Glossary: MSW Terms

The Council on Social Work Education — the accrediting body for social work programs in the United States. Utah requires an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program for the CSW and LCSW licenses.

A program formally accredited by CSWE's Board of Accreditation. Graduates meet the education requirement for Utah licensure.

A formal pre-accreditation status. Per CSWE policy, students admitted during or after the academic year a program is granted candidacy are recognized as having graduated from an accredited program once it achieves initial accreditation.

A shortened MSW track (38–45 credits in Utah) for applicants holding a BSW from a CSWE-accredited program, usually earned within the last 5–10 years depending on the program. Cuts the credit total nearly in half versus the traditional track.

The full-length MSW (54–60 credits in Utah) for students without a BSW — open to any bachelor's degree.

The supervised practicum required of every MSW — minimum 900 hours for traditional programs — completed in person at an approved agency. Sometimes called fieldwork or field placement.

Social Service Worker — Utah's sub-master's credential. Requires an associate's or bachelor's degree in a social-work-related field; no examination and no MSW required.

Certified Social Worker — Utah's MSW-level license. Requires a CSWE-accredited MSW plus a passing ASWB exam score and the DOPL application.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker — Utah's clinical license for independent clinical practice. Requires the CSW plus 4,000 hours of clinical training in at least 2 years (including 1,000 hours of mental health therapy) and the ASWB Clinical exam.

The Association of Social Work Boards — administers the licensing exams (Bachelors, Masters, Clinical) used by Utah.

The Utah Division of Professional Licensing — the state agency that issues social work licenses (SSW, CSW, LCSW).

This site's editorial method: estimated total tuition = officially published per-credit tuition × officially published required credits, calculated per track, with formulas and sources shown.

Not calculated for Utah: no program publishes a program-level per-credit rate. In other MSW fleet states the figure is published rate × published credits, tuition only.

The academic year a published tuition rate applies to (e.g., 2025–26). Every estimate on this site carries its rate year because tuition resets annually.

This site's ranking approach for Utah: with no published tuition to compare, programs are scored on verified delivery-format flexibility — campus, online, hybrid — instead of price.