Mississippi has 4 CSWE-accredited MSW programs distributed across the southern, central, Delta, and northern regions of the state. The University of Southern Mississippi School of Social Work in Hattiesburg, accredited since 1974, is the state's oldest program and operates from two locations: Hattiesburg and Long Beach on the Gulf Coast, the only MSW campus presence on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. USM offers multiple cohort entry options including weekend-only cohorts, which are uncommon among Mississippi's programs. Jackson State University in the state capital, accredited since 1997, is an HBCU and offers a Children, Youth, and Families concentration alongside online delivery and a Gerontology certification, serving the largest social work market in the state.
Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, accredited in 2005, is the state's second HBCU MSW program and occupies a uniquely important position as the only CSWE-accredited graduate social work program physically located within the Mississippi Delta. The Delta counties consistently have among the highest rates of child poverty, food insecurity, and healthcare access limitations of any region in the United States, and MVSU's Children, Youth, and Families concentration directly addresses the social work workforce needs of this region. The University of Mississippi in Oxford, accredited in 2008, offers a Clinical concentration with no online delivery and no Advanced Standing option, accepting only full-time students.
Mississippi social work licensing is administered by the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists under the LBSW, LMSW, and LCSW structure. Mississippi consistently has among the highest child poverty rates, lowest per-capita income, and highest rates of food insecurity of any U.S. state, which creates a structural demand for social work services that significantly exceeds the current licensed workforce supply, particularly in rural Delta and coastal communities.
Which MSW programs in Mississippi 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. University of Mississippi: no Advanced Standing, no online delivery, full-time only per CSWE. MVSU: CSWE accredSince 2005; degree granted since 1978 per CSWE degree field. USM: no online delivery per CSWE.
- #1
University of Southern Mississippi School of Social Work
Hattiesburg, MS · On-Campus · CSWE-accredited since 1974
7.5
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingThe University of Southern Mississippi School of Social Work holds the longest continuous accreditation history of any MSW program in Mississippi, dating to 1974. One concentration is listed: Other, reflecting a generalist-to-clinical curriculum not narrowly labeled under a single track. Advanced Standing is available. Multiple cohorts per year and weekend-only cohort options are offered per the CSWE directory, expanding access for working adults. No online delivery is currently listed. The program operates from the main Hattiesburg campus and a Long Beach site on the Gulf Coast, serving the southern half of Mississippi including the Gulf Coast communities of Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula. USM is a public R2 research university in Hattiesburg. The Long Beach site provides the only MSW campus presence on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, a region with distinct social work workforce needs shaped by post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction history, tourism industry employment patterns, and Gulf Coast healthcare infrastructure.
Public (University of Southern Mississippi, R2 research university). Contact the program for current in-state and out-of-state tuition rates.
University of Southern Mississippi School of Social Work - #2
Jackson State University School of Social Work
Jackson, MS · On-Campus or Online · CSWE-accredited since 1997
7.0
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingJackson State University's School of Social Work is one of two HBCU-based MSW programs in Mississippi. One concentration is offered: Children, Youth, and Families, aligned to the high rates of child poverty and child welfare system involvement in Mississippi, which consistently has among the highest rates in the United States. A Gerontology certification is available, addressing Mississippi's aging population and the significant workforce shortage in geriatric social work across the state. Online delivery was added in 2018. Advanced Standing is available. JSU is a public HBCU and R2 research university in Jackson, the state capital and largest city. As an HBCU in Mississippi's capital city, JSU plays a particularly significant role in training Black social workers for practice in a state where the majority of child welfare, behavioral health, and community social services clients are from Black communities.
Public (Jackson State University, HBCU, R2 research university). Contact the program for current tuition rates.
Jackson State University School of Social Work - #3
Mississippi Valley State University Department of Social Work
Itta Bena, MS · On-Campus · CSWE-accredited since 2005
5.5
60 credits 900 field hours ✓ Advanced StandingMississippi Valley State University's Department of Social Work received CSWE accreditation in 2005; the CSWE directory notes the MSW degree has been granted since 1978. One concentration is offered: Children, Youth, and Families. Advanced Standing is available. No online delivery is currently listed. MVSU is a public HBCU in Itta Bena in Leflore County, located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, one of the most economically distressed and socially underserved regions in the United States. MVSU's location makes it the only CSWE-accredited MSW program physically embedded in the Delta, serving communities in Washington, Sunflower, Leflore, Bolivar, and adjacent counties where child poverty rates, limited healthcare access, and social services workforce shortages are among the most severe in the country. The Children, Youth, and Families concentration is directly aligned to the most acute social work need in the Delta region.
Public (Mississippi Valley State University, HBCU). Contact the program for current tuition rates.
Mississippi Valley State University Department of Social Work - #4
University of Mississippi Department of Social Work
Oxford, MS · On-Campus · CSWE-accredited since 2008
5.0
60 credits 900 field hours No Advanced StandingThe University of Mississippi Department of Social Work offers one concentration: Clinical or Direct Practice. No online delivery is currently listed and no Advanced Standing is available per the CSWE directory. The program accepts only full-time students. Ole Miss is a public R1 research university in Oxford in north Mississippi. The Clinical concentration and Oxford's location near the Tennessee state line position the program to serve a region with documented social work shortages in behavioral health and healthcare settings. The 2008 accreditation date and the absence of Advanced Standing and online delivery are the primary factors placing this program fourth in this ranking.
Public (University of Mississippi, R1 research university). Contact the program for current in-state and out-of-state tuition rates.
University of Mississippi Department of Social Work
How long does an MSW take in Mississippi, and what does it cost?
An MSW in Mississippi 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. 3 run an Advanced Standing track, which finishes the degree in about a year for BSW holders. All of them are public, so in-state residency is the main lever on cost. 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 Mississippi?
Jackson is Mississippi's largest job market for MSW graduates. University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), the state's only academic medical center and Level I trauma center, and Merit Health Central are the primary healthcare employers for clinical and medical social workers in the Jackson metro. The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services (MDCPS), established as an independent agency in 2016 following federal oversight concerns about the state's child welfare system, employs the largest concentration of public-sector social workers in the state and maintains its headquarters in Jackson. The Mississippi Department of Mental Health (DMH), which administers the state's network of regional mental health centers, and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians' social services division in Choctaw are additional major employers in the central Mississippi market. JSU's field placement network is deeply integrated with UMMC, MDCPS, and the Jackson-area mental health provider community.
Hattiesburg and the Gulf Coast represent two distinct markets served by USM's dual-campus model. In Hattiesburg, Forrest General Hospital (an independent regional hospital), Pine Belt Mental Healthcare Resources, and the Lamar-Forrest-Perry county human services offices are the primary employers. On the Gulf Coast, Singing River Health System (serving Jackson and George counties), Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, and the Gulf Coast Mental Health Center serve the Gulfport-Biloxi corridor. The Gulf Coast's tourism-dependent economy creates specific social work needs around low-wage workforce housing instability, substance use, and seasonal employment volatility that are distinct from the state's interior.
The Mississippi Delta, served primarily by MVSU, has some of the most acute social work workforce shortages in the country. Most Delta counties have no licensed clinical social workers in private practice. The Delta region's child welfare cases are handled by MDCPS regional offices in Greenwood, Cleveland, and Greenville that are chronically understaffed. Delta Health Center (a federally qualified health center network with multiple Delta locations), the North Mississippi Health Services system, and a network of Head Start and early childhood programs are the primary institutional employers in the region. MVSU graduates entering these settings often represent the only MSW-level practitioners in their counties.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Mississippi; Mississippi Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists.
Can you earn an MSW online in Mississippi in 2026?
You can earn an MSW online in Mississippi at one of the state's four accredited programs: Jackson State University. It records an online option in the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs.
Accreditation covers every approved delivery method under the same degree, so an online MSW carries the same standing for licensure as the on-campus version and the ASWB examination does not distinguish between them. Field placement is the part that stays local: coursework is delivered online, but the 900 supervised hours happen at an agency, which for most students means one within commuting distance of home.
Can you work full time while earning an MSW in Mississippi?
You can work full time while earning an MSW in Mississippi at two of the state's four accredited programs, which record a part-time plan of study with CSWE: Jackson State University and University of Southern Mississippi.
A part-time plan spreads coursework over three or four years rather than two. It does not, however, make the field placement part time: the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards require 900 hours of supervised field education for a master's degree, most of it during business hours, which is the constraint working students in Mississippi most often have to plan around. One program in the state also offers an online option.
How did we rank these Mississippi MSW programs?
We ranked these Mississippi 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 Mississippi-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: Mississippi licenses no graduate of an unaccredited program. Accredited programs in Mississippi run from one holding that status since 1974 to one accredited as recently as 2008, 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 Mississippi?
You become a licensed social worker in Mississippi 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 Mississippi social work licensing board. Mississippi 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.
Master's social work license route in MS
MSW → LMSW
- 1
Earn a CSWE-accredited MSW.
- 2
Pass the ASWB Masters exam and apply for the LMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker).
Clinical social work license route in MS
MSW → LCSW
- 1
Earn a CSWE-accredited MSW.
- 2
Complete supervised practice 24 to 36 months and pass the ASWB Advanced Generalist or Clinical exam, then apply for the LCSW (Licensed Certified Social Worker), which authorizes independent clinical practice and clinical diagnosis.
Mississippi social work licenses at a glance
Master's license
Licensed Master Social Worker
Clinical license
Licensed Certified Social Worker
Source: Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Social Work Regulatory Database, 2026. License requirements change, so always confirm current rules with the Mississippi licensing board before applying.
Common questions about MSW programs in Mississippi
Common questions about MSW programs in Mississippi, on accreditation, cost, format and licensure.
How many CSWE-accredited MSW programs are in Mississippi?
What do social workers earn in Mississippi?
What are Mississippi's social work licensing requirements?
Which Mississippi programs are HBCU-based?
Is there an MSW program serving the Mississippi Gulf Coast?
Which Mississippi cities have MSW programs?
Find CSWE-accredited programs in and near specific Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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, Mississippi 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 Mississippi?
The best MSW programs near Mississippi 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.