Master of Social Work
Join the Brown School’s top-ranked Master of Social Work program and experience a career-defining education designed to create positive social change.
Shape Your Future. Transform Communities. Lead Change.
At the Brown School, your education doesn’t just shape your future – it transforms lives and communities locally and globally. If you are committed to creating positive social change in your area of influence, our MSW program prepares you to lead with purpose, integrity, and insight. You’ll learn alongside groundbreaking scholars, professors, research centers and community organizations that are advancing the field and innovating evidence-based practice to create systemic, sustainable impact.
Whether you are just entering the field of social work or building on existing educational or professional experience, we offer multiple options for you to pursue your degree:
- Full-time MSW: Traditional graduate degree option; completed in two years
- Part-time MSW: Designed for working professionals needing evening/weekend classes; completed in three years
- Advanced Standing MSW: Designed for students with a recent BSW from a CSWE-accredited institution; completed in 12 to 16 months
- 3-2 MSW: Specifically for WashU undergraduates in the College of Arts & Sciences; completed in one year
- Dual Degree MSW: Designed for transdisciplinary learners to earn an accompanying graduate degree; completed in 2+ years
No matter your chosen pathway, an MSW prepares you to lead in diverse roles depending on your area of focus — from direct practice to policy and from local initiatives to international development. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and expert academic training from our field-leading faculty, you’ll build versatile skills to influence individuals, systems, and institutions at every level.
Your Degree. Your Direction.
MSW students begin their study by selecting a required concentration that will guide your coursework. Elective credits can also be used to add an optional specialization to deepen your expertise.
Overview
Master of Social Work
Curriculum
Our Master of Social Work degree prepares you with the fundamentals you need to enter the professional field, while providing the advanced analytical, problem-solving and team-building skills to thrive in your career.
With a concentrated and curated model built on our 100-year legacy of social work education, our MSW curriculum is designed to prepare students to connect theory with policy and practice, bolstered by real-world learning experiences and research opportunities.
Practicum
In field education, known as a practicum, you’ll step out of the classroom to implement real change in the community while continuing to earn credit toward your degree. The Brown School’s Office of Field Education has affiliations with more than 400 organizations across the St. Louis region, throughout the United States, and around the world.
Our students are able to select their own practicum sites with input and guidance from their field faculty advisor. As part of your MSW curriculum, you will complete two practica experiences: a 360-hour Foundation Practicum and 600-hours of Concentration Practicum.
Student Support
As a student-centered institution, our entire faculty and staff are committed to providing our student scholars with the personalized attention and tailored solutions to thrive academically, personally, and professionally.
Our holistic advising system ensures you have faculty and administrative guidance throughout your studies. In addition, our Career Engagement staff prepares you to navigate the job market successfully with one-on-one coaching, specialized workshops, and networking events.
“The nationally ranked Master of Social Work program at the Brown School offers the next generation of practitioners the resources they need to generate solutions and enhance the lives of clients and communities. Our full-time, part-time, and advanced standing scholars engage in course content in micro-, mezzo, and macro practice to develop their professional skills. MSW graduates are prepared to use evidence-based knowledge to create interventions and programs to implement in local, national and global contexts.“
Janelle Gibson, Assistant Dean for Social Work
“Your degree is about the impact you want to make. My trajectory at the Brown School has been about looking at the wider play: What can you do that has the most significance?”
– Jackson Sarter, MSW ’20
