Master of Social Work (MSW) Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, MN

There are six universities that offer Master of Social Work (MSW) programs in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-Saint Paul: Augsburg University, Capella University, St. Catherine University, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, the University of St. Thomas, and Walden University. All six of these schools have traditional MSW programs for qualified students who hold a bachelor’s degree in any field or discipline from a regionally accredited college or university. All six schools also offer advanced standing MSW programs, which are designed for students who have a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree conferred by an undergraduate program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is the only state school in Minneapolis-Saint Paul that has an MSW program, and it offers a campus-based program with traditional and advanced standing tracks. Augsburg University, St. Catherine University, and the University of St. Thomas are private institutions that offer campus-based and/or hybrid MSW programs. Capella University and Walden University are private institutions that offer online MSW programs. All six of the schools in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area that offer MSW programs have programs that are fully accredited by the CSWE, as noted below.

• Augsburg University (Accredited)
• Capella University (Accredited)
• St. Catherine University (Accredited)
• University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (Accredited)
• University of St. Thomas (Accredited)
• Walden University (Accredited)

Each the program options offered by the above schools is described in detail in the sections below, with programs grouped based on admissions requirements (traditional vs. advanced standing programs) and by instructional method (campus-based and hybrid vs. online programs).

• Traditional Campus-Based MSW Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul
• Traditional Online MSW Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul
• Advanced Standing Campus-Based MSW Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul
• Advanced Standing Online MSW Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul
• Directory of All MSW Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul

Traditional MSW Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul

Students in a traditional MSW program must have a bachelor’s degree but are not required to have majored in social work or to have completed a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree. Traditional MSW programs are full-length master’s programs that provide foundational instruction and advanced training in clinical and/or macro practice social work. A typical 60-credit traditional MSW program consists of four semesters of coursework that includes at least 900 hours of site-based field education. These programs can generally be completed in two years of full-time study. Traditional MSW programs that allow for part-time enrollment usually give students three to four years to earn their degree.

All six of the schools in Minneapolis-Saint Paul that offer MSW programs have at least one traditional track. Four schools offer campus-based and/or hybrid programs that require students to attend in-person classes. Two schools have online programs. It is important to note that regardless of a program’s course delivery format, traditional standing students in CSWE-accredited MSW programs are required to complete several in-person field practicums that take place at social service agencies, human service organizations, or other locations where social work services are provided.

Traditional Campus-Based MSW Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul

Augsburg University has a traditional MSW program that utilizes a hybrid course delivery format, pairing face-to-face weekend classes with online instruction. The program consists of 60 credits, including 920 hours of field education. Students in the MSW program have the choice of specializing in Multicultural Clinical Practice or Multicultural Macro Practice. The program is designed to be completed by traditional standing students in two years of full-time enrollment or three to four years of part-time enrollment.

St. Catherine University is a private nonprofit women’s university that offers coeducational graduate programs, including a traditional MSW program with a Clinical Social Work Practice specialization. Traditional standing students in the program complete 56 credits of coursework, including 1000 hours of site-based field education. The program utilizes a hybrid instructional format that blends in-person and online classes. Students can complete the traditional MSW track in two years of full-time enrollment or take three to four years to earn their degree by enrolling on a part-time basis.

The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities has a fully campus-based traditional MSW program that is offered through the university’s School of Social Work. The program has a 53-credit curriculum for traditional standing students that requires 960 hours of field education. Students in the program can choose from four specializations: Clinical Mental Health; Community Practice; Families and Children; and Health, Disability, and Aging. In addition, students can elect to take courses in International Social Work. The traditional MSW program offered by the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is designed to be completed in two years of full-time study or in three to four years by students who enroll on part-time basis.

The University of St. Thomas has a traditional MSW program that is offered in a fully campus-based format and in a hybrid format that combines campus-based and online instruction. The program has an Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice curriculum with two concentration options: Social Work Practice with People of Immigrant and Refugee Backgrounds, and Social Work Practice with Older Adults. Traditional standing students are required to complete 56 credits of coursework, including 1000 hours of field education. The program has a two-year full-time track and a three-year part-time track that are offered on campus, as well as a three-year part-time track that is offered in a hybrid format.

Traditional Online MSW Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul

Capella University, an online private university with its headquarters in Minneapolis, offers a traditional MSW program that can be completed fully online. In addition, traditional standing students must complete five field practicums for a total of 1000 hours of in-person field instruction. Capella University uses a quarter system and the 88-credit MSW program has an Advanced Generalist Social Work Practice curriculum that provides training and instruction in clinical and macro practice social work. Students can graduate from the program in two years of full-time enrollment or enroll on a part-time basis and take three to four years to earn their degree.

Walden University has a traditional MSW program that is offered in a fully online format, although students in the program have the option of attending two campus-based three-day intensives. The program, which consists of 91 quarter credits, has an Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice curriculum with focus areas in Addictions, Child and Family, Healthcare, Military, and Trauma. Any of these focus areas can be built into an embedded certificate with the addition of one additional course. The program, which requires traditional standing students to engage in 900 hours of site-based field education, has a two-year completion time for full-time students. Students who enroll part-time generally take three to four years to earn their degree.

Advanced Standing MSW Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul

Students who hold a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree conferred by an undergraduate program that is accredited by the CSWE may be eligible for advanced standing MSW programs. Advanced standing programs are designed specifically for students who have already taken foundational social work courses and completed several hundred hours of field education while earning their BSW degree. Advanced standing students are thus able to complete their MSW degree in roughly half the time it takes for traditional standing students. Most advanced standing program tracks have a one-year completion time for full-time students and a two-year completion time for part-time students. The number of field education hours required of advanced standing students varies by program, but is typically between 500 and 900 hours.

It is important to note that BSW graduates are not guaranteed admission to an advanced standing program. Many programs require advanced standing applicants to have earned their BSW degree within the last five, six, or seven years, and it is common for advanced standing programs to have other admissions requirements, such as a minimum undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a four-point scale. BSW graduates who are not eligible for an advanced standing MSW program can still earn their MSW degree by enrolling in a traditional program.

Advanced Standing Campus-Based MSW Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul

Augsburg University offers an advanced standing MSW program that accepts applications from BSW graduates who earned their degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program and maintained a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher on a four-point scale. The program has two specialization options: Multicultural Clinical Practice; and Multicultural Macro Practice. Students in Augsburg’s advanced standing MSW program are required to engage in 500 hours of field education and can graduate in 13 months of full-time enrollment or 26 months of part-time enrollment. The program utilizes a hybrid format that combines campus-based weekend classes with online instruction.

St. Catherine University offers an MSW program with an advanced standing track for BSW graduates who earned their degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program and achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a four-point scale. The program’s 38-credit advanced standing curriculum includes 600 hours of field education and is designed to be completed in one year of full-time enrollment or two to three years of part-time enrollment. St. Catherine University’s MSW program utilizes a hybrid delivery mode that combines campus-based classes with online coursework.

The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities has a campus-based MSW program with an advanced standing track that is designed for BSW graduates who earned their degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program within the last five years. The advanced standing program track consists of 34 credits, including of 600 hours of field education. Students in the program can choose from four specializations: Clinical Mental Health; Community Practice; Families and Children; and Health, Disability, and Aging. The time to completion for advanced standing students enrolled on a full-time basis in the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities program is one year. Part-time students can complete the program in two years.

The University of St. Thomas’s Morrison Family College of Health offers an Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice MSW program that has a 38-credit advanced standing track for qualified students who hold a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program. The Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice curriculum gives students the option of focusing on Social Work Practice with People of Immigrant and Refugee Backgrounds, or Social Work Practice with Older Adults. The program, which requires advanced standing students to complete 600 hours of field internships, has three enrollment options. Full-time students can graduate in one year by taking campus-based classes. Part-time students who want to take all of their classes on campus can earn their degree in two years. Students also have the option of enrolling in a hybrid part-time track that includes on-campus and online instruction and has a two-year completion plan.

Advanced Standing Online MSW Programs in Minneapolis-Saint Paul

Capella University’s online MSW program has an advanced standing track for qualified students who hold a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a four-point scale. The program has an Advanced Generalist Social Work Practice curriculum that prepares students for careers in clinical and macro practice social work. While all of the program’s coursework is offered online, advanced standing students are required to engage in 600 hours of supervised field education at social work sites approved by the program. Capella’s advanced standing track consists of 44 quarter credits that can be completed in one year of full-time enrollment or two years of part-time study.

Walden University, an online university headquartered in Minneapolis, has an advanced standing MSW program track that is open to graduates of CSWE-accredited BSW programs with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher on a four-point scale. The program has an Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice curriculum with optional focus areas in Addictions, Child and Family, Healthcare, Military, and Trauma. Students can also choose to earn an embedded certificate in Addictions, Child and Family, Healthcare, Military, or Trauma by completing three courses in one of these focus areas. This is a fully online advanced standing program that has a 500-hour field education requirement. However, students in the program have the option of attending two skills labs that are held at Walden University’s Minneapolis campus. Advanced standing students can complete the program in one year of full-time enrollment or opt for part-time enrollment and graduate in two years.