Maine has 3 CSWE-accredited MSW programs, each with a distinct geographic and academic profile. The University of Maine School of Social Work in Orono, tied with UNE for the longest accreditation history in the state since 1990, is the flagship land-grant research university's program, offering an Advanced Generalist concentration, a Behavioral Health certificate, on-campus and online delivery, and Advanced Standing. The University of New England Department of Social Work, also accredited since 1990, is now fully online after its Portland campus closed in 2024, offering the broadest concentration and certificate portfolio of the three Maine programs: four concentrations (Substance Use Disorders, Healthcare, School Social Work, Trauma) and five certificates. The University of Southern Maine School of Social Work, accredited in 2001 and housed within the Muskie School of Public Service in Portland, serves the state's largest social work labor market with an Advanced Generalist concentration and online option since 2019.
Maine's social work context is defined by several intersecting challenges: the opioid crisis, which has placed Maine among states with the highest overdose death rates per capita in the Northeast; persistent rural poverty and social isolation in northern, western, and Downeast Maine; a rapidly aging population that is driving gerontological and home and community-based care workforce demand; and a growing asylum seeker and refugee population in Greater Portland that has created new demand for culturally competent social workers with multilingual capacity. The concentration portfolios of UMaine and UNE both reflect these pressures, with behavioral health, substance use disorders, and healthcare concentrations directly aligned with Maine's most acute workforce needs.
Maine social work licensing is administered by the Maine Board of Social Worker Licensure within the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. The LMSW and LCSW follow the standard national exam-based pathway. Maine has documented social work workforce shortages in rural areas and northern counties, and the online delivery options at all three programs are significant tools for reaching workers in those communities who cannot access on-campus instruction.
All 3 CSWE-Accredited MSW Programs in Maine
Scored on the same seven-factor model used in the national ranking. All data sourced from the CSWE accreditation directory and official program pages (.edu). Accreditation years are Initial Accreditation Dates from the CSWE directory. UNE Portland campus closed 2024; now fully online. USM online added 2019.
- #1
University of Maine School of Social Work
Orono, ME · On-Campus or Online
7.5
60 credits 900 field hours ? Advanced Standing Accred. since 1990Why It Ranks Here
The University of Maine School of Social Work has held CSWE accreditation since 1990, tied for the longest accreditation of any MSW program in Maine. One concentration is listed: Advanced Generalist. A Behavioral Health certificate is available. Advanced Standing is available. Online delivery was added in 2018. Weekend and evening delivery options are offered per the CSWE directory. UMaine is the flagship land-grant research university of Maine, located in Orono near Bangor in central Maine. The land-grant identity and the flagship institutional status give UMaine a distinctive position: it has the broadest statewide research mission of any Maine university, the largest campus, and the deepest integration with Maine state government agencies that are major social work employers. The Behavioral Health certificate addresses Maine's significant opioid crisis and behavioral health workforce needs. UMaine's proximity to the Penobscot Indian Nation at Indian Island, immediately adjacent to Orono, and the Passamaquoddy Tribe in eastern Maine connects the program to tribal social work practice contexts that are relatively accessible from the Orono campus.
Public (University of Maine, flagship land-grant research university). Contact the program for current in-state and out-of-state tuition rates.
View program page → - #2
University of New England College of Professional Studies, Department of Social Work
Portland (Online), ME · Online
7.0
60 credits 900 field hours ? Advanced Standing Accred. since 1990Why It Ranks Here
The University of New England Department of Social Work has held CSWE accreditation since 1990, tied with UMaine for the longest accreditation history of any MSW program in Maine. Four concentrations are offered: Substance Use Disorders, Healthcare, School Social Work, and Trauma. Five certificates are available: Addictions, School Social Work, Trauma, Clinical Social Work, and Medical Social Work, making UNE's certificate portfolio the most extensive of any Maine MSW program. Advanced Standing is available. UNE has been online since 2009, making it one of the earliest MSW programs in the country to offer fully online delivery. The Portland campus and Biddeford campus were both closed for MSW delivery by 2024 per the CSWE directory; delivery is now fully online. UNE is a private university based in Portland and Biddeford. Despite the campus closures for MSW instruction, UNE retains a strong national reputation for online health professions education. The four-concentration portfolio reflects the specific practice areas where licensed social workers are in highest demand in Maine: substance use disorder treatment (Maine has faced a severe opioid crisis), healthcare social work across Maine's hospital and community health systems, school social work in underfunded rural districts, and trauma-informed practice. UMaine's slightly higher position reflects its public flagship status and on-campus options alongside online; both programs share the 1990 accreditation date.
Private (University of New England). Contact the program for current tuition rates.
View program page → - #3
University of Southern Maine Muskie School of Public Service, School of Social Work
Portland, ME · On-Campus or Online
6.0
60 credits 900 field hours ? Advanced Standing Accred. since 2001Why It Ranks Here
The University of Southern Maine School of Social Work, housed within the Muskie School of Public Service, has held CSWE accreditation since 2001. One concentration is listed: Advanced Generalist. Advanced Standing is available. Online delivery was added in 2019. USM is a public university in the University of Maine System, located in Portland, Maine's largest city and primary social work labor market. The Muskie School of Public Service context gives USM's MSW program a distinctive public policy orientation, situating social work education within a broader school focused on public affairs, policy, and service. Portland's social work market, which includes Maine Medical Center (the state's largest hospital), the growing behavioral health provider network, and a substantial immigrant and asylum seeker population in the Greater Portland area, provides a rich field placement and employment environment. The 2001 accreditation date, later than both UMaine and UNE's 1990 accreditation dates, is the primary factor placing USM third.
Public (University of Southern Maine). Contact the program for current in-state and out-of-state tuition rates.
View program page →
Job Market for MSW Graduates in Maine
Portland and the Greater Portland area are the center of Maine's social work labor market. Maine Medical Center, the state's largest hospital and an academic medical center affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine, is the primary healthcare social work employer. MaineHealth, the health system that includes Maine Medical Center and a network of affiliated hospitals across southern and central Maine, employs social workers across inpatient, outpatient, home health, and specialty care settings. Northern Light Health, another major Maine health system headquartered in Brewer (adjacent to Bangor), operates Eastern Maine Medical Center and a statewide network of affiliated hospitals that employ social workers in central and northern Maine. The Preble Street Resource Center in Portland, Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services, Catholic Charities Maine, and the network of organizations serving Greater Portland's growing asylum seeker population have expanded significantly since 2017, creating substantial demand for culturally competent social workers with multilingual capacity.
The behavioral health sector is the most rapidly growing employer of MSW graduates in Maine. Spurwink Services, Sweetser, Milestone Foundation, and the network of community mental health centers contracted under Maine's Medicaid system employ licensed clinical social workers across the state. Addiction treatment providers including Milestone, the Counseling Center in Bangor, and the opioid treatment programs operated under the Maine Office of Behavioral Health contract are significant employers of social workers with behavioral health and substance use disorder training. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), including the Office of Child and Family Services, the Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, and the Office of Aging and Disability Services, employs the largest concentration of public-sector social workers in the state.
Rural Maine, particularly Washington County in the Downeast region, Piscataquis County in north-central Maine, and the western Oxford and Franklin counties, face significant social work workforce shortages. School social workers in rural districts, community behavioral health providers, and the limited rural hospital systems all rely on practitioners who are willing to work in geographically isolated communities. The online delivery options at all three Maine MSW programs are the primary mechanism for reaching students in these communities.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Maine; Maine Board of Social Worker Licensure.
How We Ranked These Programs
Each program is scored on the same seven-factor model used in the national ranking. The state ranking uses identical criteria and weights. No Maine-specific adjustments are made. Programs are ordered by composite score. For the full methodology, see our ranking methodology page.
- CSWE Accreditation (25%): Active accreditation status and continuous accreditation history.
- Program Leadership (15%): Faculty credentials, research output, and peer-assessment scores.
- Pathways (15%): Concentration variety, Advanced Standing availability, and dual-degree options.
- Delivery Format (15%): Online, hybrid, and in-person availability; start-term flexibility.
- Employer Signal (15%): Field placement hours required, practicum site depth, and documented placement infrastructure.
- Cost & Affordability (10%): Published tuition per credit or per year, in-state vs. out-of-state differential.
- Reputation (5%): U.S. News peer-assessment scores and institutional recognition.