MSJ Master of Social Work
Transform Communities. Advance Justice. Lead Change.
Empowering social workers to lead with compassion, competence, and courage—advancing justice from the individual to the global level.
MSJ’s MSW program prepares you for an impactful career as a Master’s level social worker equipped to address complex challenges in behavioral health, trauma-informed care, community practice, and policy advocacy. Mount St. Joseph University’s MSW program blends rigorous academics, field-based learning, and a deep commitment to anti-oppressive, anti-racist, and culturally responsive practice—so you can create meaningful change at every level of practice.
The Master of Social Work (MSW) program at Mount St. Joseph University prepares compassionate, skilled, and justice-driven social work professionals to meet the complex needs of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
Built on the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS), our program equips graduates with the knowledge, skills, values, and cognitive and affective processes needed for two areas of specialized practice:
- Behavioral Health/Medicine to address mental health and substance use treatment recognizing larger systems’ impacts on individuals, families, and groups.
- Advanced Generalist Practice—a versatile specialization that integrates micro, mezzo, and macro perspectives to address today’s most pressing social challenges, and
“Mount St. Joseph University’s, Master of Social Work program, is currently in pre-candidacy for accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Board of Accreditation (BOA).
Pre-candidacy status indicates that it submitted an application to be reviewed for candidacy and received approval of its Benchmark 1 from CSWE Accreditation Staff to move forward for a candidacy review within 1-year. A program that has attained pre-candidacy status has not yet been reviewed by the BOA nor verified to be compliant with the accreditation standards. Students that are admitted to pre-candidate programs in the fall (or later) of the academic year in which the program is granted candidacy status will be retroactively recognized as graduates from a CSWE-BOA accredited program as long as the program attains initial accreditation.
Candidacy is typically a 3-year process and attaining pre-candidacy does not guarantee that a program will eventually attain candidacy and initial accreditation. Pre-candidacy applies to all program options, which include locations and delivery methods. Accreditation provides reasonable assurance about the quality of the program and the competence of students graduating from the program.
Review our program’s pre-candidacy status in CSWE’s Directory of Accredited Programs. For more information about social work accreditation, contact CSWE’s Department of Social Work Accreditation.”
Two Admission Pathways
Advanced Standing Admission
- Students with an undergraduate degree in social work complete the MSW program in 12 months.
- Students accepted into the advanced standing program who completed their BSW within the last 10 years.
- 2.5 GPA required.
- No GRE required.
Traditional Admission
- Students can complete within 21 months.
- Open to students with a bachelor’s degree in any area.
- 2.5 GPA required.
- No GRE required.
MSJ's MSW program offers full-time and part-time options
Why Choose Mount St. Joseph’s MSW Program?
Whether your goal is direct practice or macro-level change, Mount St. Joseph University’s MSW program provides the tools, vision, and heart to make a lasting impact.
What You Will Learn
You will graduate ready to:
- Assess and intervene across all levels of practice using culturally relevant, evidence-informed approaches.
- Lead change efforts in diverse communities and organizations.
- Apply trauma-informed and resiliency-focused principles in behavioral health and beyond.
- Engage in research, evaluation, and policy analysis that promote equity and systemic transformation.
Career Pathways
Our MSW graduates are prepared for careers in:
- Medical and healthcare social work
- Clinical mental health, counseling, and behavioral health services
- Community organizing and advocacy
- Policy analysis and reform
- School social work
- Program evaluation and nonprofit leadership
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*MSJ Master of Social Work cost per hour: $680 for the 2026-2027 academic school year.
Lisa Clifton