March is for Social Workers

March is social work month! Students looking forward to graduating with a social work degree will be asking what will be required of them to be licensed to practice social work. Hopefully, they will have already researched requirements to become licensed in the state or U.S. territory of their choosing and therefore they will already know whether the social work program in which they are enrolled will help them meet those requirements. Many students, however, are not aware whether their social work program will meet state/territory requirements.

One requirement is certain, accreditation

All U.S. states and territories that offer a social work license, at the master’s degree level, require an applicant to have graduated from a social work program that is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

Twenty-five states include language in their statute or administrative code allowing graduation from a social work program that is in candidacy with CSWE. Five of the 25 states that allow a graduate from a program in CSWE-candidacy to apply for licensure have specified a condition.

• An applicant in Tennessee can apply for a temporary license and must apply for a permanent license within 60 days of the program achieving full accreditation.

• In Pennsylvania, a graduate can apply for a license but will not be fully licensed until the program achieves full accreditation.

• New York State requires graduates to prove that their program (while in candidacy) meets the State’s practicum and course requirements.

• In California, an applicant can be licensed at the Associate Clinical Social Worker level but cannot take the clinical exam required for the licensed Clinical Social Worker level license until the program has fully achieved CSWE accreditation.

Differences across states/territories

Overall, at the master’s degree level, there are 132 social work licenses across all U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and four of the U.S. territories. 

• Of the 132, 63 are first level licenses. They include titles such as:

  • Licensed or certified social worker (LSW or CSW)

  • Licensed graduate social worker (LGSW)

  • Licensed master social worker (LMSW)

  • Licensed clinical candidate, associate, or trainee

• 69 are higher (than first) level licenses (offered in 55 states/territories); 14 states have more than one higher level license.

• The range of all license levels by state or territory is from zero to four:

  • No license offered (n=1)

  • One level offered (n=1)

  • Two levels offered (n=36)

  • Three levels offered (n=13)

  • Four levels offered (n=5)

Note: “Level” is a bit of a misnomer as some levels are parallel, primarily providing a pathway for clinical practice and another pathway for non-clinical (e.g., administrative, community/organizational) practice.

Twenty-four licenses have specific course requirements (108 do not). Of the 24, 11 licenses require courses that do not have to be taken as part of the applicant’s MSW degree program. Thirteen licenses have specified course requirements that must be part of the applicant’s MSW degree program.

All U.S. states and territories that offer a social work license require the applicant to take the ASWB exam at either the bachelor, master, advanced generalist, or clinical level. However, eight states do not require the exam for their first level license. 

HELP is available

Social work programs have a responsibility to help their students understand whether their program will meet state/territory requirements in the jurisdiction the student wishes to practice. We can HELP social work programs understand and communicate the requirements to students. Let us know if you want HELP!