Master of Social Work

The MSW curriculum explores emerging needs in the field to prepare social workers who can find comprehensive, integrative solutions to 21st-century challenges. Featuring a rigorous curriculum that mirrors the on-campus program, MSW provides each student with a specialization in integrative social work, offering foundational training that prepares them to practice across client populations and settings. The program can be further supplemented with one of five optional, specialized tracks.

Courses are delivered online and taught by our award-winning faculty, and a team of placement experts help you find appropriate practicum sites in your own community. MSW expands on the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work’s historic strengths while emphasizing early intervention, prevention and wellness, leadership and effective collaboration, core competencies (evidence-based practices and evidence-informed interventions), and implications of new findings in neuroscience.

The Master of Social Work (MSW) program at USC is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), and designed to help meet the eligibility requirements for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) and Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) examination to obtain licensure.

Our Curriculum

Our MSW program offers in-person, online, and hybrid learning options to accommodate student preferences. In-person learning provides synchronous learning, immediate feedback, and access to campus resources. Online learning offers flexibility, asynchronous and synchronous learning, and diverse interactions. Hybrid learning combines the best of both, providing structured in-person courses in the first year and flexible online courses in the second year, ensuring a balanced and varied learning experience. Each format is designed to cater to different learning styles and life circumstances, ensuring that all students can achieve their educational goals effectively.

Practicum education is essential for social work training, spanning four semesters and integrating community-based placements, classroom instruction, and simulated client training. The school partners with various community agencies and organizations to offer students practical experience that complements their academic learning. Practicum instructors, who are MSWs from either the agency or the school, supervise and teach the students during their placements. Practicum settings are intended to provide a broad range of experiences that assist in the integration of concepts and enhance the workforce. Campus based students are provided two diverse community based placements. These placements, often located in diverse social service agencies, are chosen for their professional quality, commitment to social justice, and ability to support educational goals.

By contrast, online students begin their practicum education with the Virtual Practicum (VFP), which is an online experience that allows students to hone in on practice skills and gain confidence in a controlled secure environment. The Virtual Practicum is 210 hours and take place in the MSW’s intimate virtual classroom. While in a small group session and under the supervision of a USC professor, students have an opportunity to work with an actor who plays the role of a client in crisis, in real time! This gives students the opportunity to perfect their craft right out of the gate. Once students have established a foundation online, they will complete an in-person, community-based placement that will develop your clinical skills and prepare them to work in a range of settings for a total of 890 hours. By end of the program, both students online and on campus will have completed a total of 1200 hours, 1100 hours during the practicum, and 100 hours during seminar hours.

View the Practicum Education Manual.

Curriculum Overview

Traditional Online MSW Program: 48 Units

If you hold a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) you may be eligible for our MSW program. The program can be taken full time or part time.

Advanced Standing: 24 Units

If you hold a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from an accredited institution, you may be eligible for the advanced standing program.

48-Units Integrative Social Work (ISW) Curriculum:

Full-time Sample Schedule

Part-time Sample Schedule

Advanced Standing Integrative Social Work (ISW) Curriculum: