MSW Overview
Earn your Master of Social Work degree from one of the nation’s top-ranked, distinguished programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The Florida State University College of Social Work prepares students to become skilled social work professionals in a student-centered and collaborative learning environment with a focus on real-world solutions, including hands-on learning in an internship. Learn more about our program offerings at the Tallahassee and Panama City campuses and the Online MSW program.
TALLAHASSEE CAMPUS PROGRAM
Located in Tallahassee, Florida, FSU’s College of Social Work offers the largest number of MSW program options. Students pursuing an MSW on the Tallahassee campus to complete their degree program in:
- CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK or SOCIAL LEADERSHIP
Clinical Social Work prepares you to provide therapeutic services, facilitate client access to community resources, cooperative/collaborative work with human service professionals/organizations on behalf of clients and conduct empirical evaluations of social work practice interventions.
Social Leadership prepares you for advanced, evidence-based social work practice in organizational and community settings. This concentration equips you to work in policy and/or administrative positions in governmental and non-governmental social agencies serving diverse individuals, groups, and communities. - FULL-TIME or PART-TIME
Full-Time Program: 12 credit hours of coursework a semester.
Part-Time Program: typically, 6 credit hours of coursework a semester. - TRADITIONAL or ADVANCED STANDING Programs
The Traditional Program: this program is for students who have a bachelor’s degree in any discipline other than social work.
The Advanced Standing Program: this program is for students who have earned a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited social work program. - JOINT PATHWAYS: provide qualified students the opportunity to earn two graduate-level degrees, one in social work (MSW) and the other in one of the following areas of study: business (MBA), criminology/criminal justice (MS), law (JD), or public administration (MPA). Joint pathways share academic content allowing students to expand their breadth of knowledge and content expertise.
APPLICATION DEADLINE
FALL: May 1st
The Traditional MSW Program – Tallahassee Campus allows students with a bachelor’s degree in any discipline outside of social work to complete the face-to-face program. The foundational curriculum in the first year covers the professional body of knowledge required by the social work profession. The second year focuses on an advanced practice curriculum. A variety of elective courses are available, and you may strengthen your preparation in substantive areas of practice.
- 61 credit hours of required social work credits to complete the program
- Clinical Social Work or Social Leadership concentration
- Full-Time or Part-Time course load
Two internships required:
First Year Internship: 432 contact hours
Second Year Internship: 512 contact hours
Programs of Study - Clinical
APPLICATION DEADLINES
FALL: May 1st
SPRING: October 1st
The Advanced Standing Program – Tallahassee Campus is an accelerated program designed for students with a Bachelor of Social Work degree from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The Advanced Standing Program is generally a three-semester MSW program on campus that is available to those students who have earned their BSW within the past seven years (graduation date) from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program. Students who have graduated from a BSW program more than seven years ago may be eligible to complete a waiver application, which will allow the applicant to provide justification for admission after the required date. Please email Fran Gomory fgomory@fsu.edu for waiver information (starting Fall 2026).
- 39 credit hours of required social work credits to complete the program
- Clinical Social Work or Social Leadership concentrations
- Full-time or part-time course load with evening classes available
One internship required: 512 contact hours
Programs of Study – Clinical
Full-Time Clinical – Fall
Full-Time Clinical – Spring
Part-Time Clinical
Programs of Study – Social Leadership
Full-Time Social Leadership – Fall
Full-Time Social Leadership – Spring
Part-Time Social Leadership – Fall
Part-Time Social Leadership – Spring
APPLICATION DEADLINE
FALL: May 1st
The MSW/MBA is a collaboration between the College of Social Work and the College of Business at FSU. The joint graduate degree is designed for students who wish to expand their understanding of the connection between these two fields of study and gain management expertise while working in social service agencies.
- Social Leadership concentration for the MSW degree.
- Traditional or Advanced Standing program options
- For questions specific to the MBA portion of this joint pathway, please reach out to Elizabeth Kistner (ekistner@fsu.edu).
Traditional Program
58 credit hours of social work courses
33 credit hours of business courses
= 91 Credit Hours (minimum required)
Advanced Standing Program
33 credit hours of social work courses
33 credit hours of business courses
= 66 Credit Hours (minimum required)
Program of Study
APPLICATION DEADLINE
FALL: May 1st
The MSW/MS in Criminology is a collaboration between the College of Social Work and the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at FSU. The joint degree is designed for students who wish to expand their understanding of the connection between the two fields, particularly students who wish to gain expertise working with forensic/justice-involved clients.
- Clinical concentration for the MSW degree.
- Traditional or Advanced Standing program options
For questions specific to the MS Criminology portion of this joint pathway, please reach out to Margarita Frankeberger (mfrankeberger@fsu.edu).
Traditional Program
49 credit hours of social work courses
30 credit hours of criminology courses
= 79 Credit Hours (minimum required)
Advanced Standing Program
36 credit hours of social work courses
30 credit hours of criminology courses
= 66 Credit Hours (minimum required)
Program of Study
Traditional – MSW/MS Criminology
Advanced Standing – MSW/MS Criminology
APPLICATION DEADLINE
FALL: May 1st
The MSW/JD is a collaboration between the College of Social Work and the College of Law at FSU. The joint pathways for students interested in areas including family law, domestic violence, public policy and public defense.
- Clinical or Social Leadership concentration for the MSW degree
- Traditional or Advanced Standing program options
- For further information related to the JD application for this joint graduate pathway, please contact:
JD Application Requirements: Assistant Dean Karusha Sharpe (ksharpe@law.fsu.edu).
JD Curriculum Requirements: Associate Dean Jeffrey Kahn (jkahn@law.fsu.edu).
Program of Study
APPLICATION DEADLINE
FALL: May 1st
The MSW/MPA Program is a collaboration between the College of Social Work and Askew School of Public Administration within the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at FSU. This program prepares students for positions in public, private, and nonprofit human service organizations by educating them about social work and public administration of social service agencies.
- Social Leadership concentration for the MSW degree.
- Traditional or Advanced Standing program options
- If you have questions specific to the Master of Public Administration (MPA) portion of the joint pathway, please reach out to:
Admissions Questions: Christina Havlicek (chavlicek@fsu.edu)
Advising Questions: Katherine Stanford (katherine.stanford@fsu.edu)
Traditional Program
52 credit hours of social work courses
30 credit hours of public administration courses
= 82 Credit Hours (minimum required)
Advanced Standing Program
30 credit hours of social work courses
30 credit hours of public administration courses
= 60 Credit Hours (minimum required)
Program of Study
Program of Study – MSW/MPA Traditional
Program of Study – MSW/MPA Advanced Standing
PANAMA CITY CAMPUS PROGRAM
Students living in the following Florida counties are ineligible for the Online Program and must apply to the Panama City Campus Program:
BAY, CALHOUN, GULF, HOLMES, JACKSON, WALTON, WASHINGTON
Located in Panama City, Florida, the Panama City Campus offers an MSW program following an outlined cohort-based program of study that can be completed in six semesters.
- THREE-QUARTER TIME, 9 credit hours (Maximum course load)
- CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK ONLY
Clinical Social Work prepares you to provide therapeutic services, facilitate client access to community resources, cooperative/collaborative work with human service professionals/organizations on behalf of clients, and to conduct empirical evaluations of social work practice interventions.
- TRADITIONAL or ADVANCED STANDING programs
APPLICATION DEADLINES
FALL: May 1st
The Traditional MSW Program – Panama City Campus allows students with a bachelor’s degree in any discipline outside of social work to complete their MSW degree through hybrid curriculum utilizing both online and face-to-face courses to complete the 61 credit hours of required social work credits are required to complete the program.
Program of Study
APPLICATION DEADLINES
FALL: May 1st
The Advanced Standing MSW Program – Panama City Campus allows students with a Bachelor of Social Work degree to complete their MSW degree. The Advanced Standing Program is available to those students who have earned their BSW within the past seven years (graduation date) from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program. Students who have graduated from a BSW program more than seven years ago may be eligible to complete a waiver application, which will allow the applicant to provide justification for admission after the required date. Please email Fran Gomory at fgomory@fsu.edu for waiver information (starting Fall 2026).
- Clinical Social Work Concentration only
- 12 credit hour internship of approximately 512 internship hours and a
3-credit hour advanced seminar course that integrates the curriculum with your internship experiences.
Program of Study
ONLINE PROGRAM
Students living in the following Florida counties are ineligible for the Online Program and must apply to the Tallahassee Campus Program: LEON, GADSDEN, WAKULLA and JEFFERSON
The Online MSW program at FSU is the first of its kind in the nation and allows students to participate in asynchronous instruction online. The program prepares students to work with a variety of clients in a multitude of settings while getting students ready to be eligible for social work licensure.
Students are required to come to Tallahassee during their second and third semesters for Weekend Workshops to learn clinical skills with faculty and peers. We encourage all online students to come to graduation to Celebrate their accomplishments.
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PART-TIME PROGRAM
The Part-time program: typically, 6 hours of coursework
-
CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK CONCENTRATION
Clinical Social Work prepares you to provide therapeutic services, facilitate client access to community resources, cooperative/collaborative work with human service professionals/organizations on behalf of clients and conduct empirical evaluations of social work practice interventions. -
TRADITIONAL or ADVANCED STANDING programs
Traditional Program: a bachelor’s degree in any discipline
Advanced Standing Program: Bachelor of Social Work degree
Visit the Online MSW Program Website
MSW Program Bulletin
Click here to view MSW Program Bulletin in PDF format
Contact:
Fran Gomory, MSW
MSW Program Director
University Center C2517
(850) 645-5768
fgomory@fsu.edu
MSW Program Office
University Center C, Suite 2500
Tallahassee, Florida 32306-2570
Phone: (850) 644-4751 or (800) 378-9550
Fax: (850) 644-9750
msw@csw.fsu.edu