A Master's Degree in Social Work or MSW is the graduate degree required for advanced practice social work. An MSW can prepare a social worker for clinical work, such as providing mental or behavioral health counseling and therapy or for psychiatric or school social work. Master's degree programs can also prepare social workers to specialize in a particular mode of treatment, such as family or group therapy.
MSW programs may also concentrate on broader, macro social worker, such as those that concentrate on public policy or community organizing.
All MSW programs require a minimum of 900 hours of supervised fieldwork experience in addition to coursework. Some schools also require a thesis or independent research project.
One option for graduate study in social work is a dual degree program in social work and public health. These programs look at human and social well-being with specific concentration on how these are connected to health. Social work/public health programs include topics such as substance abuse and behavioral health policy and practice in urban areas; violence and interventions for violence; and access to health care among others. MSW/MPH students can concentrate on both macro or broad-scale social work practice or micro, clinical practice.
Some graduate programs off dual degrees in both social work and law. This course of study is suitable for social workers interested in human service administration careers as well as positions in executive, legislative or judicial areas of government. An MSW/JD curriculum concentrates on issues related to child welfare, family law, disability services, family violence, corrections and social justice. These programs usually take about four years to earn both degrees. Like a regular MSW, students participate in a fieldwork placement, but these are usually focused on legal or forensic settings, giving the student the opportunity to interact with attorneys and help clients with legal or social problems.
Dual degree programs also exist for social workers interested in business and the workplace. A Master of Social work and Business Administration degree gives social workers the opportunity to understand areas within the workplace such as delivery of services, career advising, addictions counseling, health promotion, relocation assistance and child and elder care issues. The MSW/MBA also gives social workers knowledge of finance and business, which is frequently missing from many social service agencies. This combination of degrees can give a social worker unique insight into how business is connected to the human services field.