​Social Work Licensure Determinations

State social work licensing standards vary by state.  

Some states only require the completion of an MSW degree from a CSWE accredited program to be eligible for social work licensure in that state. These states have a Brown School “positive determination” — as seen in the table below.  

Other states require specific curricular paths (a mixture of courses), explicit course content, and/or other state-specific requirements.  States that require explicit content or additional requirements have a Brown School “negative determination” —as seen in the table below.

A “negative determination” does not mean that your Brown School program prevents social work license eligibility in your stateThis designation simply means that there are additional requirements, specific content, and/or state-specific requirements that you must meet in order to be eligible for licensure, if you choose to pursue it.

This document provides information on additional requirements from each state with a negative determination. If you have questions about specific requirements, please contact the Brown School MSW program office at mswprogram@wustl.edu.

STATES WITH POSITIVE DETERMINATION​STATES WITH NEGATIVE DETERMINATION 
​Alabama​California
​Alaska ​Colorado
​Arizona​Florida*
​Arkansas​Indiana*
​Connecticut​Kansas
​Delaware​New Jersey*
​Georgia​New Mexico
​Hawaii​New York**
​Idaho​South Carolina
​Illinois​Texas
​Iowa​Vermont
​Kentucky​Virginia**
​Louisiana ​Washington 
​Maine​Wisconsin*
​Maryland
​Massachusetts
​Michigan
Minnesota
​Mississippi
​Missouri 
​Montana
​Nebraska
​Nevada
​New Hampshire
​North Carolina
​North Dakota
​Ohio
​Oklahoma
​Oregon
​Pennsylvania
​Rhode Island
​South Dakota
​Tennessee
​Utah 
​West Virginia
​Wyoming
*Negative determination unless Mental Health concentration

**Positive determination for LMSW; Negative determination for LCSW unless Mental Health concentration
TERRITORIES WITH POSITIVE DETERMINATIONTERRITORIES WITH NEGATIVE DETERMINATION
District of ColumbiaAmerican Samoa
GuamRepublic of the Marshall Islands
Northern Mariana IslandsRepublic of Palau
Puerto Rico
Virgin Islands