By: The Capella University Editorial Team with Irene Abrego Nicolet, PhD, NCSP, LSSP, Vice President and Dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Reading Time: 8 minutes
Social work is one of the most direct ways to make an impact in people’s lives.
The path into the field, however, depends on the kind of work you want to do. A Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree can prepare you for generalist roles, while clinical social work requires a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree, supervised experience and state licensure.
Explore each route to determine which pathway aligns with your career goals.
Social workers help people deal with problems that affect their safety, stability and well-being. The work could involve one person, a family, a group or even a whole community.
That range is why the role can look so different from one setting to another. A social worker may help someone find housing support, connect a family with child welfare or mental health services, advocate for a child or support a client managing a mental health concern.
The field is divided into general practice and clinical social work, and the steps differ depending on which track you choose.
Becoming a social worker is easier to understand when you separate the process into stages. First comes the right degree route. Then comes site-based learning, licensure decisions and continued learning.
If you’re new to the field, a BSW is a good starting point. BSW programs cover broad-based practice across community, family and human services settings.
Look for Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accreditation when evaluating programs, as it confirms the program meets established educational benchmarks and is required for licensure eligibility in many states.
An MSW is the route for moving into clinical roles, leadership-focused work or a more specialized area of social work. It builds on the BSW foundation and helps you deepen your preparation for the role you want next.
If you already hold a CSWE-accredited BSW, you may qualify for an Advanced Standing MSW program, which can reduce time to completion. A bachelor’s degree in another field may open the door to a two-year MSW route into social work.
Whichever route fits your starting point, Capella University offers CSWE-accredited BSW and MSW programs online, including traditional and MSW – Advanced Standing routes.
CSWE describes practicum as the signature pedagogy of social work, and it’s easy to see why. During your placement, you begin applying classroom learning in real-world situations. Under the supervision of a qualified social worker on site, you may work with clients, attend team meetings, complete assessments and document cases.
At the BSW level, the placement typically provides broad exposure across service settings. In an MSW program, the experience goes deeper. The first stage focuses on generalist practice, while the advanced placement moves into a more specialized setting with greater responsibility.
Online study does not remove the in-person part of social work training. You still complete site-based learning at an approved site, usually in your local area. The school may place you directly or ask you to help identify a site for approval.
Ask how placement works early, especially if you’ll need to balance field hours with work or family responsibilities.
Licensure in social work depends on the kind of work you want to do and the state where you plan to practice.
Social work licensing exams in the U.S. are administered by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB).
Clinical work requires licensure. Providing therapy, diagnosing mental health conditions or practicing independently requires an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program, a passing score on the ASWB Clinical exam and completion of supervised post-degree clinical hours. All U.S. states require a license to practice clinical social work, with specific requirements varying by state.
Non-clinical roles are less uniform. Case management, child welfare and community services positions may not require licensure in every state. Still, many states impose licensing requirements on MSW-level roles even when clinical practice is not involved. BSW-level roles may also carry state-specific requirements.
The most reliable way to confirm what applies to your situation is to use the ASWB page listing requirements per jurisdiction. It shows license types, exam requirements and application steps for your specific region.
The exam you take depends on your degree level and the license you’re pursuing.
BSW graduates generally take the Bachelors Level exam. MSW graduates pursuing a nonclinical license generally take the Masters Level exam. Those pursuing clinical licensure generally take the Clinical Level exam.
Each exam tests social work knowledge, ethics, human development and practice across different populations and settings. ASWB updates its exams periodically to reflect current practice, with exam changes scheduled for August 2026.
Before you build your timeline, check your state’s requirements to confirm the exam, passing score and application steps for your license type.
After licensure, growth in social work becomes more intentional. Renewal rules may require continuing education, and once you start working, you may identify areas that require deeper preparation.
Start with your state board’s renewal requirements. Then look at where you want your practice to go next. You may want to supervise a team of social workers. You may want to lead programs or help improve services at the organization level.
Doctoral study is one route for social workers ready to move into leadership-focused work.
Capella University offers an online Doctor of Social Work (DSW) for experienced practitioners ready to take that step. The program includes leadership and policy coursework, research methods and advanced social work practice. Students complete a final project tied to an action research study, so doctoral work connects back to real problems in the field.
Seeing which roles you can explore at each degree level can help you understand where you can take your social work career and which settings feel closest to the work you want to do.
Note that the roles and settings listed throughout this blog are for illustrative purposes. Individual outcomes vary. Some positions may require licensure, additional certifications or experience beyond your degree. Capella cannot guarantee any specific role or job title.
A BSW can help you enter social work through direct-service roles. These positions usually stay close to people’s daily needs: finding resources, coordinating care plans and helping clients reach the services they need.
Roles to explore include:
You may see BSW-related roles in settings such as outpatient care centers, assisted living facilities for the elderly, child and youth services, general medical and surgical hospitals, home health care services, other individual and family services, other residential facilities, other social advocacy organizations, religious organizations and services for the elderly and personal with disabilities.
An MSW can help move your work closer to clinical care, healthcare settings or more specialized client support. Licensure may apply, especially for roles involving assessment, diagnosis or treatment.
At this level, the work often goes deeper with each client. A clinical social worker may provide therapy and mental health support. A medical social worker may help patients and families manage the practical strain of illness.
You might be interested in exploring roles such as:
You may see these roles in hospitals, outpatient mental health centers, substance abuse treatment settings, individual and family services or kidney dialysis centers.
A DSW is designed for practitioners ready to move beyond direct client work into leadership, supervision or teaching. The degree shifts the focus toward shaping how the profession is practiced, administered and passed on to the next generation.
For example, after a DSW you may pursue a role such as director of social work, overseeing programs and teams within a healthcare or human services organization. A supervisory social worker provides clinical oversight and mentorship to practitioners working under their license.
On the other hand, faculty positions at colleges and universities involve preparing future practitioners and contributing to program development and research.
With a DSW, you could explore roles such as:
A DSW may help you pursue in a variety of employment settings. These could include colleges and community colleges, universities and professional schools, executive offices, general medical and surgical hospitals or outpatient mental health and substance abuse centers.
Every decision you make early in the path, from which degree to pursue to whether licensure applies to your goals, shapes what comes next.
The clearer your direction going in, the more straightforward the path becomes.
That clarity also extends to how you pursue your education. For working adults managing jobs, families and everything else, the program format matters as much as the curriculum.
Capella University offers its online BSW, MSW and DSW in the GuidedPath learning format, a fixed schedule with weekly deadlines and coursework that keeps you on track, with instructor feedback and peer collaboration built in.
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