Social Work, M.S.W.

Where your commitment becomes a career.

The Master of Social Work is the professional credential that defines a career in social work—the gateway to clinical licensure, organizational leadership, and independent practice. Syracuse University M.S.W. graduates routinely post the highest first-time ASWB licensing exam pass rate in New York State.

Syracuse has been training professional social workers for almost seven decades. Our nearly 7,000 alumni lead organizations, run clinical practices, shape policy, and serve communities across the region and across the country. The M.S.W. from Syracuse is not only a practitioner qualification; it validates leadership qualities, and our graduates’ outcomes reflect that.

Priority Application Deadline: January 15 | More admissions information
Learn more about the Online M.S.W. or Online Advanced Standing M.S.W.

Why Social Work at Syracuse?

• Three formats designed for your life. Whether you are pursuing full-time study on campus, using our part-time residential format to build your degree around existing commitments, or learning from anywhere in the country through our online program, a pathway to the Syracuse M.S.W. exists for you.
• Outcomes that speak for themselves. Syracuse graduates pass the ASWB licensing examination at a rate of 84% on their first attempt (2025), the highest in NYS. Licensure is the gateway to independent clinical practice, career advancement, and other outcomes that justify your graduate education investment. In fact, many of our graduates have been hired before they walk across the stage.
• An extensive, local and national social work practicum network. The Social Work program collaborates with local hospitals, schools, mental health centers, and other organizations. They know how well prepared our students are, and many prefer to hire our graduates when positions open. Internship scheduling is flexible for part-time students, and those already working in human services may be eligible to complete paid, workplace-based internships.
• Faculty at the forefront of social work practice and research. Courses are taught by social work and social science professionals dedicated to educating students in the science, ethics, and practice of social work. Syracuse is an R1 research university, and faculty bring the rigor of active scholarship directly into the classroom, ensuring that what you learn draws on the best available research evidence and our faculty’s wealth of practice wisdom.
• A degree that opens doors to leadership. The M.S.W. prepares graduates for careers well beyond frontline practice. Licensed Clinical Social Workers in NYS private practice regularly earn six figures, while our graduates advance to directorships and executive roles in health care, government, education, and the non-profit sector. The degree is a foundation for wherever you want to take the profession.
• Financial aid and loan repayment pathways. All students are considered for financial aid – including the Genovese Scholars Program – with no separate funding application required. For graduates entering public service, community mental health, or non-profit work, repayment programs can significantly reduce or eliminate student loan burdens. We make sure every student knows about these options: federal (PSLF) and NYS (OMH, LSWLF, and BH4NYC).

“My social work experience at Syracuse has reinforced my passion for this work and has given me practical skills that I will carry into my career. The relationships and mentorship I have gained during graduate school allowed me to grow as a student and young woman learning more about myself, my values, and my purpose.”
—Maya Carter ’25, G’26

Who Should Apply?

M.S.W. students arrive at Syracuse through many pathways.

Some come straight from undergraduate study in social work, psychology, sociology, or the humanities. Others have spent years in human services, education, health care, or community work and are ready to formalize and advance their practice. Still others are making a deliberate career change, drawn by the breadth of what a professional social work credential makes possible.

What all M.S.W students share is a commitment to the values that make this profession matter: service, integrity, and competence; social justice; dignity and worth of the person; and the importance of human relationships. If you are ready to turn that commitment into a career—whether in direct clinical practice, organizational leadership, policy, or advocacy—our program has been designed for you.

Program at a Glance

Three Pathways

• Residential (on campus, full- or part-time): The traditional 60-credit program, pursued on campus in Syracuse, combines a 24-credit foundation followed by a concentration. Full-time students complete the degree in two years; our flexible part-time option allows working students to finish in three to four years.
• Advanced Standing (on campus): For graduates of CSWE-accredited undergraduate social work programs who earned their degree within the past 10 years, the Advanced Standing M.S.W. grants up to 24 existing credits and requires 36 credits of graduate study, completable in as little as 10 months of full-time study.
• Online: Our online program extends the Syracuse M.S.W. to students around the country. Taught primarily by the same core full-time faculty who teach on campus, online students access the same rigorous curriculum and ASWB preparation that produces our high pass rate. Online advanced standing is also available. An Advanced Standing option is also available online for qualifying B.S.S.W. graduates, as a 36-credit, 24-month part-time program.

Two Tracks

All students choose one of two advanced concentrations, both of which meet NYS’s licensure requirements and prepare graduates to sit for the ASWB licensing examination. Both tracks prepare graduates for advanced clinical licensure and agency-based and independent clinical practice and include two semesters of advanced field instruction, totaling 500 hours across a variety of social work settings.

• Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP): This concentration takes an ecosystems perspective in understanding the complex interconnectedness of people and their social environment, preparing students to become clinicians who provide ethical and effective mental health services utilizing evidence-informed interventions with a wide range of populations. Core courses include psychopathology, family systems theory, advanced practice with individuals, families and groups, social work practice in mental health, and alcohol and other drugs in human service settings.
• Advanced Integrated Practice (AIP): This concentration prepares students for direct practice and leadership across micro, mezzo, and macro levels, integrating research, theory, and skills for work in increasingly complex human service organizations. Students develop expertise in community organizing, policy advocacy, program development, administration, and leadership. Core courses include advanced integrated social work practice, psychopathology, and a choice of advanced policy, micro practice, or macro practice courses.

Practicum Education

The quality of your practicum education is the single most important factor in how prepared you are when you graduate.

• Our placement network spans Central New York and beyond, built over nearly seven decades of sustained relationships with agencies across the full range of social work settings. Practicums are available in child welfare, health, mental health, gerontology, schools, substance use disorders, and many other practice settings.
• Syracuse’s field education team are all LMSW or LCSW practitioners with a minimum of 10 years of post-degree experience. They are senior professionals who understand what it takes to develop the next generation of social workers.
• Our concurrent field model combines a practicum, practice course, and integrative seminar that run simultaneously. This model ensures that what you learn in the classroom and what you experience in settings are in constant conversation with each other. Practicum scheduling is flexible for part-time students, and those already working in human services settings may be eligible to complete workplace-based internships.

Joint Degree

Students interested in both law and social work may pursue a joint J.D./M.S.W. in partnership with the College of Law—a powerful combination for careers in legal aid, child welfare, advocacy, criminal justice reform, and public policy.

More information on academic requirements available in the Syracuse University Course Catalog: Social Work; Social Work, Advanced Standing; JD/Social Work Joint Program

What Our Graduates Do

• Clinical Settings and Health Care: Hospital social work, palliative care, substance use disorder treatment, school social work, and community mental health are all growing fields with genuine workforce shortages, particularly in NYS. Demand for qualified M.S.W.-level practitioners has never been higher, and our regional employer relationships mean our graduates are known quantities when positions open.
• Licensed Clinical Social Work and Private Practice: After gaining significant clinical experience, LCSWs may work independently, offering psychotherapy and contract with insurance companies.
• Organizational Leadership: The combination of clinical knowledge, ethical grounding, and systems-level thinking makes our alumni natural candidates for directorships and executive leadership positions in non-profits, health care organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions.
• Policy, Advocacy, and Research: Our program prepares students equally well for policy analysis, community organizing, advocacy work, research, and doctoral education, which together comprise the leadership layer of the profession.

Adrienne Renfroe, LMSW, Coordinator of Graduate Admissions, Recruitment, and Student Services, Social Work

alrenfro@syr.edu|315.443.1443