Master of Social Work: Direct Community Practice Specialization
Provide Skilled Counseling to Your Community With an MSW Online
Hands-on Community Practicum
Transfer up to 15 Credits
Led by Trained Field Experts
In-Demand Industry
Learn More Today
Complete the form to learn more about this program.
- Duration 3.5 years
- Cost per Credit $840
- Credit Hours 60
Program Benefits
- Focus your degree with a specialization
- Build the skills to pursue licensure
- CSWE-Accredited
Help Communities Thrive
Serve others by identifying and helping to solve problems. With a Sacred Heart MSW – Direct Community Practice, you’ll pair up with field experts who mentor you while practicing in a supervised setting. SHU offers an extensive network of agencies for field education, so once you finish your online coursework, you’ll enjoy experiential learning in community settings like a school, hospital, adult mental health clinic, juvenile justice, adult probation, substance abuse, or children’s mental health facility.
Your convenient online curriculum provides the theories and research and your applied practices and hand-on experiences within social settings prepare you for clinical licensure. An advanced standing option for expedited program completion is available for students with a bachelor’s degree from a CSWE-accredited institution, among other requirements. Please see our admissions requirements for more information.
Career Outlook: Growth in Advanced Care
There are many factors contributing to high job growth in social work, including the advancement of progressive attitudes on issues like mental health and chemical dependency and an aging baby boomer population.
Advanced practice jobs requiring licensed social workers are seeing enormous growth, with community health workers growing in demand by 17.9 percent over the next decade and personal caregivers growing by an enormous 38.6 percent.1
Senior Social Worker:
$60,570/YEAR
As a senior social worker, you could be a leader on the frontlines of confronting a variety of complex social work issues, including child welfare, domestic violence, gender and race injustice and other critical problems.2
Behavioral Health Specialist:
$55,075/YEAR
As a behavioral health specialist, you’ll help people living with challenges such as chemical dependency, physical disability and mental conditions that impact quality of life.3
Careers and SalariesCurriculum: Learn to Work Among Diverse Communities
Receive a comprehensive education on social welfare, human behavior, social justice and research methods, as well as an understanding of how policy impacts social work. Additionally, complete a course on direct community social work practice and a 1,100-hour community practicum.
You’ll graduate prepared to pursue licensure. Be sure to review licensure requirements ahead of time, as students are responsible for understanding the requirements of the state in which they intend to practice.
Course Spotlight: SW 587 – Social Work Direct Community Practice
Build knowledge on applying the generalist practice framework to community systems at the specialized level. Examine the interaction between person and environment in order to better meet the needs of diverse populations. Learn strategies for engaging stakeholders in capacity building, problem-solving, and decision-making. Consider trends in the political, economic and social environment that impact community change.
Preview CoursesCourse Spotlight: SW 566 – Social Welfare Policy and Services
Gain an understanding of social policy and the process through which it’s formulated, implemented and analyzed. Examine the inequalities in social welfare as policy manifestations of institutionalized racism and sexism. Discover the impact of policy on service delivery networks and social service structures.
Focus Your MSW With a Specialization
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a question we don’t cover here, request more information or call 877-791-7181.
Sacred Heart University’s online MSW program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The CSWE’s Commission on Accreditation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in the United States and its territories.
Our accredited status lets you know the education you receive at Sacred Heart University is rigorous and prepares you for the realities of practice.
- Bachelor’s degree (BA, BS, BSW) from an accredited college or university with a 3.0 GPA or higher (2.7 and up may be considered)
- Official transcripts from all previously attended institutions
- Résumé
- Personal statement outlining why you are pursuing the MSW at SHU
- Two letters of recommendation: Must be from an employer, professor or manager and be dated by no more than 2 years from the enrollment date
- Interview with social work faculty
- Bachelor’s degree earned within the last six years from a CSWE-accredited college or university, with at least grade B in each course
- Field evaluation form(s) from all placements, completed by BSW field placement supervisor(s) after each BSW field placement. (It was likely provided to your BSW program director, field coordinator/director, academic advisor, or field liaison.)
- Applicants will print a copy of the MSW program evaluation form and provide it to their BSW program director or designee (e.g., academic advisor, field liaison, etc.) for completion.
The MSW does prepare you for licensure. License requirements vary by state. Though students are responsible for verifying license requirements in the state in which they plan to practice, our friendly admissions team is ready to answer questions and guide you through this process. Reach out to them at 877-791-7181 or onlineadmissions@sacredheart.edu.
Sacred Heart University’s Catholic intellectual traditions guide the School of Social Work through the ethical principles of service, respect for human dignity, social and economic justice, and the needs of vulnerable and diverse populations. These principles guide the School of Social Work’s anti-racist mission, work with students, and service to the community.
If you have earned a bachelor’s degree in social work with a 3.0 GPA within the past six years, you’re eligible for our Advanced Standing program and can graduate within 20 months. If your undergraduate degree is focused in a field other than social work, you can complete the online MSW at Sacred Heart within 3.5 years.
Currently, Sacred Heart University does not offer scholarships. Please consider the following options regarding finances:
- Complete the FAFSA® to determine your financial aid eligibility
- Apply for a Sallie Mae loan
- Review our payment plan
For assistance, please reach out to the SHU Online Admissions Office for further details at 877-791-7181 or onlineadmissions@sacredheart.edu.
Sources:
- Burning Glass Technologies: Labor Insight™. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- Payscale (n.d.). Average Senior Social Worker Salary. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Senior_Social_Worker/Salary.
- Payscale (n.d.). Average Behavioral Health Specialist Salary. Retrieved October 1, 2019, from https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Behavioral_Health_Specialist/Hourly_Rate.