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Department of Social Work

Program Options

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The CSUSM MSW Program

  • Is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), which enables graduates to sit for state licensing exams and provides greater access to professional opportunities
  • Includes a field practicum in a regional organization which provides invaluable hands-on experience

The MSW degree requires the completion of 60 graduate units, and may be completed in one, two or three years. Our program specialization is advanced generalist, which prepares students for a broad scope of practice in a variety of settings. The first half (30 units) of the MSW program addresses foundation or generalist practice (as dictated by accreditation standards) and the second half (30 units) focuses on our area of specialization, advanced generalist practice. The program’s area of specialization, advanced generalist practice, directly builds upon and subsumes an established foundation of generalist social work practice and integrates all of the social work competencies.

The one and two-year programs offer hybrid courses during the daytime on Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. Select weeks during each semester will have in-person classes at the San Marcos campus, courses in the remaining weeks will be held online. Field internships are held two other days of the week the first year of the program and 2 1/2 days a week the second year of the program. Students in the two-year program attend school during the fall and spring and have summers off.

The three-year program is offered in a regionally online format, please see the three-year program page for more information. The courses are held online on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Field internships are not held during the first year; however, students are required to be in field two days a week during their second year, and 2 1/2 days during the third year of their program. Students in the three-year program attend school during the fall and spring their first year; and attend year-round (fall, spring, and summer) during the second and third year of their program.