Turn Your Passion for Social Justice Into Practice With a VCU Online M.S.W.
Unlock Your Potential. Transform Lives. Make a Difference.
Tell us about yourself.
Bachelor’s degree is required.
Academic Excellence
Learn from distinguished faculty who are experts in the field.
Online Accessibility
Study at your own pace and choose to earn your degree full-time on a 16-month or two-year track — or part-time on a three- or four-year track.
Hands-On Experience
Gain practical skills through a variety of field placements in your community arranged by VCU.
Tailored Curriculum
Customize your education with a concentration in clinical practice or social work administration, planning and policy practice.1
Choose Your Pathway
Accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), our M.S.W. online format encourages students to find their focus, embrace their own unique insights and fashion themselves into the social work professionals they want to be. Our goal is to equip students with the skills to make an immediate impact on the lives and communities they touch.
Students select a learning pathway, or customized degree plan, based on elections in format and pace. The program includes regular and advanced standing formats, the latter of which offers an accelerated track to students holding a B.S.W. that’s no more than five years old from a CSWE-accredited institution. Additional requirements must be met for admission to the advanced standing track.
Regular Standing, Part-Time
- Three to four years
- Six to nine credit hours per semester
Regular Standing, Full-Time
- 16-24 months
- 15 credit hours per semester
Advanced Standing, Full-Time
- One year
- 12-15 credit hours per semester
Summer 2025 Key Dates and Deadlines
The VCU Online M.S.W. Influence
Making an Impact
As a social worker, you play a central role in advocating for social justice, equality and inclusivity. You work tirelessly to protect the rights and well-being of those who need it most.
Empowering Lives
Social workers are at the forefront of providing vital support and resources to individuals facing various challenges — from mental health struggles to economic hardships.
Driving Systemic Change
In addition to your direct impact on individuals, social workers have the power to influence policies, systems and institutions. By identifying and addressing the root causes of social issues, you contribute to lasting and systemic change.
Ready To Transform Lives?
Take the first step in your journey to become a compassionate social worker and clinical practitioner or policy administrator/advocate who can improve lives locally, nationally and internationally.
Request more information now and start making a difference.
Discover Your Opportunity
1 Please note: The School of Social Work offers two concentrations in social work practice, (a) clinical and (b) administration, planning, and policy practice. According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), “Clinical social work is a specialty practice area of social work which focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illness, emotional, and other behavioral disturbances. Individual, group, and family therapy are common treatment modalities. Social workers who provide these services are required to be licensed or certified at the clinical level in their state of practice.” The Master of Social Work degree with a concentration in administration planning, and policy practice is a macro practice degree program that was not developed with the intention to meet the educational requirements for licensure as a clinical social worker in Virginia or any other U.S. state or territory. If an applicant wants to engage in clinical social work practice and receive a clinical license, they should apply to the M.S.W. program’s clinical concentration.