PART-TIME | ONLINE & IN-PERSON | EVENING CLASSES
Earn your MSW degree in a top-ranked program designed for adult learners living and working in or near Worcester.
Ready to apply? Start your application and get information about admissions requirements and support here.
- Priority Deadline – November 29, 2024
- Standard Deadline – March 13, 2025
- Final Deadline – June 4, 2025
WHAT MAKES THE WORCESTER HYBRID PROGRAM RIGHT FOR YOU?
Our innovative hybrid structure combines the best of classroom-based and online learning, and is designed with working professionals and adult learners in mind.
Designed to fit your busy schedule
- Enjoy a part-time pace where you take one 7-week class at a time; two classes per semester.
- Semesters 1-4: you’ll attend classes in-person in Worcester on Tuesdays (4-9 pm) where you will build a strong peer community and receive individualized attention from faculty and staff.
- Semesters 5-9: you’ll attend classes through our Online Program and continue to be supported by the Worcester program team for academics and field placements.
- Conveniently located at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.
Top-tier education & career advancement
- You’ll have the same top-ranked BU academic experience as the Boston program at a location close to home.
- Learn from world-class BU faculty who are accessible and supportive.
- Prepare for your social work licensure through foundational and advanced courses.
- Over 90% of BUSSW graduates pass on their first try.
- Join a global network of 10,000 alumni nationwide to help support your career after graduation.
Experience hands-on learning in field placements located in your area
- We offer local, supported field education experiences targeted to meet your practical needs and professional goals.
- Benefit from BUSSW’s large network of Worcester field partners & organizations.
- You’ll have one-on-one professional advising from BUSSW staff to help you find your field placement.
- Learn more about field education
Program options let you customize your education to fit your experience, interests, and goals
- Major in clinical or macro practice.
- Consider an optional minor in macro practice with a clinical major.
- Choose from two track options, depending on your professional background.
- Both tracks are 65 credits taken over 9 consecutive semesters.
Online Learning
For your online experience, you will take classes through BUSSW’s Online MSW Program.
- Coursework can be accessed online anytime, day or night.
- You’ll attend weekly, required Live Classroom sessions held on Sunday or Monday evenings for 1 to 1.5 hours a week.
- You’ll register for these sessions in advance.
You’ll interact with our faculty and other students through a user-friendly, web-based learning portal that provides a rich learning experience that includes:
- Online lectures
- Simulations
- Videos
- Audio
- Interactive animations
- Discussion boards
- Weekly Live Classroom sessions with your cohort
Our faculty and staff are available and committed to providing you with a high-quality online educational experience.
You can view an online course demo here. Additional resources for online students can be found on the following web pages:
Tracks
Traditional Track: 2 field internships, totaling 14 credits
- Year One: Foundation theory courses
- Year Two: Foundation methods courses in combination with a foundation year field internship
- Year Three: Advanced curriculum courses while completing an advanced year field internship
Human Service Experience Track (HSE): a single extended advanced field internship for students with 2+ years of supervised human services experience plus a capstone project, totaling 14 credits
- Year One: Foundation theory courses
- Year Two: Foundation methods courses in combination with the start of an advanced field internship
- Year Three: Advanced curriculum courses while completing your field experience and a capstone project
Interested in the Advanced Standing Track? Learn more about this option at our Online, Fall River, Bedford, and Boston programs.
*Please note that once you are enrolled in one track, you cannot switch to another track.
Curriculum
Our curriculum emphasizes ethics, populations-at-risk, and social and economic justice, which are integrated throughout foundation courses and advanced electives.
You’ll enroll in required foundation courses at the Worcester campus and complete your degree by taking additional practice, advanced, and elective courses online. Foundational courses include Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Racial Justice, Social Welfare Policy, Social Work Research, Social Work Practice with Groups, Communities and Organizations: Analysis and Intervention, and Social Work Practice Ethics. During the second half of the program, you will take a variety of advanced courses depending on your academic goals and program choice.
Popular advanced courses for clinical majors include:
- Assessment and Differential Diagnosis with Adults or Children
- Clinical Practice with Adult Trauma or Child Trauma
- Substance Use Disorders: Assessment and Treatment
- Family Therapy
Popular advanced courses for macro majors include:
- Human Service Management
- Community Organizing
- Health Equity
- Planning and Program Development
The instructors for all of your courses are part of the BUSSW faculty. They are committed to providing leadership, mentorship, and sharing their expertise and current research initiatives.
Location
The Worcester Campus is located at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.
College of the Holy Cross
1 College Street
Worcester, MA 01610
Contact Us
Program Director:
Susan Brostrup-Jensen
sabj@bu.edu
Admissions:
(833) 255-8970
busswad@bu.edu