Michigan's 13 CSWE-accredited MSW programs reflect a state anchored by three major research universities, each with a distinctive urban or campus context. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor holds the top national ranking and offers unmatched concentration and dual-degree breadth. Wayne State in Detroit brings the oldest accreditation after U of M and serves Michigan's largest city with a strong urban social work orientation. Michigan State in East Lansing was among the first programs nationally to offer online MSW delivery, beginning in 2006, giving it over two decades of online program infrastructure.
Western Michigan University's three-campus model (Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Benton Harbor) serves Western Michigan broadly. Grand Valley State anchors Grand Rapids, the state's second-largest city. Eastern Michigan bridges the Detroit-Ann Arbor corridor. For the northern Lower Peninsula, Ferris State's Traverse City location and online track extend access beyond the metro areas. Northern Michigan University's Marquette program is the only campus-based MSW in the Upper Peninsula, a vast and sparsely populated region where licensed social work practitioners are chronically undersupplied.
Michigan's two-step licensing structure (LLMSW first, then LMSW after 4,000 supervised hours) means that planning for the LMSW should begin well before degree completion. Students who line up employment with qualified LMSW supervisors before graduation are better positioned to complete the supervised hours efficiently and obtain the LMSW within two to three years of degree completion.
Which MSW programs in Michigan are CSWE-accredited?
Every CSWE-accredited MSW program in the state is listed here, 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. Spring Arbor University consolidated satellite campuses by 2024 and now operates from its main campus and online.
- #1 National #1
University of Michigan School of Social Work
Ann Arbor, MI · On-Campus or Online · CSWE-accredited since 1922
9.8
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingThe University of Michigan School of Social Work ranks first nationally on our seven-factor scoring model, the highest-rated MSW program in the country. CSWE accreditation dates to 1922. The school offers the broadest concentration menu of any Michigan program, including Children, Youth, and Families; Clinical Practice; Community Development and Social Systems; International Social Work; Management and Administration; Program Evaluation; Research; School Social Work; Social Policy; and Aging and Gerontological Practice. Seven dual-degree options are available: MSW/MBA, MSW/JD, MSW/MPA, MSW/MPH, MSW/MPP, MSW/MURP, and others, making it one of the most cross-disciplinary MSW programs in the country. An online track was added in 2020. Advanced Standing is available. The Ann Arbor campus is a major Big Ten research university with substantial federal research funding, supporting significant social work research infrastructure.
Public (Big Ten flagship, University of Michigan), approx. $24,000 to $28,000/year in-state. Contact the program for current rates.
University of Michigan School of Social Work - #2
Wayne State University School of Social Work
Detroit, MI · On-Campus or Online · CSWE-accredited since 1942
8.6
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingWayne State University's School of Social Work has held CSWE accreditation since 1942, the second-oldest in Michigan. Wayne State is a major urban research university in Detroit, Michigan's largest city and one of the most significant urban social work labor markets in the Midwest. The program organizes its curriculum into two main tracks, Interpersonal Practice and Innovation in Community, Policy and Leadership, with multiple focal areas available within each, giving students both clinical and macro pathways and a range of practice specializations. Dual degrees in Public Policy and others are available. An online track was added in 2023. Advanced Standing is available. Detroit's practicum placement network spans Henry Ford Health System, Detroit Medical Center, the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network, and a large network of community-based organizations serving one of the most economically and racially diverse urban populations in the country.
Public (urban research university), approx. $14,000 to $18,000/year in-state. Contact the program for current rates.
Wayne State University School of Social Work - #3
Michigan State University School of Social Work
East Lansing, MI · On-Campus or Online · CSWE-accredited since 1952
8.4
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingMichigan State University's School of Social Work is one of the earliest adopters of online MSW delivery in the country, having offered an online track since 2006. Two concentrations are offered: Clinical Practice and Macro Social Work, providing both clinical and organizational or policy pathways. Dual degrees in Law and Public Health are available. Advanced Standing is available. MSU is a Big Ten R1 flagship research university in East Lansing. The Macro Social Work concentration is uncommon in Michigan and addresses organizational, policy, and community practice settings beyond the clinical track that most other programs offer exclusively.
Public (Big Ten flagship, Michigan State University), approx. $18,000 to $22,000/year in-state. Contact the program for current rates.
Michigan State University School of Social Work - #4
Western Michigan University School of Social Work
Kalamazoo, MI · On-Campus · CSWE-accredited since 1969
7.8
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingWestern Michigan University's School of Social Work operates from three campus locations: Kalamazoo (main campus), Grand Rapids, and the Southwest Michigan area including Benton Harbor. This multi-campus model extends MSW access across Western Michigan, a region with significant rural, suburban, and small-city social work workforce demand. Two concentrations are offered: Clinical Practice and Social Policy. The Social Policy concentration is uncommon among Michigan programs and addresses policy analysis, advocacy, and administrative practice. A dual MSW/JD with the WMU Cooley Law School is available. Advanced Standing is available. No online delivery is currently offered.
Public, approx. $13,000 to $17,000/year in-state. Contact the program for current rates.
Western Michigan University School of Social Work - #5
Grand Valley State University School of Social Work
Grand Rapids, MI · On-Campus · CSWE-accredited since 1984
7.3
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingGrand Valley State University's School of Social Work is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan's second-largest city and the economic center of West Michigan. Two concentrations are offered: Advanced Generalist and School Social Work. The School Social Work concentration prepares students for Michigan school social work endorsement, a distinct certification pathway beyond the LLMSW and LMSW licenses. Advanced Standing is available. No online delivery is currently offered. Grand Rapids has a large healthcare sector anchored by Spectrum Health and Trinity Health, providing strong practicum placement infrastructure for healthcare and clinical social work students.
Public, approx. $11,000 to $15,000/year in-state. Contact the program for current rates.
Grand Valley State University School of Social Work - #6
Eastern Michigan University School of Social Work
Ypsilanti, MI · On-Campus · CSWE-accredited since 1994
7.0
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingEastern Michigan University's School of Social Work is located in Ypsilanti, midway between Detroit and Ann Arbor in Southeast Michigan. Three concentrations are offered: Children, Youth, and Families; Mental Health; and Aging and Gerontological Practice. The Aging and Gerontological Practice concentration addresses Michigan's aging population, a significant workforce priority given that Michigan has one of the fastest-aging demographics among Midwestern states. Advanced Standing is available. No online delivery is currently offered. EMU's location in the Detroit-Ann Arbor corridor provides access to both metro Detroit and University of Michigan-affiliated practicum placement networks.
Public, approx. $11,000 to $15,000/year in-state. Contact the program for current rates.
Eastern Michigan University School of Social Work - #7
Andrews University Department of Social Work
Berrien Springs, MI · On-Campus or Online · CSWE-accredited since 1997
6.7
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingAndrews University's Department of Social Work offers an unusually broad set of specialization options for a program of its size: Trauma-Informed Practice, Clinical Practice, Human Services Management, School Social Work, Medical Social Work, and International Social Work. An online track was added in 2022. Advanced Standing is available. Andrews is a Seventh-day Adventist institution in Berrien Springs in Southwest Michigan, near the Michigan-Indiana border. Six dual-degree programs are available: MSW/MBA, MSW/MDiv, MSW/MPH, MSW/MSCID (Community and International Development), MSW/MAYAM (Administration), and others. The MSW/MDiv dual degree is rare nationally and serves students integrating pastoral ministry with clinical social work.
Private (Seventh-day Adventist). Contact the program for current tuition rates and financial aid information.
Andrews University Department of Social Work - #8
Spring Arbor University Department of Social Work
Spring Arbor, MI · On-Campus or Online · CSWE-accredited since 2013
6.4
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingSpring Arbor University's Department of Social Work received CSWE accreditation in 2013 and previously operated from multiple satellite campuses across Michigan (Grand Rapids, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Petoskey) and Northwest Ohio. All satellite locations closed by 2024; the program now operates from the Spring Arbor campus in Jackson County and online since 2021. Two concentrations are offered: Clinical Practice and Mental Health. Advanced Standing is available. Spring Arbor is a Free Methodist institution with a social justice and Christian service orientation. The consolidation to Spring Arbor and online reduces geographic access points but maintains both campus and online delivery.
Private (Free Methodist). Contact the program for current tuition rates and financial aid information.
Spring Arbor University Department of Social Work - #9
Ferris State University Department of Social Work
Big Rapids, MI · On-Campus or Online · CSWE-accredited since 2014
6.2
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingFerris State University's Department of Social Work operates from the Big Rapids main campus and a Traverse City location, with an online track added in 2022. A Clinical Practice concentration is offered, with a School Social Work track available for students pursuing Michigan school social work endorsement. Advanced Standing is available. Ferris State is a public polytechnic university in Big Rapids, in the northern Lower Peninsula. The Traverse City location extends access to Northwest Michigan, a largely rural region with documented social work workforce shortages. The program's online track broadens access further across the Upper and Lower Peninsulas.
Public, approx. $11,000 to $15,000/year in-state. Contact the program for current rates.
Ferris State University Department of Social Work - #10
Madonna University Department of Social Work
Livonia, MI · On-Campus · CSWE-accredited since 2016
6.0
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingMadonna University's Department of Social Work is a private Franciscan Catholic institution in Livonia, in the western Detroit suburbs. Three concentrations are offered: Children, Youth, and Families; Mental Health; and Aging and Gerontological Practice. The Aging concentration addresses the demographic profile of Metro Detroit's western suburbs, which have a significant older adult and retiree population. Advanced Standing is available. No online delivery is currently offered. Madonna's suburban Detroit location provides access to Wayne, Oakland, and Washtenaw county practicum placement networks.
Private (Franciscan Catholic). Contact the program for current tuition rates and financial aid information.
Madonna University Department of Social Work - #11
Saginaw Valley State University Department of Social Work
University Center, MI · On-Campus · CSWE-accredited since 2017
5.8
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingSaginaw Valley State University's Department of Social Work sits at a public university in University Center, in the Saginaw-Bay City-Midland tri-cities region of Central Michigan. An Advanced Generalist concentration is offered. Advanced Standing is available. No online delivery is currently offered. SVSU serves as the primary MSW access point for Central Michigan's tri-cities region, an area that includes significant industrial, agricultural, and rural communities with persistent licensed social work workforce shortages.
Public. Contact the program for current tuition rates.
Saginaw Valley State University Department of Social Work - #12
Northern Michigan University Department of Social Work
Marquette, MI · On-Campus or Online · CSWE-accredited since 2019
5.6
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingNorthern Michigan University's Department of Social Work operates from the Marquette campus in the Upper Peninsula, with an online track available since the program's inception. Two concentrations are offered: Advanced Generalist and Clinical Practice. Advanced Standing is available. NMU is the only campus-based MSW program in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a geographically large and sparsely populated region with significant social work workforce shortages, particularly in rural communities, tribal nations, and behavioral health settings. The online track extends access to UP students who cannot commute to Marquette.
Public. Contact the program for current tuition rates.
Northern Michigan University Department of Social Work - #13
Oakland University Department of Social Work
Rochester, MI · On-Campus · CSWE-accredited since 2021
5.3
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingOakland University's Department of Social Work sits at a public university in Rochester, in Oakland County north of Detroit. An Advanced Generalist concentration is offered. Advanced Standing is available. No online delivery is currently offered. Oakland County is one of the most prosperous counties in Michigan and the most populous suburban county in the state, with a large healthcare sector anchored by Beaumont Health (now Corewell Health) and a substantial nonprofit social services infrastructure. As one of the most recently accredited programs in the state, the short accreditation history limits its composite score relative to longer-established programs.
Public. Contact the program for current tuition rates.
Oakland University Department of Social Work
How long does an MSW take in Michigan, and what does it cost?
An MSW in Michigan takes two years of full-time study, and what it costs turns mostly on whether the program is public or private. The Master of Social Work here is built on 60 credits and 900 hours of supervised field placement. Every one runs an Advanced Standing track, which finishes the degree in about a year for BSW holders. 10 sit at public universities and 3 at private ones, which is usually the largest single difference in what you will pay. Each card links to the program's own tuition page. The field-hour rules that apply everywhere are set out in our guide to CSWE accreditation.
What is the job market like for MSW graduates in Michigan?
Michigan's job market for MSW graduates is anchored by the Detroit metropolitan area, which accounts for the majority of the state's MSW-level positions. Henry Ford Health System, Corewell Health (the merged Beaumont-Spectrum system), Detroit Medical Center, and the University of Michigan Health System are the state's largest healthcare employers of social workers. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) operates child welfare, adult protective services, and behavioral health programs across all 83 counties, employing a large public-sector social work workforce.
Metro Detroit's Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network provides coordinated behavioral health services for Wayne County residents, creating substantial demand for licensed social workers in community mental health settings. The city of Detroit itself has a dense nonprofit sector with organizations focused on housing, poverty, racial equity, and community development, creating macro and community practice positions that the Wayne State program's Innovation in Community, Policy and Leadership track directly addresses.
Outside the Detroit metro, Grand Rapids has a growing healthcare and nonprofit sector anchored by Corewell Health's West Michigan operations. The Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula have consistent social work workforce shortages, particularly in rural behavioral health, school social work, and tribal social services. NMU's Upper Peninsula program and Ferris State's Traverse City location both serve these underserved markets directly.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Michigan; Michigan LARA, Bureau of Professional Licensing.
Which cities in Michigan have CSWE-accredited MSW programs?
Ann Arbor, Berrien Springs, Big Rapids, Detroit, East Lansing and Grand Rapids and other cities have CSWE-accredited MSW programs in Michigan, 15 cities in total across the state's 13 accredited programs, according to the approved teaching locations each records with CSWE.
Location matters more for an MSW than for most master's degrees, because the 900 hours of field education have to happen at an agency that will take you, and programs place students through partnerships built up near their campuses. Studying near where you intend to practice tends to mean placement in the network you will later job-hunt in. Seven programs in Michigan also offer online coursework, which widens the choice for students outside those cities.
What can you specialize in with an MSW in Michigan?
You can specialize in Clinical or Direct Practice, Advanced Generalist, Aging and Gerontological Practice and Children, Youth, and Families with an MSW in Michigan, the concentrations recorded with CSWE by 13 of the state's 13 accredited programs. Programs across the state record 15 distinct concentrations in total.
Seven concentrations are offered by a single program in Michigan, including Integrated Practice, International Social Work and Leadership, so a student set on Integrated Practice has one option in state rather than a choice of several. Concentration is the part of the curriculum that follows the generalist foundation year the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards require of every accredited program.
How did we rank these Michigan MSW programs?
We ranked these Michigan MSW programs on the same seven-factor model used in the national ranking, applied identically to every accredited program in the state. The state ranking uses identical criteria and weights. No Michigan-specific adjustments are made. Programs are ordered by composite score. For the full methodology, see our ranking methodology page.
Accreditation is 25% of the score because it is the only pass-or-fail factor here: Michigan licenses no graduate of an unaccredited program. Accredited programs in Michigan run from one holding that status since 1922 to one accredited as recently as 2021, and a longer record means more reaffirmation cycles survived.
Weights: CSWE accreditation 25%, program leadership 15%, pathways 15%, delivery format 15%, employer signal 15%, cost 10%, reputation 5%. Each factor is defined in full on our ranking methodology page.
How do you become a licensed social worker in Michigan?
You become a licensed social worker in Michigan by completing a CSWE-accredited MSW, passing the ASWB examination at the level your license requires, and, for a clinical license, logging supervised hours afterwards. Licensing here is administered by the Michigan social work licensing board. Michigan offers more than one route to licensure, pick the branch that matches the kind of practice you want. License names, exams, and supervised-hour requirements come from the ASWB Social Work Regulatory Database.
Advanced generalist social work license route in MI
MSW → LLMSW → LMSW-M
- 1
Earn a CSWE-accredited MSW.
- 2
Register as the LLMSW (Limited License Master\'s Social Worker) to begin supervised practice.
- 3
Complete 4,000 hours of supervised practice over at least 2 years and pass the ASWB Advanced Generalist exam, then apply for the LMSW-M (Licensed Master Social Worker - Macro), the state's independent (non-clinical) practice license.
Clinical social work license route in MI
MSW → LLMSW → LMSW-C
- 1
Earn a CSWE-accredited MSW.
- 2
Register as the LLMSW (Limited License Master\'s Social Worker) to begin supervised practice.
- 3
Complete 4,000 hours of supervised practice over at least 2 years and pass the ASWB Clinical exam, then apply for the LMSW-C (Licensed Master Social Worker-Clinical), which authorizes independent clinical practice and clinical diagnosis.
Michigan social work licenses at a glance
Advanced generalist (independent) license
Licensed Master Social Worker - Macro
Provisional (master's/clinical) license
Limited License Master\'s Social Worker
Clinical license
Licensed Master Social Worker-Clinical
Source: Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Social Work Regulatory Database, 2026. License requirements change, so always confirm current rules with the Michigan licensing board before applying.
Common questions about MSW programs in Michigan
Common questions about MSW programs in Michigan, on accreditation, cost, format and licensure.
How many CSWE-accredited MSW programs are in Michigan?
What do social workers earn in Michigan?
What are the social work licensing requirements in Michigan?
Is the University of Michigan the best MSW program in Michigan?
Which Michigan MSW programs serve the Upper Peninsula?
Which Michigan cities have MSW programs?
Find CSWE-accredited programs in and near specific Michigan cities, with nearby campuses, online options, and local salary and job-market data.
Where does the data on this page come from?
The data on this page comes from the sources below, and from nothing else: no commercial directories, no other ranking sites.
- CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs covers which Michigan programs hold accreditation, the year each was first accredited, approved campus locations, concentrations, dual degrees and plan-of-study options.
- Individual program pages (.edu) supply curriculum detail, field-hour requirements, delivery format and cohort scheduling. Each program card links to the page it was written from.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Michigan supplies the employment and wage figures in the job-market section, May 2025 release.
- ASWB Social Work Laws and Regulations Database supplies license names, examination levels and supervised-hour requirements, read 2026.
- Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education supplies the research classification used in the ranking model.
What are the best MSW programs near Michigan?
The best MSW programs near Michigan are in the neighboring states below, all CSWE-accredited. Licensure is state by state, so check a program across the border against the rules where you intend to practice.