Program Overview

The School of Social Work at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) welcomes your interest in our School and the programs we offer.  We are pleased you are committed to a career in social work, a profession dedicated to the development of a just society. Our mission is to educate and graduate diverse, ethical and competent social work students; engage in collaborative, community-based research; and provide meaningful service to the community and the profession.  Our goal is to prepare students to enter professional, multicultural social work practice.

Our Master of Social Work (MSW) program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and prepares graduates to serve as professional social workers who excel in all levels of practice in economically and socially diverse environments. Students learn to practice as professional social workers with persons and groups representing the range of human diversity and with all size systems (individuals, families, groups, communities and institutions). In addition, students are prepared for advanced, specialized practice in one of the following specializations: Child and Family Wellbeing, Adulthood and Aging, or Integrated Health.

Our MSW Program emphasizes ecological and systems perspectives which focus on the fit and interactions of a person or system in relation to the various environments likely to be encountered. Within these perspectives, knowledge, values, and skills are used in a change-oriented process within a multicultural context to help individuals and social systems achieve an improved quality of life and social participation, including advocacy for just institutions and equitable access to opportunities and resources. Graduates of our program are prepared to work with diverse populations, advocate in a variety of settings, ensure equitable access for disenfranchised populations and promote social justice. We address community challenges related to child welfare, health and behavioral health integrated care, substance use, poverty, homelessness, domestic violence, the growing aging population, and social change.  We educate students for micro and macro practice and leadership in government agencies, non-profit organizations, schools, and non-traditional settings.

The MSW degree requires the completion of 60-semester units over the course of a 2-year program or 3-year program plan. We also offer an Advanced Standing option for those applicants who have completed a recent undergraduate degree in social work from a CSWE-accredited program. In addition to on-campus courses, the MSW curriculum includes a practicum sequence which allows students to apply their knowledge, social work practice and intervention skills in a community agency setting under the supervision of qualified instructors during two 500-hour placements.