Master of Social Work Program
Educating the Next Generation of Social Work Leaders
Master of Social Work
In our top-ranked MSW program, you'll combine rigorous academics with immersive field placements in schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and community organizations. Flexible pathways let you tailor your education to your interests, strengths, and career goals.
Assistant Professor Robert Motley talking with students in class
#8
Nationally ranked by U.S. News and World Report (2024)鈥� #1 in New England
1,000+
Field agency partners where you receive hands-on training and mentorship
11k+
Social work alumni who have graduated from the BC Master of Social Work program
97%
First time licensure pass rate for our graduates vs. 72% nationally
Which pathway fits you?
Program Pathways
Every pathway includes the same rigorous curriculum: 12 required courses, 5 electives, hands-on field education, 6 fields of practice concentration options, and 12+ optional certificates to choose from.听
Full-Time
Two years
The classic path: full immersion in coursework, field education, and community.听
Full-time program >听
Part-Time
Three/ Four years
Keep earning鈥攜our current human services job can be your practicum.听
Part-time program >听
Advanced Standing
12 or 16 months
Have a CSWE-accredited BSW? Finish in three semesters鈥攕tart in January or May.
Advanced Standing >听
Dual Degrees
Two credentials
MSW/JD, MSW/MBA, MSW/Theology & Ministry 鈥� plus BA/MSW for BC undergrads.
Dual Degrees >听
Clinical
Evidence-based interventions with individuals, couples, families, and groups. Assessment, diagnostic classifications, and therapeutic relationship skills鈥攔efined through coursework and field practice.
Career pathways include:听schools, community health care centers, and sports and adventure-based organizations.
Macro
Change at the community, organizational, and policy level. Social innovation and leadership: human-centered design, systems thinking, advocacy, and financial management for sustained impact.听 Learn more >听
Career pathways include:听social innovation, non-profit, and social advocacy settings.听
1,000+ field agencies. One matched to you.听
Field Practicum
Gain hands-on experience through field placements in schools, hospitals, government agencies, nonprofits, and community organizations. Our Field Education team matches you with placements aligned to your career goals. You will complete 16 hours per week in the first year and 24 hours per week in the second year.听Sample agency sites include:
- 艾可直播 Medical Center
- 艾可直播 Public Schools
- Cambridge Health Alliance
- Camp Harbor View
- Carroll Center for the Blind
- Catholic Charities
- Jesuit Refugee Service
- United Way
- Veterans鈥� Administration Medical Centers
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Global Practice student training at Jesuit Refugee Service in Kampala, Uganda
Shape your education around your passion
Tailor your Degree
Field of Practice Concentrations
- Black Leadership in Social Work
- Children, Youth, and Families
- Global Practice
- Health
- Latinx Communities
- Mental Health
Three Initiatives
- Black Leadership Initiative - preparing practitioners to engage Black individuals, families, and communities with collective action and cultural context.听
- Latinx Leadership Initiative - sustainable solutions with Latinx communities; core courses taught in Spanish.听
- Trauma Integration Initiative - trauma-informed theory and practice woven through curriculum, field, and research.听
Optional Certificates
Build additional knowledge and specialized skills by completing an optional certificate. Certificates give students the opportunity to build knowledge in subject-specific areas of social work. Certificates require the completion of three specified courses within a chosen area.听
- Advanced Research
- Aging Populations & Gerontology
- Black Leadership
- Child Welfare
- Design Thinking for Social Change
- Global Humanitarian Practice
- Latinx Leadership
- Neuroscience & Social Work
- Refugees & Immigrants
- School Social Work
- Social Work and Public Health
- Trauma
- Child Policy and Leadership* (Lynch School)
Class of 2025
Career Outcomes
98%
Of graduates secured a job within one year of graduation
1.8
The average number of months of a job search
40%
Of graduates are working in mental health/behavioral health
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BCSSW students gathered for Spirit Day
A Community That Supports Your Success
Connected by Purpose
Grounded in the ideals that inspired our Jesuit founders, we ask our students to explore the big questions and challenge them to ask: What difference will I make? How will my knowledge serve the world?
- Throughout the program, you'll benefit from BCSSW's culture of support, including guidance and mentoring from professors, advisors, staff, and alumni.
- Career Services supports your professional journey through career coaching, employer connections, networking events, and lifelong alumni mentoring.
- Our renowned 艾可直播are researchers and scholars as well as practicing clinicians, policymakers, and nonprofit directors who specialize in a variety of critical topics.听
Social work blends advocacy, compassion, and respect for human dignity. I love social work's commitment to seeing each person within their unique context and honoring their right to choose their own path. The field allows me to walk alongside people from all backgrounds and learn from their experiences, and work collectively to address the root causes of injustices and inequities. It's a career built on compassion, growth, and human connection.
-Sarah Coughlin, MSW鈥�07
Explore More
One Degree. Countless Possibilities.
Start your social work journey
Shape your MSW experience with the academic pathways, practical experiences, and specialized training that prepare you to lead in the areas that matter most to you.