Master’s in Social Work

Master’s programs in Social Work or Social Welfare offer a structured, 2-year curriculum of courses required for licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). They are practice-oriented and emphasize practical skills and a social systems approach. If you want to work with people in community health settings, the Master’s in Social Work (MSW) is a good way to go. Clinics and hospitals still have niches for Social Workers, and are still hiring. Many people believe that in the days of managed care, Social Workers will have a competitive advantage over both psychologists and MFT therapists. Their pay is not as high as that of psychologists.

If you eventually want to have a private practice as a psychotherapist for individuals, and also conduct group therapy, you can do it with an MSW license, the LCSW. While the academic training does not always emphasize individual therapeutic work, you can receive training in individual psychotherapy skills through the internship experiences, as well as in post-graduate training. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) can help enhance your professional growth and development, along with understanding the standards and social policies.

Schools of social work do not insist on any particular major for acceptance into their programs. The psychology major does not give you automatic preference, but a psychology major with internship experience is excellent preparation. Virtually every MSW program requires statistics. It’s a good idea to take a couple of Sociology courses (Sociology 201, 315, 316, 318, 345, 375, 415, or 461, for example), or you might minor in Sociology. Do a web search of Master's in Social Work programs to find out what different programs require in terms of prerequisites.

The Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) title indicates that the mental health practitioner has completed an educational program in Social Work, received an MSW academic degree, performed a certain number of post-graduate internship hours, and then passed a particular state's licensing exam. Passing the LCSW exam allows you to practice as an independent, unsupervised social worker. Licensing occurs after educational training (the Master's degree in Social Work) and internship hours have been completed. For more information about California licensing, see the Board of Behavioral Sciences website on licensing information. Each state has their own licensing requirements, so if you plan on practicing in a state other than California, check into the requirements of the state in which you will be living.

The MSW (Master’s in Social Work) is an academic degree offered by the school of social work or social welfare after you complete the Master’s program. Even with a Social Work Master’s degree, you cannot practice as an independent, unsupervised counselor / therapist / social worker until you are licensed. To obtain the license, you must complete a Master’s in Social Work, complete 3,200 hours of supervised post-Master's work, of which at least 2,000 hours are direct clinical experience, and pass a written and oral competency exam. Each state has their own licensing requirements, so if you plan on practicing in a state other than California, check into the requirements of the state in which you will be living.

There are MSW programs at San Francisco State, Sacramento State, and UC Berkeley. For more information, here are Board of Behavioral Sciences accredited Master's programs offering a social work degree.

The answer to this question depends on your interests, goals, and resources. See the Board of Behavioral Sciences site for 2007 data on numbers of California licensed Master's level therapists, social workers, and educational psychologists.

There is usually no financial support, such as scholarships or stipends, for students in Master's programs in Counseling. Students must plan on supporting themselves with outside work, or taking out loans for their education. Paying back loans can be a hardship later if work is unstable or income is too low for economic support.

In California, MFT therapists are saturated in many of the urban areas, which makes it hard and competitive for therapists to find business and financially sustain themselves. Beginning MFT therapists often report that it takes at least 5 years post-license to establish a private practice that sustains them. Many MFT therapists hold different positions to round out their private practice. For example, they may have a private psychotherapy practice, do some consulting around a specialty topic area, supervise the training of intern therapists, conduct groups, conduct training workshops in specialty topic areas, or work in community mental health settings.

Currently the MFT license is found in 48 of the 50 states, sometimes under the umbrella of the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Each state has their own licensing requirements, which you should be familiar with if you will not be practicing in California.

Social Work is an older profession than Counseling and consequently tends to have more political power, especially as you move toward the eastern United States. It tends to have more structured internships and supervision in settings such as hospitals and large community health clinics. In the Midwest and Eastern United States, social workers are often in charge of mental health agencies. Even in California, mental health agencies advertise more often for MSWs than they do for MFTs. The LCSW. is recognized in all states for independent practice. The MSW programs that we are familiar with these days are seeking students who want to be social activists, social change agents, more than those seeking to be "ivory tower" private practitioners. Currently, there is a stipend for MSW students who agree to work in a high need area after graduation.

The MSW is considered the terminal degree for those practicing in the field. In addition, administrators and adjunct lecturers in social work education may hold a Master's degree in social work. Licensure after the academic degree is not always necessary in social work education, though many people are licensed. In contrast, in tenure and tenure-track university positions in social work, the doctorate in social work (DSW) or a doctorate in a related field such as psychology, counseling, or education, is necessary to make you competitive. This situation is roughly comparable to that in Counseling and Clinical Psychology, where you may not be able to progress through the academic ranks with an MA or MS in Counseling.

There are many more M.F.T. oriented Master's programs in California than there are MSW programs. There is an MFT-oriented Master's program in the Counseling Department at Sonoma State, and also at San Francisco State, Sacramento State, Dominican University of California, University of San Francisco, and St. Mary's. There are MSW programs at UC Berkeley, San Francisco State, and Sacramento State.