3.0 or above.

Entry requirements, as the university states them

  • Degree: Must hold a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from a CSWE-accredited program.
  • Recency: The BSW degree must have been earned within the last seven years.
  • GPA: A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher is required

Full programme details →

16 Masters Social Work

University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations149,027

Whitewater takes a whole-person approach, joining theory, research and supervised practice rather than teaching them as separate stages.

Human behaviour, social justice and mental health are the three main content areas, with mental health given enough room to be useful in practice. Core classes lead into field placement.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Community Outreach Coordinator

Full programme details →

17 Masters Social Work

East Texas A&M University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations147,000

East Texas A&M organises its advanced practice teaching around a three-step professional cycle: assess the situation, intervene, then evaluate what the intervention achieved.

Social justice, human behaviour and community resources form the knowledge base. Knowing what resources exist locally is half of practical social work, and the degree treats it that way.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Substance Abuse Counselor

Full programme details →

18 Master of Social Work

Capital University

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations144,256

Capital University concentrates on intervention methods — the specific approaches a social worker chooses between when a case lands on the desk.

Human behaviour, social justice and advocacy supply the framework, and students practise analysing a complicated situation before acting on it. Coursework is paired with supervised field experience.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Substance Abuse Counselor

Full programme details →

19 Masters Social Work (MSW)

State University of New York College at Brockport

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations127,445

Brockport prepares students for integrated practice, which here means working across health and social care rather than in one service. Placements include healthcare facilities, public health clinics, senior care, preventive health programmes and mental health services.

Two tracks are available: advanced standing for those with a social work bachelor's, and a 60-credit route for graduates of any other subject.

Both run day and evening classes, which keeps the degree open to people already working.

Full programme details →

20 Master of Science in Social Work

Iona College

  • DeliveryOn campus
  • Study modeFull time
  • Duration1–2 years
  • StartsFall, Spring
  • Research citations121,960

Iona awards a Master of Science in social work rather than the usual MSW, though the professional content is familiar.

Human behaviour, social welfare policy, community assessment and intervention strategy make up the core, with ethical dilemmas treated as a subject in their own right. Community assessment is the practical standout, since it teaches you to read a neighbourhood before designing anything for it. Graduates become social work administrators and nonprofit programme directors.

Jobs graduates go into

  • Social Work Administrator
  • Nonprofit Program Director

Full programme details →

Social work master's in the USA: advanced standing, accreditation and schedules

What is Advanced Standing and do I qualify?

It is a shortened master's for people who already hold a bachelor's in social work, because the foundation year would repeat what they have done. Alliant runs its advanced standing track in as little as one year across three semesters, totalling 30 credit units. Brockport offers the same choice, with a 60-credit track for graduates of other subjects.

How much does accreditation matter?

Enough that it decides your eligibility. Alliant states that its programme is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, and that advanced standing applicants must hold a bachelor's from a programme with the same accreditation. Check the status of any programme before applying, since licensing routes are built on it.

Can I keep working while I study?

Several are designed for it. Pittsburgh at Bradford runs an evening cohort at six credits a semester for 10 consecutive semesters. Yeshiva offers full-time and part-time study with evening or weekend schedules, on campus, live online or fully online. Brockport runs both day and evening classes.

Why is a women's studies degree in this list?

Because the career paths overlap, not because the qualifications do. The University of Alabama entry is a master's in women's studies covering feminist theory and intersectionality. It leads to advocacy, research and nonprofit work, but it is not a professional social work qualification and will not support a social work licence.

What entry requirements are published?

Alliant gives the clearest set: a bachelor's in social work from an accredited programme, earned within the last seven years, and an undergraduate grade average of 3.0 or higher. Most of the others ask for a bachelor's degree and references without naming a figure in this listing.

Social Work lists elsewhere

Other subjects in USA

Browse every Social Work programme in USA →