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 state. This 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 DETERMINATION | TERRITORIES WITH NEGATIVE DETERMINATION |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | American Samoa |
| Guam | Republic of the Marshall Islands |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Republic of Palau |
| Puerto Rico | |
| Virgin Islands |