Best Online LCSW Programs That Help You Advance

You might have a bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, or a related field and want to find a career where you can directly impact the lives of people who need it the most. Or perhaps you’re just starting with your education and know you want to study a field where you can help people access the tools and resources they need to improve the quality of their lives. If you have a calling for clinical social work, earning an MSW with a clinical focus is the first step to getting your Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) designation.

Your studies for an MSW with a clinical concentration will focus on mental health, direct patient care, counseling, and helping people improve their lives. Ultimately, providers who have the specialized MSW and go on to earn an LCSW are in a position as master’s-level service providers.

LCSW clinicians are the only masters-level clinicians who can provide psychotherapy for Medicare recipients, making it possible for you to offer meaningful counseling to our most vulnerable populations.

To earn an LCSW, a student must complete an MSW and then complete a period of relevant work experience with concurrent supervision from an existing LCSW. Some schools, like Temple University in Philadelphia, offer online clinical social work programs. The requirements vary from state to state, but you can expect accumulating these hours of experience to amount to about two years of full-time work. Once you have accrued your supervision hours and passed the clinical exam, you can provide care as a fully licensed LCSW.

Before embarking on a large undertaking like graduate school, it is normal to have questions about financial and emotional costs, logistics, flexibility, and the overall value of your degree. Read on to learn more about the specifics of an LCSW-earning online degree program, including your job prospects and career advancement opportunities.

We’ve identified some of the top online LCSW programs that offer the affordability, flexibility, and training expertise you need to advance your career. All programs have been accredited by the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE). A strong background in theory, evidence-based practices, and methods for working with various populations will give you the knowledge and skills you need to provide exceptional care as you earn your LCSW and beyond.

While you can complete your MSW coursework online, you must also complete the field placement requirements set forth by the CSWE. You will attend your field placement(s) for 900 hours as a master’s student, and you can expect to have one or two placements, depending on whether you are an advanced standing master’s student or on a traditional two-year course of study. Part-time traditional students will typically complete two field placements, even if they complete their coursework over a longer period.

A traditional MSW will take two years of full-time study, with part-time students often taking three years to complete their degree. Most online LCSW programs require that you complete your degree within five or six years of beginning your studies. However, suppose you already hold a bachelor’s of social work. In that case, you are eligible to enter an advanced standing MSW program, which typically takes three to six semesters to complete the additional course responsibilities for your master’s while giving credit for already taking fundamental social work courses.

For all students, the number of courses you take per semester and how much time you can allocate to your field placement, particularly if you are balancing it against other life responsibilities, will determine how long it will take to complete your MSW. Taking more courses, taking advantage of summer semesters, and attending field placement three days instead of two days per week may hasten your schedule slightly.

Admissions for an online MSW program are consistent with standards for on-campus programs. Since social work is a field about interfacing with people, a holistic review of applicants is crucial to ensure that the admissions committee assembles a diverse and passionate cohort. Most programs require an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 and do not require any standardized tests like the GRE, as they do not tend to be accurate predictors of aptitude for performance as a social worker. However, if your academic history has some blemishes, you may choose to submit GRE scores to indicate your seriousness for undertaking this degree at this time.

Other admissions standards include:

• A resumé or CV
• A written statement about your interest in social work or an academic writing sample with appropriate citations, depending on the institution
• Academic transcripts from all institutions attended
• Letters of recommendation

Any bachelor’s or master’s degree program in social work must be accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Earning a degree from an unaccredited program makes you ineligible for any form of licensure, making further professional certifications impossible. Additionally, any program that has not met the rigors of the CSWE’s standards could be exploitative to students, either financially or academically. The CSWE accreditation protects students from excessive, inappropriate, or unsafe labor and vets its accreditation recipients’ institutions for academic and financial integrity.

Ultimately, you would be hard-pressed to find a social work program that the CSWE does not accredit. Because of the protected nature of the term “social work,” a program without this accreditation would likely not be able to use the term in its materials.

Immediately after completing your master’s degree, you can take a licensing exam from the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) to earn your Licensed Social Work (LSW) designation. This exam is more theory-based and connected to your graduate school curriculum, and many employers prefer this credential for new social workers as a form of accountability.

To earn a clinical license, or LCSW (LICSW in some states), a student must have earned an MSW from an accredited program, hold an LSW, and participate in related social work experience for at least 50% of the time while receiving supervision from an experienced LCSW. While the number of supervised hours varies from state to state, you can expect to work full-time for about two years to complete the requirement. Related social work experience includes assessment, psychotherapy, other psychosocial-therapeutic interventions, consultation, family therapy, and group therapy.

Following your supervised experience and approval of supervision hours, you may sit for the clinical social work exam from the ASWB, which focuses more on clinical scenarios and applying your knowledge to your work in the field. After you pass the exam, your LCSW license will be issued for you to display in your workspace with pride.

When you decide to advance your social work education, you want to ensure that you make a prudent investment in your future. Earning an MSW with a clinical concentration and working toward an LCSW may drastically increase your lifetime earning potential from your bachelor’s-level prospects. Of course, you want to make sure you choose the most cost-effective option for you, your circumstances, and your family. Our financial aid page is a great place to start exploring your opportunities.

Most students are eligible for federal financial aid to pay for the cost of attendance at accredited universities. Strong applicants are often enticed with institutional scholarships to defray their attendance costs further. Many schools award work-study funding (some schools will count your field placement as your “work-study”) and fellowships. Some students can pursue private loans. If employed, your employer may offer tuition assistance for a certain amount per semester. As a social worker, you may be a candidate for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program through the U.S. Department of Education if you work for a qualifying employer, as many social work roles qualify for this program.