Popular Accredited Online Social Work Degree Programs in Pennsylvania [2025]

If you are interested in pursuing a career in social work and looking for flexible options to earn your degree, online social work programs in Pennsylvania offer a convenient path. These programs allow you to balance studies with personal and professional commitments, providing the same accredited education you would find on campus.

Whether you aim for a bachelor’s in social work to start your career or a master’s in social work for advanced roles, online programs in Pennsylvania can help you achieve your goals while maintaining flexibility. Learn how these online programs can support your career path in social work.

Online Social Work Degrees in Pennsylvania

Listed below are some of the popular schools offering online social work degrees in Pennsylvania:

• Pennsylvania Western University
• Temple University
• Eastern University
• Widener University
• National University
• Carlow University
• Simmons University
• Syracuse University
• Arizona State University Online

Pennsylvania Western University

Online Bachelor’s in Social Work (BSW)

If your goal is to support others and make a positive difference in the world, studying social work can be your path forward. In the online Bachelor of Social Work degree program (BSW) at Pennsylvania Western, you will learn how to work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities to support and enhance social functioning.

Accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), this program allows graduates to qualify for the social work licensure exam in Pennsylvania.

In PennWest’s online BSW program, you will study a range of topics that prepare you for professional social work practice. Your coursework will include studies in human behavior, social environment, social work methods, social welfare policy, and research in social work.

You will develop skills in ethical decision-making, cultural competence, and advocacy. Practical application is provided through practicum placements in social service agencies. The curriculum also emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion, preparing you for a career in social work.

Required major courses of the program include:

• Introduction to Social Work: In this course, you will explore the social, political, economic, and historical dimensions of poverty and welfare services in the U.S., integrating these concepts to support higher-level courses.
• Diversity in a Changing World: This course examines American religious, ethnic, and racial minorities and their historical, economic, and political relationships, as well as sources of prejudice, discrimination, and oppression. Strategies to support social justice are also explored.
• Human Behavior in the Social Environment: This course provides a framework to understand human behavior using ecological, systems, and life-course perspectives across the lifespan.
• Social Work Practice with Individuals: In this course, you will develop practice skills for one-on-one client work, including problem assessment, caseload management, and intervention strategies, with a focus on the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics.
• Social Work Practice with Families: Building on skills developed with individuals, this course covers social group work, group development, assessment, and goal-setting using an ecological-systems approach.
• Social Welfare Policy: This course examines the history and philosophy of social welfare policy, focusing on policy development and effective professional writing.
• Social Work Field Practicum: You will complete 450 hours of supervised placement in a practice setting, emphasizing application of theoretical knowledge and skill development.
• Social Work Field Seminar: This capstone seminar, paired with the practicum, focuses on professional reflection, synthesis of prior coursework, and practical experience.

The BSW program at PennWest is structured around five core goals:

• Enhance Academic Excellence: Providing a quality academic experience.
• Fiscal and Governance Efficiency: Practicing sound fiscal and governance practices.
• Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering a learning environment centered on diversity, civility, and inclusiveness.
• Community Service: Serving locally and globally.
• Enhancing Student Life: Committing to a rich student experience.

During your field experience, you will develop as broad understanding of challenges such as addiction, delinquency, discrimination, inadequate housing, poverty, trauma, and aging. This hands-on training instills core social work values, ethics, and skills.

At PennWest, the block practicum placement occurs during your senior year, requiring you to be in a practicum 30 hours per week. Concurrent enrollment in Field Seminar enables you to process your experiences in a supportive setting.

Upon completion of your BSW at At PennWest, you will be prepared to advocate for and support individuals, families, and communities, equipped with the skills to tackle social issues, promote social justice, and enhance human well-being.

Admission requirements for transfer students are as follows:

• Minimum GPA of 2.50 (A=4.00).
• Evidence of strong communication and interpersonal skills demonstrated through your personal statement.
• Volunteer or paid work experience in social services is not required but is strongly encouraged.

Temple University

Online Master of Social Work (MSW)

If your goal is to balance work, family, and education, Temple University’s CSWE-accredited online Master of Social Work (MSW) program offers an ideal choice. Designed for working professionals and returning students, this program provides a supportive learning environment taught by the same experienced faculty as on-campus students. With 15-20 students per class, you benefit from low student-to-faculty ratios and substantial interaction with your professors and peers.

As an online MSW student, you will be fully integrated into the Temple University’s social work community and participate in field experiences that match the quality of traditional programs. Professors are accessible both online and in person, while their strong community ties bring real-world perspectives directly to the virtual classroom. You will also have access to Temple’s libraries, writing center, career center, and other support services.

This part-time online MSW program can be completed in three to four years and requires 60 credit hours to graduate, with 30 credits for foundation courses and 30 credits in advanced-level studies. The program includes interactive features such as:

• Live streaming courses that connect you with Temple’s faculty through web-based discussions and video meetings.
• Asynchronous learning through discussion boards and assignments to complete on your own time.
• A local fieldwork practicum in your community, arranged based on your interests and guided by Temple’s fieldwork advisors.

Regular touchpoints with academic advisors, group meetings, and fieldwork sessions are scheduled throughout the program. An online, self-paced orientation introduces you to Temple, the social work field, and the technology you will use. It takes place two weeks before the fall semester.

Throughout the program, you will learn to advance social and economic justice by acquiring clinical and evidence-based skills to support vulnerable populations. This includes practical training to build resilient communities and advocate for at-risk groups.

Foundation courses introduce generalist social work practice, allowing you to build a broader understanding of social work. You will study social justice, welfare policy, research methods, human behavior, and practice techniques. By the completion of the foundation curriculum, you will be able to demonstrate:

• Strategies for advancing social, political, and economic justice.
• Critical inquiry and research skills, with an understanding of ethical considerations.
• A commitment to eliminating oppression and discrimination.
• Cultural competence across diverse backgrounds.
• Adherence to the values and ethical standards of social work.

After completing Foundation courses, you then select advanced-level courses to deepen your knowledge in a specific practice area. Concentrations include:

1. Clinical Practice with Individuals and Families: This track prepares you to work as a clinical therapist in outpatient and inpatient settings. Potential roles include case management, discharge planning, service brokering, and private practice. In this track, you will take courses such as Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups I and II and Evaluation of Clinical Practice.
2. Macro Practice in Organizations, Communities, and Policy Arenas: This concentration focuses on managing nonprofit and governmental agencies, community organizing, and policy development. You will build management skills to promote change in organizations and communities. In this track, you will take courses such as Macro Practice in Organizational, Community and Policy Arenas, Social Work Research for Macro Practice, and Advocacy in Social Work.

The practicum will be a central component of your MSW studies, providing in-depth experience integrated with classroom learning. You must complete two practica, with the first focusing on generalist social worker skills (450 hours) and the second allowing advanced practice in your chosen concentration (600 hours). Employment-based placements are possible, but activities must differ significantly from your regular job duties.

For Regular Entry MSW, you need a bachelor’s degree with a liberal arts foundation and a minimum 3.0 GPA. Program starts in Fall and Spring.

Advanced Standing MSW is for graduates with a BSW from a CSWE-accredited program within the past five years, a minimum 3.25 GPA, and a demonstrated commitment to social work. Advanced Standing MSW starts in Summer.

Temple’s online MSW offers a high-quality, flexible pathway to a social work career, balancing fieldwork with practical training in a supportive learning environment.

Eastern University

Online Master of Social Work (MSW)

Eastern University’s flexible, affordable, and CSWE-accredited online MSW program prepares you to be a skilled, advanced generalist social worker, equipping you with the knowledge, skills, and compassion needed for a wide range of career paths. Coursework is offered with a flexible pacing in 7-week terms, allowing you to work at your own pace, with guided assignments and deadlines.

Student learning goals of the program include:

• Prepare you to be a skilled, advanced social worker with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
• Educate you on social work values and ethics, integrating a perspective that honors empathy, justice, and the dignity of each person.
• Develop your critical analysis skills and scientific inquiry for an advanced knowledge base and practice skills.
• Encourage lifelong learning, leadership, and service.

You may choose from two tracks based on your educational background:

• Regular Standing Track (60 credits): For students without an undergraduate degree in social work or those who don’t meet the qualifications for the Advanced Standing Track. Requirements:
  • 60 credits of coursework.
  • 400 hours in Generalist Internship.
  • 500 hours in Specialization Internship.
• Advanced Standing Track (30 credits): Fork students with an accredited BSW from the last five years and a 3.0 GPA. Requirements:
  • 30 credits of coursework.
  • 500 hours in Specialization Internship.

MSW curriculum at Eastern University is designed to provide foundational values, knowledge, and skills needed for a competent social work practitioner. Emphasis is placed on respect for human diversity and social and economic justice. Each course is part of a structured sequence that leads to internships where you apply knowledge in real-world settings.

• Generalist Courses: Cover foundational knowledge, diversity, person-in-environment perspective, values, and ethics. The generalist internship across four terms focuses on individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
• Specialist Year: Emphasizes advanced practice skills with trauma-informed perspectives. You study trauma’s impact on policy, research, and practice, with a focus on resilience and spirituality. Integrated internships provide hands-on experience.

Upon completion of this program, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate ethical, professional behavior.
• Engage diversity and difference in practice.
• Advance human rights, social, economic, and environmental justice.
• Conduct practice-informed research and research-informed practice.
• Engage in policy practice.
• Work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

Advanced Standing Admission Requirements

You may begin in Fall or Spring and complete the program in one year if you:

• Hold a BSW from a CSWE-accredited institution.
• Completed your BSW within five years of starting MSW classes.
• Have a minimum 3.0 GPA.
• Submit a completed online application to Eastern.
• Provide two references (academic and professional).
• Complete an essay that includes a personal statement and topic in social work (500-750 words).
• Submit a resume/CV.
• Attend an interview with Social Work faculty.
• Provide official transcripts.

Regular Standing Requirements

For students without advanced standing, you will need to:

• Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a minimum 2.5 GPA.
• Submit online application to Eastern.
• Provide two references (academic and professional).
• Complete an essay that includes a personal statement and topic in social work (500-750 words).
• Submit a resume/CV.
• Attend an interview with Social Work faculty.
• Provide official transcripts.

Eastern’s online MSW program enables you to work on your studies while integrating real-world experience through internships. You will be equipped to enter the workforce with advanced skills and a commitment to making a positive impact.

Widener University

Master’s of Social Work (MSW)

At Widener University, you can complete your MSW)program online or on-campus, part-time or full-time, providing flexibility to suit your needs. If you already hold a BSW from an accredited program, you may qualify for the accelerated advanced standing MSW track.

The MSW online program at Widener University can be completed at your own pace and offers a curriculum mirroring the on-campus program. This allows you to build a solid foundation in social work, with options to customize the program based on your interests and career goals.

Offered by Widener’s Center for Social Work Education, the program is accredited by CSWE and is taught by practicing social work professionals who share practical insights and experience. The trauma-informed clinical curriculum emphasizes social justice, and Widener’s connections with agencies, schools, and hospitals in the tri-state area and beyond provide valuable field placement opportunities.

Under guided supervision, you will develop skills for advanced practice in social work, preparing for a career as a clinical social worker and social change advocate.

Students in the regular MSW track complete 57 credits, including 30 core credits, 21 advanced concentration credits, and 6 elective credits.

Core courses of the program include:

• Human Behavior and the Social Environment: This course examines social work frameworks to understand human behavior within multiple contexts. Emphasizes strengths and resilience to inform assessment, intervention, and evaluation.
• Interpersonal Processes: In this course, you will develop essential communication skills for engaging with clients, peers, and work groups, focusing on community building and effective communication in diverse settings.
• Foundation Generalist Social Work Practice: This course provides an overview of generalist social work practice across individuals, families, groups, and communities within social service agencies.
• Methods of Social Work Research: In this course, you will cover research methods in social work, including qualitative and quantitative research, survey design, and data collection.
• Social and Economic Justice: Here, you will explore social welfare policy, justice, and concepts such as power and oppression, helping you build skills in policy analysis and advocacy.

During the foundation year, you will participate in a field instruction placement for 14-16 hours per week, applying core knowledge in a real-world social work setting. A concurrent seminar supports the integration of theory into practice, focusing on your professional growth as a social worker.

Advanced concentration courses of the program include:

• Clinical Social Work Practice With Individuals: Builds on generalist skills to develop clinical engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation techniques for individual clients.
• Clinical Social Work Practice With Families : Introduces family work models, such as Bowen, Narrative, and Structural, for effective family assessment and intervention.
• Organization and Program Development: Equips you with skills to work within and improve social service agencies, focusing on program development, capacity building, and organizational assessment.
• Treating Trauma: Examines trauma symptoms and treatment approaches, focusing on disorders such as PTSD, borderline personality disorder, and others related to trauma.

In the specialization year, you will work 20-24 hours per week in a social work setting, applying advanced theories and skills with individuals, families, and groups. The field instruction and seminar classes emphasize clinical assessment, intervention, and professional identity development.

Admission requirements for the regular MSW are:

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
• A cumulative GPA of at least 3.0; those with lower GPAs may be provisionally admitted, provided they achieve a 3.0 GPA in their first semester (minimum 6 credits).
• Demonstrated qualities for social work with diverse and disadvantaged populations, including the ability to form professional relationships, respect for human dignity, and a commitment to social justice.

Admission requirements for the Advanced Standing MSW are:

• A BSW degree from a CSWE-accredited program, earned within the past six years.
• An overall GPA of 3.0 or better, with a 3.3 GPA in the social work major.
• A recommendation letter from your BSW field instructor or director.

Widener’s admissions team will work with you to evaluate any previous coursework for transfer eligibility. You may transfer up to 9 credits from a non-MSW graduate program or, if transferring from another MSW program, a credit evaluation will determine how many credits can be applied.

National University

Online Master of Social Work (MSW) – General Track

National University’s CSWE-accredited 60-credit online MSW program equips you for a wide range of careers in social services. The program is designed to align with CSWE standards, helping you gain the necessary knowledge, skills, and practical experience to succeed in professional settings.

The Generalist Track requires you to complete 60 credit hours, beginning with foundational courses before progressing to advanced courses. Your final project, or capstone, will be the last course of the program.

Throughout the program, you will study modern social work practices, ethics, and communication, developing essential social work skills. The program combines online coursework with hands-on practicum experiences, where you will work directly with individuals, groups, and communities, guided by a local field supervisor.

Your foundational courses will include:

• Introduction to Social Work: This course gives you an overview of social work practices, covering theories, concepts, and populations-at-risk. You will examine values, ethics, and family and community contexts relevant to social work.
• Human Behavior and the Social Environment: This course focuses on diversity, cultural humility, and human rights, exploring social work with diverse populations. You will apply theories to social environments and human development.
• Social Work in Behavioral Health: This course introduces social work practice within behavioral health. You will examine laws, evidence-based practices, and service models related to mental health services.
• Ethics and Diversity in Social Work: This course explores ethical decision-making in social work and governmental policies guiding ethical practices. You will examine ethics necessary for effective advocacy for diverse populations.
• Social Work in Interdisciplinary Settings: This course introduces you to teamwork within interdisciplinary settings, exploring communication styles and research-based interventions used in integrated care.
• Generalist Practicum I and II: In these courses, you will receive training in social work practice through supervised experiential learning within a social work or social services agency. You will apply social work values and ethics, with a focus on social justice and cultural competency. Emphasis is placed on applying general intervention models across individuals, families, groups, and communities.

Advanced courses that you will take include:

• Advanced Social Work with Children and Families: This course focuses on applying evidence-based practices with clients with complex needs. You will examine ethical considerations for working with individuals and families.
• Advanced Social Work in Medical Practice: This course covers theories, research, and practice models used in medical social work. You will explore theories related to resilience and behavior change.
• Advanced Social Work Practice in Mental Health: This course examines DSM-5 inclusion, with a focus on mental health interventions. You will learn to differentiate between evidence-based practices and emerging research.
• Forensic Clinical Social Work Practice: This course prepares you for forensic social work, examining social issues related to health and justice disparities. You will evaluate practice methods with various populations, including children and adults.
• Advanced Practicum I: The first of two advanced practicum courses provides supervised practice experience in a community agency. You will apply advanced skills working with families, groups, and individuals in real-world settings.
• Advanced Practicum II: This practicum builds on your previous learning. You will further refine your skills in ethics, assessment, and intervention through evidence-based models.
• Capstone: The capstone course is designed to consolidate your program learning, allowing you to apply concepts in social work practice. You will choose and assess a project in partnership with your field placement.

Central to your MSW education at National University is the practicum experience, also known as field placement or internship, which provides practical learning in a social work setting. This practicum connects you with applied learning settings and real responsibilities, allowing you to use knowledge and skills from coursework in real-time, under the supervision of experienced professionals.

This hands-on training prepares you for roles in places such as mental health centers, public service agencies, and military service centers. National MSW students complete field placements under approved local supervisors in their own communities. Foundation Track students are required to complete 900 hours of qualified practicum, while Advanced Standing Track students need to complete 500 hours.

During the practicum experience, Foundation Track students will enroll in Generalist Practicum I and Generalist Practicum II courses. For each twelve-week course, you will complete 200 hours at your practicum site.

After meeting the 400-hour requirement, Foundation Track students will move on to Advanced Practicum I and II courses. Each of these twelve-week courses requires 250 hours of practicum, totaling 500 hours for the Advanced Generalist practicum. You should plan to work around 18-20 hours per week at your field agency to meet these hour requirements.

To apply for the General Track MSW at National University, you must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, including those outside the U.S. that meet equivalency standards through a recognized evaluation service.

How Much Does a Licensed Social Worker Make in Pennsylvania?

As of November 2024, the average annual salary for a licensed social worker working in Pennsylvania is $99,895. More experienced and top earning social workers in Pennsylvania make over $155,000 per year.