Master of Social Work (MSW) Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex – Campus and Online

There are five universities in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex area that offer Master of Social Work (MSW) programs: Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas Christian University (TCU), The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), and the University of North. All five schools have fully or partially campus-based programs, and there are two that offer online programs. Each of the five schools that offers MSW programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex have at least one traditional program option for students who hold a bachelor’s degree in any field or discipline, and all five have advanced standing programs that are designed for students who hold a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program.

Among the MSW programs offered by the five universities in the Dallas Fort Worth area are programs with specializations in clinical practice social work, macro practice social work, and advanced generalist practice social work. All of these programs are accredited by the CSWE.

• Tarleton State University (Accredited)
• Texas A&M University-Commerce (Accredited)
• Texas Christian University (Accredited)
• The University of Texas at Arlington (Accredited)
• University of North Texas (Accredited)

The programs offered by the above listed schools are detailed in the sections below. Traditional and advanced standing MSW programs are discussed separately due to the differences in their admissions requirements. Programs are then separated based on their mode of delivery so that students can more easily find programs that are campus-based versus online.

• Traditional Campus-Based MSW Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex
• Traditional Online MSW Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex
• Advanced Standing Campus-Based MSW Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex
• Advanced Standing Online MSW Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex
• Directory of All MSW Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex

Traditional MSW Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex

All five of the universities in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex that have MSW programs offer at least one traditional program. These are programs that are designed for students who hold a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university and that meet other admissions requirements. However, traditional MSW programs do not require applicants to have majored in social work. Like master’s programs in many other fields, traditional MSW programs take about two years to complete when students enroll on a full-time basis. Students who decide to pursue their degree part-time typically take three to four years to earn an MSW degree. One unique feature of MSW programs is field education, a signature pedagogy of social work training in which students spend a specified number of hours engaged in supervised work experiences at social work agencies, human services organizations, and other places where social work services are provided. Traditional MSW programs require students to complete 900 or more hours of field education prior to graduation.

As detailed in the sections below, five universities in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex have traditional MSW programs that are either fully or partially campus based. Two schools offer fully online MSW programs for traditional standing students.

Traditional Campus-Based MSW Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex

Tarleton State University offers a traditional MSW program at three campuses in North Texas, including at its campus in Fort Worth. The Fort Worth program utilizes a cohort model in which groups of students begin and progress through the curriculum on a two-year, full-time completion plan or a part-time plan that takes three to four years to complete. Coursework is delivered online and through face-to-face evening classes. Students can choose from two specializations: Advanced Direct Practice (clinical social work); and Administration and Leadership Practice (macro social work). This is a 60-credit MSW program that includes 900 hours of site-based field education.

Texas A&M University-Commerce has a 60-credit, traditional MSW program that is offered in a campus-based format at three locations in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. Students can earn their MSW degree by taking courses at the university’s main campus in Commerce or attend classes at the Mesquite Metroplex Center or the Collin County Higher Education Center. All three sites offer an Advanced Generalist curriculum that provides training and instruction in clinical and macro practice social work and includes 900 hours of field education. Students can complete Texas A&M University-Commerce’s traditional MSW program in two years of full-time enrollment or in three to four years of part-time enrollment.

Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth has a campus-based traditional MSW program that provides students with advanced generalist training in clinical and macro practice social work. The program has specializations in Health and Mental Health, and in Children and Families. Students in the program are required to complete 60 credits of coursework, including 900 hours of site-based field education. Full-time students can graduate from TCU’s MSW program in two years, while part-time students are allotted up to four years to complete their degree.

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) offers two traditional MSW program options at campuses in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. Students can choose to enroll in the program at UTA’s main campus in Arlington or at a secondary campus in Fort Worth. While both programs provide some online instruction, students in these programs are required to attend campus-based classes and to complete 960 hours of field education at program-approved sites. The 61-credit MSW program has a Community and Administrative Practice macro social work specialization option that it offers at its main campus in Arlington, as well as four clinical practice social work specializations students in the Arlington program can choose from: Direct Practice in Aging; Direct Practice in Children and Families; Direct Practice in Health; or Direct Practice in Mental Health and Substance Misuse. The Fort Worth campus program only offers the Direct Practice in Children and Families clinical specialization. Full-time students can complete either of UTA’s traditional MSW programs in two years of full-time enrollment. Part-time students typically take three or four years to earn their degree.

The University of North Texas (UNT) offers a campus-based MSW program that holds classes at UNT’s main campus in Denton, which is approximately 40 miles north of Fort Worth and Dallas. This program has an Advanced Generalist Practice curriculum that includes training and instruction in clinical and macro practice social work. The 60-credit program is designed to be completed in two years of full-time enrolment, although students can choose to earn their degree on a part-time bases and take up to four years to graduate. As part of the curriculum, students are required to complete 900 required hours of field education.

Traditional Online MSW Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex

Texas A&M University-Commerce is one of two schools in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex that currently offers a fully online MSW program. The online program offered by Texas A&M University-Commerce has a 60-credit traditional track with an Advanced Generalist curriculum that provides training and instruction in both clinical and macro practice social work. Online students in the program are required to complete 900 hours of supervised, site-based field education and can complete the program’s overall requirements in two years of full-time enrollment. Part-time students are allotted up to four years to finish their degree.

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) offers its traditional, 61-credit MSW program in a fully online format that includes 960 hours of site-based field education. The program gives students the choice of specializing in macro practice social work through a Community and Administrative Practice curriculum or opting for one of three clinical practice specializations: Direct Practice in Aging; Direct Practice in Children and Families; or Direct Practice in Mental Health and Substance Misuse. UTA’s online MSW program can be completed in two-years of full-time enrollment or three to four years of part-time study.

Advanced Standing MSW Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex

Graduates of BSW programs accredited by the CSWE may be eligible to apply for advanced standing status at all five of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex universities that offer MSW programs. Advanced standing indicates that a student has completed foundational social work courses and field education hours at the bachelor’s level, earned satisfactory grades in that coursework, and is thus ready to begin the “advanced standing” portion of an MSW curriculum. This typically means that students who are granted admission to an advanced standing program can earn their MSW degree in one year of full-time enrollment or two years of part-time enrollment, which is roughly half the time it takes to complete a traditional MSW program.

To qualify for a program’s advanced standing track, applicants are commonly required to have earned their CSWE-accredited BSW degree within the last five to ten years and to have demonstrated strong academic achievement, often by having attained a cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a four-point scale. BSW graduates who do not qualify for an advanced standing program track can nonetheless earn their MSW by enrolling in a traditional MSW program.

Advanced Standing Campus-Based MSW Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex

Tarleton State University offers a 30-credit advanced standing MSW program at its Fort Worth campus for qualified students whose BSW degree was conferred by a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program within the last ten years. The program combines campus-based instruction with online coursework and requires advanced standing students to complete 500 hours of site-based field placements. Students can choose an Advanced Direct Practice clinical social work curriculum or an Administration and Leadership Practice macro social work curriculum. The time to completion for advanced standing students in Tarleton State University’s Fort Worth MSW program is two or three semesters.

Texas A&M University-Commerce has three campus-based MSW programs with advanced standing tracks that it offers in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex area. Graduates from CSWE-accredited BSW programs who earned their degree within the last six years and who have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher on a four-point scale can apply for advanced standing status in programs offered at Texas A&M University-Commerce’s main campus, its Mesquite Metroplex campus, or its Collin County Higher Education Center campus. All three program options have a 36-credit Advanced Generalist curriculum designed to prepare students for careers in clinical and/or macro practice social work. Advanced standing students are required to engage in 640 hours of field education and can complete their degree in one year of full-time enrollment.

Texas Christian University (TCU) has an on-campus MSW program with an advanced generalist curriculum and two specializations: Health and Mental Health; and Children and Families. The program has an advanced standing track that accepts applications from candidates who hold a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program. The advanced standing track is comprised of 30 graduate credits, including 500 hours of field education placements. Students can complete TCU’s MSW program in nine months of full-time enrollment. Part-time students generally graduate from the advanced standing track in two years.

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) has an MSW program that it offers at its main campus in Arlington and at a secondary campus in Fort Worth. Both sites have an advanced standing track that is designed for BSW graduates who earned their degree within the last six years from an undergraduate program accredited by the CSWE. In addition, UTA expects advanced standing applicants to have achieved a minimum GPA of a 3.0 in the last 60 credit hours of undergraduate and/or graduate coursework. Students granted advanced standing status complete a 38-credit curriculum that includes 480 hours of field education and can graduate in 12 months of full-time enrollment. Part-time advanced standing students generally take two years to earn their degree. UTA’s Arlington campus MSW program gives students the option of completing a Community and Administrative Practice macro social work specialization or specializing in clinical social work and choosing from among four focus areas: Direct Practice in Aging; Direct Practice in Children and Families; Direct Practice in Health; and Direct Practice in Mental Health and Substance Misuse. The Fort Worth campus MSW program only offers the Direct Practice in Children and Families clinical social work specialization.

The University of North Texas (UNT) offers an MSW program with an advanced standing format that is designed for BSW graduates who earned their degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program within the last seven years and who achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in all of their social work major courses. Students complete an Advanced Generalist curriculum that takes one year for full-time students and two to three years for part-time students. Classes are held at UNT’s main campus in Denton, which is north of Dallas and Fort Worth. Advanced standing students should expect to engage in at least 500 hours of field education while earning their degree.

Advanced Standing Online MSW Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex

Texas A&M University-Commerce offers its Advanced Generalist Practice MSW program in a fully online advanced standing format that requires students to complete 36 credits, inclusive of 640 hours of field education. Candidates for the program must hold a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program that was conferred within the last six years. In addition, advanced standing applicants are expected to have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher on a four-point scale. The program’s Advanced Generalist Practice curriculum prepares students for careers in clinical and/or macro practice social work and has a one-year completion time for full-time students and a two-year completion time for part-time students.

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) offers an online advanced standing MSW program with four specialization options: Community and Administrative Practice; Direct Practice in Aging; Direct Practice in Children and Families; and Direct Practice in Mental Health and Substance Misuse. To be considered for advanced standing status, applicants must hold a BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited undergraduate program that was conferred within the last six years, and to have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in their last 60 credit hours of college or graduate-level coursework. The program’s advanced standing track consists of 38 credits of coursework, including 480 hours of field internships. Advanced standing students can graduate in as few as 12 months if they enroll full time or they can take classes part-time and graduate in two years.

Directory of All Master of Social Work Programs in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex

T Traditional programs, Advanced Standing programs, Campus programs, Hybrid programs (campus and online instruction), Hybrid-Online programs (3 to ~6 campus visits per year), Online programs (fully online to 2 campus visits per year)

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