edX Online

About the program

  • 36 months:

    Complete the program in as little as 36 months.

  • 900 hours:

    Gain 900 hours of real-world, field placement experience.

  • Accredited program:

    Join a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

Concentrations

Online MSW learners at Syracuse University get to choose between the following two social work concentrations:

  • Advanced Integrated Practice (AIP):

    This concentration is for learners who want to practice in areas such as community organizing, public policy, human service administration, and other interdisciplinary organizations.

  • Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP):

    This concentration is for learners who want to practice in clinical mental health inpatient and outpatient settings — such as diagnosis and psychotherapy — as licensed clinical social workers (LCSW).

Ready to advance your career?

Admissions

Syracuse University offers two different tracts: traditional, for those with a bachelor’s degree in an area that is not social work; and advanced standing for those who graduated within the last 10 years from an undergraduate social work program that is accredited by the CSWE. Learners who complete the program will earn a CSWE-accredited MSW degree for social work. To complete an application, you will need to submit:

  • Official transcripts from all postsecondary institutions

  • Résumé or CV

  • Personal essay

  • Letters of recommendation

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Field placements

Woven throughout the curriculum are two distinct placement experiences. First, traditional learners will complete (suggesting) 400 hours of foundational fieldwork, in two sequential terms, at an in-person agency placement which includes learning across the three systems of social work (micro, mezzo and macro). Learners engage in two semesters of focused learning specific course content related to their area of concentration. Next, traditional learners will complete 500 hours, or two terms, of concentration fieldwork at one in-person placement site either in Advanced Integrated Practice (AIP) or Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP).

These field placements are designed to help learners put their newly acquired skills into practice.

All agencies are vetted and approved by the Office of Field Education and meet the accreditation standards of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). We offer a range of internship opportunities in programs such as community centers, health homes, congregate care settings, schools, relationship and sexual violence, early education, incarceration, homeless and housing coalitions, integrated behavioral health clinics, healthcare/medical settings, veteran services, outpatient drug and alcohol treatment, child and family therapy programs, and inpatient psychiatric units, departments of health, state and federal representative offices, to name a few.

Learners participating in the advanced standing track will take part in two terms of concentrated fieldwork, completing 500 hours of internship at a placement site where you will be able to put what you learned into practice in real time.