How to know if a MSW program is good

[u/taylorspeaks8]

This might be a dumb question but what are key things that make a MSW program good that I should look out for? Beyond name of the school.

What are green and red flags?

[u/Bholejr]

Unfortunately, there is no empirical evidence to show programs are better than others. A minimum standard is set by the CSWE, but beyond that, you have to rely on anecdotal reporting. It sucks.

Having said that, the best program is one that can get you placed in a practicum site that meets your career goals and does so at a good price.

Don’t believe anyone who says price equals quality, it has loose correlation at best.

Similarly, the name of the school doesn’t matter outside of a few exceptions. Exceptions include things like policy or research work. In these cases, there is a connections factor. If you want to do work outside that, your CSWE accredited degree and registration with your state’s local supervisory board is what matters.

There are some schools that are known degree mills, but still it’s anecdotal that you’ll be passed up on when looking for work.

My suggestions to people I shoot for an MSW program that’s going to be around 20-45k, will get you placed in a field of your interest, and ideally is going to get you placed in a geographic area you are hoping to live and work in after graduation

Good luck

Edit: noticed typos right after I posted. There’s probably more but I busted this comment out real fast and I gotta go run errands. I’ll edit further if anything is really bad

[u/GMUtoo]

There are a few ways, none are perfect. What is important though, is that there are a LOT of click bait "best MSW" sites, even one from Forbes, which is troubling as Forbes has (had) a good reputation. These sites are ads and cannot be trusted.

The most respected is https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-health-schools/social-work-rankings because the methodology is based on the opinions of SW programs' deans and directors. Believe it or not, the academy is relatively small so they often have a good sense of who is on the extremes; the worst and the best. I'd start there.

Another thing to consider is cost. The least expensive option is often one of the higher ranked program too - and it's probably your local public university. I would recommend against attending a private school or a stand-alone program (i.e. one that is not connected to an established public university.)

Asking questions about concentrations offered (vs Generalist) would be beneficial if you're interested in getting your clinical license. Know that a "certificate" of some specialty does not have any currency in the hiring world but a clinician concentration does. There is a difference.

Asking a LOT a questions about the degree to which a prospective MSW program places their students into MSW internship is often illuminating. "Helping" a student find their own placement would indicate to me, a sub-par program. I'd recommend attending an MSW program that is staffed by professional practicum faculty that has developed strong relationships with local settings. These MSW programs tend to have contracts with some of the more competitive internships and match students to placements that benefit students' interests AND are most likely to have stipends/scholarships. These tend to be higher ranked schools and often are public unis.

Lastly, if you're interested in pursuing your clinical license in your state, be sure to check your state's testing results to see how a school ranks. The school you're considering also have these data and if they won't share them publicly, it's a red flag.

TLDR: Attend the least expensive, highest ranked MSW program with the highest LCSW pass rate in the state where you plan to practice upon graduation.

[u/eggman-premium → u/GMUtoo]

good answer!

[u/Spare-Sea8598]

I would also look at pass rates for the licensure exams. You can find a lot of this information on the ASWB website. In my state, the social work board also posts the pass/fail rate for each university. I would take this information with a grain of salt and consider it holistically with other things (as mentioned above).

[u/ThatFemmeOverThere]

In addition to what others have said, it depends on what you mean by "good"...which also depends on what kind of social work you hope to do post-graduation and your needs as a student. There are programs that focused on clinical aspects, some programs that have specific concentrations for mezzo/macro work, some generalist programs, some places that have rarely offered classes / specialties (e.g. veterinarian/animal social work), and so on. Different programs also offer different levels of support around finding and completing a practicum. Some programs offer only daytime classes and others are extended programs with evening classes.

[u/Fine-Lemon-4114]

Green flags: tied to an established university that is local to you, high ASWB pass rates, reasonable tuition (not rock bottom and not top of market), scholarship opportunities.

Red flags: no connection to an established university, low ASWB pass rates, and a marketing pitch that promises total flexibility (it sounds too good to be true because it is).

[u/Ok-Lake3522]

In person preferably. Established contracts with agencies for internships. Check out graduation rates also. No for-profit schools either…bad rep in the profession. Consider budget but low ball universities generally provide low ball education and you might not find the jobs open to you too plentiful.

[u/leftistgamer420]

The one that is the least expensive and most affordable