Master of Social Work (MSW) Programs in Alaska

Currently, there is only one school in the state of Alaska that offers a Master of Social Work (MSW) program. That school is the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), the largest university in the state and one of the three schools that comprise the University of Alaska System. This program, which is offered through UAA’s School of Social Work, is specifically designed to prepare social workers to address the social and behavioral health challenges facing residents of Alaska. UAA’s MSW program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

The University of Alaska Anchorage’s MSW program features a curriculum that explores the unique cultural, social justice, and economic issues that are specific to Alaska. It has both a full-length track for traditional standing students and an advanced standing track for students who hold a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree from an undergraduate program accredited by the CSWE. The traditional and advanced standing MSW program tracks are offered in a distance education format, which allows students to complete most of their didactic coursework online while engaging in field practicums in their local communities. Thus, the program is designed to be convenient for students regardless of where they reside in the state.

More detailed information about UAA’s MSW program is included below. In addition, there is a section on online MSW programs offered by out-of-state institutions that accept Alaska residents for students who are intereste in additional options for pursuing their MSW degree.

• Traditional MSW Programs in Alaska
• Advanced Standing MSW Programs in Alaska
• Additional Online MSW Options for Residents of Alaska

Traditional MSW Programs in Alaska

A traditional MSW program is a full-length master’s program that provides training and instruction in the principles and practices of social work to students who hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, regardless of their undergraduate major. Traditional programs can typically be completed in two years of full-time enrollment or three to four years of part-time enrollment. During that time, students take foundational and specialization courses in social work and engage in field education at social work agencies and organizations. Field placements are an integral component of social work training and the CSWE requires accredited programs to provide traditional standing MSW students with a minimum of 900 hours of field education.

The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is the only school in Alaska with a traditional, full-length MSW program. The program is distance based, which means that most of the program’s didactic coursework is offered online. Students begin the program by attending a mandatory, face-to-face orientation session at the university’s Anchorage campus and may also be required to attend one or two campus-based intensives as they progress through the program. However, most classes are held online in the evenings and do not require students to be on campus. The MSW program has an advanced generalist curriculum that provides training and instruction in both clinical social work practice and macro or community social work practice.

The curriculum for the traditional MSW program includes a 30-credit generalist curriculum followed by a 31-credit advanced generalist curriculum, totaling 61 credits for the degree. The 30-credit generalist curriculum includes courses on social welfare services and policy, foundational research methods, individual social work practice, family and group social work practice, social work practice with organizations and communities, human behavior in the social environment, diversity and social justice, and combating sociopolitical oppression through social work. The 31-credit advanced generalist curriculum includes courses on advanced policy practice in social work, social work program evaluation, and advanced social work practice with individuals, families, and groups. Students also take a course on transformational leadership in organizations and communities, and complete a Transformational Leadership Capstone for their culminating experience. For this Capstone project, students develop a project proposal that addresses a complex social work challenge facing an organization or community in Alaska.

Full-time students can complete the traditional MSW program offered by UAA in two years, while part-time students take three years to earn their degree. In addition to online classes, students in the program are required to complete 16-20 hours of field education per week in order to reach the 960 total hours required to graduate. The program’s field education requirements are split into two categories: 480 hours of foundational field work that full-time students complete in the first year of the program and part-time students complete in their second year; and 480 hours of specialization field work, which students complete in their second or third year of the program. Students in the program are eligible for an optional specialization in School Social Work, which consists of several elective courses that prepare students for Type C Special Services certification from the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development. In addition, students have the option of earning a graduate certificate in Children’s Mental Health.

Advanced Standing MSW Programs in Alaska

Advanced standing MSW programs are master’s programs in social work that are designed specifically for students who have completed undergraduate training in social work through a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree program accredited by the CSWE. Students who qualify for an MSW program’s advanced standing track receive credit for the foundational coursework and field education they have already completed as part of their BSW training. As a result, qualified students can typically graduate from an advanced standing MSW program in one year of full-time enrollment or two years of part-time enrollment.

The University of Alaska Anchorage’s (UAA) advanced standing MSW track requires applicants to have earned their BSW within the past five years. In addition, candidates for admission must have a cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a four-point scale and have achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher in all BSW core courses. Applicants to the advanced standing track must also have completed two additional undergraduate prerequisites: a human biology course, and a statistics course. As with the traditional standing track, UAA’s MSW program offers an advanced generalist social work practice concentration, which encompasses both clinical and macro social work practice.

Students who gain admission to the advanced standing program track begin their graduate studies with the 31-credit advanced generalist specialization coursework that traditional standing students complete in the second year of the MSW program. Advanced standing students are also required to complete a minimum of 480 hours of specialized field education at a program-approved site or sites. As part of the MSW program curriculum, students can opt to complete an optional specialization in School Social Work that prepares graduates to apply for Alaska’s Type C Special Services certification. Advanced standing students also have the option to earn a graduate certificate in Children’s Mental Health.

Note: Some advanced standing students may be required to complete part of the traditional standing curriculum before progressing to advanced standing courses, if a gap analysis indicates that they still need to fulfill generalist social work course requirements.

Additional Online MSW Options for Residents of Alaska

There are a number of online MSW programs offered by out-of-state schools that accept applicants from Alaska. Alaska residents who are interested in earning their MSW degree without having to relocate or travel to another state may want to explore these programs, particularly if they are interested in programs that offer training in social work specializations other than UAA’s advanced generalist social work practice specialization. While some online MSW programs require on-campus visits similar to UAA’s intensives, there are MSW programs that offer all of their didactic instruction online. For information about out-of-state schools that offer CSWE-accredited online MSW programs, including programs with traditional and advanced standing tracks, refer to our Online MSW Programs page.

Directory of All Master of Social Work Programs in Alaska

T Traditional programs, Advanced Standing programs, Campus programs, Hybrid programs (campus and online instruction), Hybrid-Online programs (3 to ~6 campus visits per year), Online programs (fully online to 2 campus visits per year)