Work at the intersection of social work, public policy, and systems change. Washington, D.C. provides opportunities to engage with government agencies, advocacy organizations, nonprofits, and community-based initiatives addressing policies that affect historically underserved communities.
Traditional MSW Flagship (On-Campus)
Traditional MSW Flagship (On-Campus)
The Traditional Master of Social Work (MSW) program at Howard University School of Social Work (HUSSW) offers an on-campus educational experience rooted in our historic mission of social justice and leadership. Our flagship program is designed for students who seek rigorous academic preparation, immersive in-person learning, and community engagement—all within the nation's capital.
Ranked in the top 5% of graduate social work programs nationwide and the highest-ranked in the Washington, DC area, Howard’s MSW program offers a high-quality education shaped by decades of experience.
CSWE Accredited
Excellence in Social Work Education
Our curriculum is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and reflects HUSSW’s mission to advance human well-being, challenge injustice, and prepare students to serve diverse and underserved populations. It provides the stability and rigor necessary for students to excel in clinical and macro practice arenas.
The Howard Difference
Why Choose Howard’s Flagship MSW?
Experience social work education rooted in Howard’s legacy, strengthened by personal connections, and uniquely positioned in Washington, D.C.
The Black Perspective
Learn through Howard’s distinctive framework emphasizing cultural identity, strengths, resilience, social justice, and the experiences of Black communities.
Study in the Nation’s Capital
Learn where policies and decisions are made, with access to federal agencies, national organizations, nonprofits, advocates, and community partners.
The Full Howard Experience
Immerse yourself in Howard’s historic campus, traditions, intellectual community, alumni network, and enduring commitment to Truth and Service.
Exclusive On-Campus Programming
Participate in special initiatives, workshops, guest lectures, community conversations, and signature programs such as Project PRESS.
International Learning
Expand your perspective through international study and global learning experiences that connect social work practice across cultures and communities.
Face-to-Face Faculty Mentorship
Build meaningful relationships with faculty through in-person mentorship, collaboration, research, and professional development.
MSW Program Options
Choose Your MSW Pathway
Howard University offers two pathways to the MSW degree, allowing students to select the option that aligns with their academic background and professional goals.
Flagship / On-Campus
Traditional MSW Program
60
Credits
20 courses + Agency-Based Education
The Traditional MSW curriculum provides a cumulative learning experience that moves from foundational knowledge to advanced social work skills across each semester.
Completion Options
✓
Full-Time:
Four semesters over 1.5 years
✓
Part-Time:
Nine semesters over 3 years
For Qualified BSW Graduates
Advanced Standing Program
30
Credits
Accelerated pathway for eligible BSW graduates
Designed for graduates of accredited baccalaureate social work programs, Advanced Standing reduces the traditional 60-credit MSW requirement to 30 credit hours for eligible students.
Completion Options
✓
Full-Time:
Two semesters over 1 year
✓
Part-Time:
Six semesters over 2 years
*See Academic Plans for detailed course sequencing and requirements.
Apply to the MSW Program
Admissions Requirements
Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. The admissions review process typically takes approximately four weeks once all required application materials have been submitted.
No GRE or GMAT Required
GRE and GMAT scores are not required for admission to the program.
GRE and GMAT scores are not required for admission to the program.
Applicants must submit the following materials:
✓
Official transcripts from each college or university
attended. Transcripts must be sent directly by the institution.
✓
Three letters of recommendation
from professors, academic advisors, faculty mentors, and one
university-based internship, work, or volunteer supervisor.
✓
Current résumé
✓
A non-refundable $100 application fee
Recommendation Requirement
Applicants who completed their degree within the past year or who are transferring from another MSW program must submit at least two recommendations from faculty members who have taught them.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Apply TodayWhat Career Paths Can You Pursue With a Social Work Degree?
An MSW prepares you for a wide range of careers across the social work profession. Through concentrations in Direct Practice and Community, Administration, and Policy Practice, students can tailor their education to align with their professional interests and career goals.
The Direct Practice concentration prepares students for practice with individuals, families, and groups in settings such as mental health organizations, healthcare systems, schools, community-based agencies, and other clinical and direct-service environments. Graduates may pursue pathways toward becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) or Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW), subject to state-specific licensure requirements.
The Community, Administration, and Policy Practice concentration prepares students to address social issues at the organizational, community, and policy levels. This concentration supports career pathways in areas such as program administration, community engagement, nonprofit leadership, advocacy, policy development and analysis, and organizational and systems-level change.
Because our curriculum is informed by the Black Perspective, our online MSW provides students with the nuanced knowledge and skills needed to serve individuals, families, organizations, and communities while addressing the broader systems and policies that shape their experiences.
Popular career paths after obtaining an MSW include:
Policy & Advocacy Social Worker
Community & Macro Social Worker
Partner directly with organizations and communities to develop programs, mobilize resources, strengthen community capacity, and address systemic inequities. This pathway connects especially well with Howard's Black Perspective and the School's emphasis on community-centered practice.
Child & Family Welfare Social Worker
Support children, youth, and families through public agencies, nonprofit organizations, schools, and community-based programs. Practice may include family preservation, child welfare, case management, advocacy, and connecting families with critical resources.
Areas of Focus
Explore Our Special Topics in Social Work
Students examine critical areas of social work practice through a curriculum grounded in social justice, policy, practice, and the Black Perspective. Explore each area below to learn more.
Criminal Justice
Examine crime, justice, social policy, and social work practice through social welfare and Black perspectives.
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Criminal Justice
Provides selected perspectives and approaches to evaluate crime and justice in American society. The criminal justice system is placed in the context of broader political and social systems.
Theoretical formulations are studied, while social work practice modalities and implications are addressed. Emphasis is placed on understanding the meaning of the criminal justice system from the Black and social welfare perspectives.
Social work's relationship to social justice issues within the field is also examined.
Family & Child Welfare
Explore policies, programs, services, and social work practices affecting children and families.
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Family & Child Welfare
Critically examines social forces, programs, policies, and services for families, particularly Black families.
Social work practice implications are examined based on the understanding that the family is an important institution, a source of strength, and dynamic and evolving in its structure, organization, and values.
The family as a primary source of support and socialization for children is examined from two important perspectives:
- The child within their natural parenting situation or home.
- The child in need of substitute, alternative, or additional parenting and childcare arrangements.
Policy contexts and related practice implications are also examined.
Social Gerontology
Study aging, policy, programs, and social work practice with older adults and diverse aging populations.
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Social Gerontology
Course offerings focus on the biological, psychological, and social aspects of aging, with special emphasis on Black and minority older adults.
Students are prepared to become practitioners serving elderly populations. Policies, programs, and services are studied with particular attention to Black older adults, who may experience disproportionately the disadvantages and challenges associated with aging in America.
Displaced Populations
Examine displacement, migration, homelessness, disasters, and social work responses to uprootedness.
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Displaced Populations
Covers perspectives, problems, and processes affecting refugees, immigrants, victims of natural and human-made disasters, displaced homemakers, the long-term unemployed, and people experiencing homelessness.
Policy contexts and issues are covered along with relevant theoretical models and social work practice interventions.
Students examine a variety of service responses, including institutional and self-help group approaches to uprootedness and displacement. Critical policy analysis and practice implications related to disadvantaged status and discrimination are also explored.
Healthcare
Explore health policy, healthcare systems, psychosocial wellness, ethics, and disparities in care.
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Healthcare
Addresses special issues related to healthcare settings, healthcare policy and costs, epidemiology for the health sciences, and professional values and ethical issues.
Students learn about the emotional and social stress placed on individuals and families when physical illness and disabilities are present.
Psychosocial factors in illness and disability are covered, as are social conditions and ethnic and racial differences relevant to healthcare challenges.
The role of the healthcare system and its impact on users is examined, particularly in relation to Blacks, women, and other people of color.
Mental Health
Examine mental health policy, programs, service systems, legal issues, and emerging areas of social work practice.
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Mental Health
Provides knowledge about policies, programs, and service systems in mental health.
Legal decisions and related issues that affect mental health practice are examined, along with social work's role in interdisciplinary and emerging mental health settings.
Particular emphasis is placed on the implications and relevance of these factors to the mental health of Blacks, women, and other people of color.
Agency Based Education
The Agency-Based Education component of the MSW curriculum requires four semesters of placements in social work agencies under the instruction of licensed social workers with MSW degrees. The Agency-Based Education courses are sequential and requires a total of 12 credit hours towards degree completion.
During the first year of study, two consecutive semesters of Agency-Based Education are completed in an assigned agency, and during the second year of study, two consecutive semesters of study are completed in an assigned agency. Agency-Based Education courses must be taken concurrently with corresponding Practice Methods courses.
Agency Based Education Course Sequence
SWFI-201: Agency-Based Education I * 3 credits
(Foundation course) First of four required Agency-Based Education courses in regular sixty (60) hour degree program. Focuses on integration of foundation knowledge and practice skills for beginning generalist practice. Requires completion of 233 clock hours, including ten (10) hours for Agency-Based Education orientation, 208 hours in assigned Agency-Based Education agency setting, and 15 hours in scheduled Agency-Based Education integrative seminars. Concurrent enrollment in Practice Methods I course required.
SWFI-202: Agency-Based Education II * 3 credits
(Differential Foundation course) Second of four required Agency-Based Education Education courses in regular sixty (60) hour degree program. First of three Agency-Based Education courses in Advanced Standing program. Focuses on integration of differential foundation knowledge and practice skills. Requires completion of 223 clock hours, for regular students, including 208 hours in assigned Agency-Based Education agency and 15 hours in scheduled Agency-Based Education integrative seminars. Requires 233 clock hours for advanced standing students, including 10 hours for Agency-Based Education orientation, 208 hours in assigned Agency-Based Education agency, and 15 hours for scheduled Agency-Based Education integrative seminars. Concurrent enrollment in Practice Methods II course required. Prerequisites: SWFI-201
SWFI-336: Agency-Based Education III * 3 credits
(Advanced course) Third of four required Agency-Based Education courses in regular sixty (60) hour degree program. Second of three required courses in advanced standing program. Focuses on integration of advanced knowledge and practice skills in chosen Practice Method concentration, Requires completion of 272 clock hours, including 260 hours in assigned Agency-Based Education agency setting, and 12 hours in scheduled Agency-Based Education integrative seminars. Concurrent enrollment in Practice Methods III course and Special Topics course required. Prerequisites: SWFI-202
SWFI-337: Agency-Based Education IV * 3 credits
(Advanced course) Fourth of four required Agency-Based Education courses in regular sixty (60) hour degree program. Third of three required courses in Advanced Standing program. Focuses on integration of advanced knowledge and practice skills in chosen Practice Method concentration. Requires 272 clock hours, including 260 hours in assigned Agency-Based Education agency setting, and 12 hours in scheduled Agency-Based Education integrative seminars. Concurrent enrollment in Practice Methods IV course and Special Topics course required. Prerequisites: SWFI-336
Academic Planning
Download the MSW Academic Plans
Review the academic plans and recommended course sequencing for the MSW Flagship program.
Explore All Program Offerings
While this page highlights our on-campus Traditional MSW program, HUSSW also offers a variety of pathways to meet diverse student needs: