Master of Social Work (MSW) Programs in the Greater Philadelphia Area

There are five schools in the Greater Philadelphia Area that offer Master of Social Work (MSW) degree programs: Bryn Mawr College; Temple University; the University of Pennsylvania; West Chester University; and Widener University. Students interested in MSW programs offered by schools located in or near the city of Philadelphia have several options for pursuing their master’s in social work. For example, all five of the schools in the Greater Philadelphia Area that offer MSW programs have programs that are either fully or partially campus based, and two of these schools offer online programs that require few, if any, campus visits.

In addition, all five of the Philadelphia area schools that have MSW programs offer a traditional program track for students who hold a bachelor’s degree in any field or discipline and an advanced standing program track for qualified students who hold a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree from an undergraduate program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The schools offering these programs are all fully accredited by the CSWE.

• Bryn Mawr College (Accredited)
• Temple University (Accredited)
• University of Pennsylvania (Accredited)
• West Chester University (Accredited)
• Widener University (Accredited)

The sections below provide descriptions of the various MSW program options offered by the schools listed above, with traditional MSW programs grouped separately from advanced standing MSW programs.

• Traditional MSW Programs in the Greater Philadelphia Area
• Advanced Standing MSW Programs in the Greater Philadelphia Area
• Additional MSW Program Options for Pennsylvania Residents
• Directory of All MSW Programs in the Greater Philadelphia Area

Traditional MSW Programs in the Greater Philadelphia Area

Bachelor’s program graduates who are interested in pursuing a master’s degree in social work are typically qualified to apply to schools that offer traditional MSW programs. These programs are designed for students who have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university regardless of their undergraduate major. While some traditional MSW programs may have undergraduate course perquisites, such statistics, biology, and/or social science courses, these programs do not require applicants to have earned a bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW). For this reason, traditional MSW programs provide students with foundational training in the principles and practices of social work, as well as advanced training in clinical and/or macro practice social work. For full-time students, these programs generally take two years to complete, with the first year spent on general/foundational coursework and field education, and the second year on specialization courses and field placements. Many programs also offer part-time enrollment options which spread out courses and field education over three to four years.

The CSWE requires that accredited MSW programs provide students with a minimum of 900 hours of field education, a signature pedagogy in social work that involves site-based practical learning under the guidance of professional social workers. All five of the schools that offer CSWE-accredited MSW programs in the Greater Philadelphia Area have at least one campus-based traditional track, and two of those schools also offer online traditional MSW programs.

Bryn Mawr College, a private, non-profit school located in the suburbs to the west of Philadelphia, has a campus-based Master of Social Service (MSS) program that is accredited by the CSWE and provides training and instruction similar to an MSW program. The MSS program has concentrations in Clinical Social Work Practice and in Communities, Organizations, Policy, & Advocacy, which is a macro-practice concentration. Students who opt for the clinical practice specialization can pursue certificates in Child and Family Wellbeing, Home and School Visitor, and Social Work and the Law while earning their degree. The macro practice specialization has optional certificates in Child and Family Wellbeing, Organizational Behavior & Management, and Social Work and the Law. Students are required to complete 900 hours of field education regardless of their chosen concentration and can choose a two-year, full-time enrollment plan or a three-year, part-time enrollment plan.

Temple University, a state-funded research university with its main campus in North Philadelphia, has a Regular Entry MSW program that is designed for traditional standing students. The 60-credit program gives students the option of specializing in Clinical Practice with Individuals and Families, or in Macro Practice in Organizations, Communities, and Policy Arenas. Both specializations required traditional students to complete 1050 hours of field education. The program is offered in a fully campus-based format and in an online format that includes one in-person training session that takes place on campus for three days between the program’s first and second year. Students who enroll in campus-based courses can complete their degree in two years of full-time enrollment or three to four years of part-time enrollment. The online program is only offered on a part-time basis. For on-campus students, courses in the summer are held on Temple University’s main campus, whereas fall and spring semester courses are held on Saturdays on the school’s Center City campus.

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn), an Ivy League school located in Philadelphia’s University City neighborhood, has a campus-based MSW program with two enrollment options. This include a two-year, full-time program track, and a three-year, part-time program track, both of which have clinical practice and macro practice concentrations. The clinical concentration has nine certificate options: Geriatric Social Work; Child Well-Being & Child Welfare; Cohen Veterans Network MSW Scholars Program; Criminal Justice; Global Human Rights; Home-School Visitor; Latin American and Latinx Studies (LALS); LGBTQ; and Social Work in Health Care. The macro concentration offers certificates in seven specializations: Geriatric Social Work; Child Well-Being &, Child Welfare; Criminal Justice; Global Human Rights; Latin American and Latinx Studies (LALS); LGBTQ; and Social Work in Health Care. Students in Penn’s traditional MSW program are require students to engage in a minimum of 900 hours of field education.

West Chester University, a state university located in the borough of West Chester, which is west of Philadelphia and considered part of the Greater Philadelphia Area, has an traditional MSW program with a Direct Practice with Individuals, Families, and Communities curriculum. The 60-credit program is offered at the school’s main campus in West Chester and at its Center City Philadelphia campus. Students in the program, regardless of where they attend classes, must complete 952 hours of site-based field education. The West Chester campus program gives students the option of full-time enrollment, which takes two years, or three- and four-year part-time enrollment options. The Center City Philadelphia program does not have a full-time enrollment option and can be completed in three-years or four-years of part-time enrollment.

Widener University offers a Trauma-Informed Clinical Social Work MSW program with a track for traditional standing students at its main campus in Chester, a city in the southwestern part of the Greater Philadelphia Area, as well as in a fully online format that does not require any campus visits. Students are required to complete 57 credits, including 1100 hours of supervised, site-based field education. The Trauma-Informed Clinical Social Work curriculum gives students the option of completing a certificate in Trauma. Students in Widener University’s program can earn their degree on campus or online in two years of full-time enrollment. Those who opt for part-time enrollment are allotted up to four years to complete the program’s graduation requirements.

Advanced Standing MSW Programs in the Greater Philadelphia Area

Advanced standing is the designation for MSW programs that are designed specifically for college graduates who hold a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree conferred by an undergraduate program that is accredited by the CSWE. These programs credit BSW graduates with the foundational coursework and field placements that are part of a CSWE-accredited bachelor’s degree curriculum. By exempting BSW graduates from having to repeat coursework and field education hours, advanced standing tracks reduce the number of credits required to earn an MSW degree and shorten the time to completion from two years to roughly one year of full-time enrollment. Part-time advanced standing students can generally earn their degree in two or three years.

Admissions to an MSW program’s advanced standing track is contingent upon having a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited program. In addition, many programs require applicants to have earned their BSW degree within the last five, six, or seven years. Finally, some programs have additional admission requirements for advanced standing applicants, such as a minimum undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale. BSW program graduates who are ineligible for advanced standing status can still earn an MSW degree in a traditional MSW program.

Bryn Mawr College’s CSWE-accredited Master of Social Service (MSS) program, which is largely the equivalent to an MSW program, has an advanced standing track that requires applicants to have earned a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program within the last five years. Advanced standing applicants are also required to have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher on a four-point scale. The MSS program curriculum has a Clinical Social Work Practice concentration, and a Communities, Organizations, Policy, & Advocacy macro practice concentration. Both concentrations offer optional certificates in Child and Family Wellbeing, and Social Work and the Law. The clinical concentration also has a Home and School Visitor certificate option, and the macro practice concentration has an Organizational Behavior & Management certification option. Bryn Mawr’s advanced standing MSS program track includes 450 required hours of field education and is designed to be completed in one calendar year.

Temple University has a campus-based and an online MSW program with an advanced standing track for CSWE-accredited BSW program graduates whose degree was conferred within the last five years and who attained a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a four-point scale. Offered through the school’s School of Social Work, the program has two options for specialization: Clinical Practice with Individuals and Families; and Macro Practice in Organizations, Communities, and Policy Arenas. Advanced standing students are required to complete 34.5 credits, including 600 hours of field education. The on-campus program can be completed through full-time (12 months) or part-time (18 months) enrollment, while the online program is a part-time program (18 months). During the fall and spring semesters, students in the on-campus program attend Saturday courses on Temple University’s Center City campus, while summer courses are on the school’s main campus.

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) has an advanced standing MSW program track that is offered in a fully campus-based format for qualified students who earned a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program within the last five years. Advanced standing applicants are also expected to have passed all their social work major courses with a grade of B or better. The program gives students the option of a clinical practice or a macro practice concentration. Students who opt for the clinical specialization can earn certificates in: Geriatric Social Work; Child Well-Being & Child Welfare; Cohen Veterans Network MSW Scholars Program; Criminal Justice; Global Human Rights; Home-School Visitor; Latin American and Latinx Studies (LALS); LGBTQ; and Social Work in Health Care. The macro practice concentration offers certificates in: Geriatric Social Work; Child Well-Being &, Child Welfare; Criminal Justice; Global Human Rights; Latin American and Latinx Studies (LALS); LGBTQ; and Social Work in Health Care. Penn’s advanced standing MSW program track, which includes a minimum of 500 hours of field education, can be completed in ten months of full-time enrollment.

West Chester University’s Direct Practice with Individuals, Families, and Communities MSW program is offered in an advanced standing format at two campuses in the Greater Philadelphia Area: the university’s main campus in West Chester, and its Center City Philadelphia campus. The program requires advanced standing applicants to have a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program that was conferred within the last seven years, as well as a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 in all social work major courses. Students must complete 36 credits in order to graduate, including 504 hours of field education. The West Chester main campus program can be completed in one year of full-time enrollment or two years of part-time enrollment. The Center City Philadelphia campus program does not have a full-time enrollment option and can be completed in two years of part-time enrollment.

Widener University has an advanced standing MSW program track that is offered in both a campus-based format and a fully online format. To qualify for advanced standing status, applicants must meet the following requirements: a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program conferred within the last six years; a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher on a four-point scale; and a GPA of 3.3 or higher in all undergraduate social work major courses. The MSW program has a Trauma-Informed Clinical Social Work concentration that gives students the option of earning a Trauma certificate. Advanced standing students complete a 36-credit curriculum that includes 680 hours of field education. This can be done in one year of full-time enrollment for both the online and on-campus programs. Part-time enrollment gives advanced standing students up to three years to earn their degree.

Additional MSW Program Options for Pennsylvania Residents

There are numerous schools throughout the country that offer MSW programs with tracks for traditional and/or advanced standing students, including several universities located in other parts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In addition, an increasing number of schools with CSWE-accredited MSW program now have fully and/or partially online MSW programs that accept applicants regardless of where they reside. There a number of schools throughout the country that have fully online programs that are authorized to admit students who intend to remain in Pennsylvania while they are earning their degree. While the majority of online programs do not require any campus visits, some require students to attend a limited number of on-campus sessions or residencies. Therefore, students considering online programs offered by out-of-state schools are advised to speak with admissions advisors at those schools about any in-person requirements before applying.

Students in online programs are generally able to complete field education placements at sites in their geographic area. Thus, it is possible both for traditional and advanced standing students who live in the Greater Philadelphia Area to earn their MSW degree online through schools located in Pennsylvania and other states without having to relocate or commute to classes. For more information on the wide array of online MSW programs currently available, visit our MSW Programs in Pennsylvania and Online MSW Programs pages.

Directory of All Master of Social Work Programs in Greater Philadelphia

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