MSW Programs in Washington | No GRE/CSWE Accredited Masters

The northernmost state in the Pacific Northwest, Washington is known for its variety of landscapes and settings. There are almost seven million people living in Washington, many of whom settle in or close to large cities like Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. The tourism industry in Washington is booming, partially due to the fact that the Twilight series is set here.

In Washington, the cost of living is about 17% higher than the national average. Education is a big part of life in Washington; the U.S. Census Bureau reports that the state has above average high school and college graduation rates of 90% and 31.6%.

There are seven MSW programs in Washington, most of which are located in suburban areas. These schools have an average tuition cost of $12,893, but they also have many scholarship and assistantship opportunities. The average scholarship award in Washington is $5,747.

While you are earning your MSW, you can plan on spending your time split between two locations: your classroom and your practicum site. Doing your degree this way gives you the practical and theoretical knowledge you need in order to succeed as a social worker, while allowing you plenty of professional experience that can drive your career.

Courses in an MSW program are generally meant to give you a thorough education in the following areas: social work interventions, values and ethics, and research in the field of social work. In your first year, you take a broad selection of classes that give you a general base of knowledge in these areas. In your second year, you choose a specific social work concentration around which your elective classes are based.

Practicum hours are essential to your MSW degree. Most schools in Washington require between 900 and 1100 hours. Completing this many hours gives you the chance to gain experience with different populations in a variety of settings.

Master’s degrees in social work are extremely versatile, since the skills you learn during your degree can be applied to a variety of fields and industries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that social workers work in diverse settings like mental health clinics, nursing homes, and substance abuse clinics.

In Washington, some of the main social work employers include Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Pioneer Human Services. If you want to work for yourself, you can do so after earning clinical licensure in Washington. This lets you open a private practice and work wherever you want.

The Washington State Department of Health governs all social workers in Washington. Their licensure process is pretty simple. You pay an application fee of $141, pass the required license exam, and then pay a $125 license fee to get your license.

If you want to become a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, you have to work 4,000 supervised clinical hours. Upon meeting this requirement and passing the required exam, you can work as an LICSW.

It can be difficult to identify an average social worker’s salary, since there are so many factors that play into it. In general, social workers with clinical licensure, higher-level degrees, and experience earn more money than those at the Bachelor’s degree level.

In general, healthcare social workers earn the highest salaries. In Washington, they earn an average salary of $53,200 per year (O*Net, 2012). They are followed by family social workers, with an average salary of $49,000 per year, and mental health social workers, with an average salary of $44,100 per year (O*Net, 2012).

Like in most of the country, the demand for social workers is high in Washington. Social workers with clinical licensure are in particular demand, since they can offer evidence-based clinical care at a very affordable price. Social workers can expect job growth of 18% to 22% between 2010 and 2020 (O*Net, 2012).

Schools in Washington Offering Masters in Social Work Programs

Central Washington University

(Ellensburg, WA)

  • Masters in Social and Family Systems
  • $7,941 Tuition Cost
  • $1,439 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
  • Suburban Campus Setting

Eastern Washington University

(Cheney, WA)

  • Masters in Social Work (MSW)
  • $7,372 Tuition Cost
  • $3,875 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
  • Suburban Campus Setting

University of Washington-Bothell Campus

(Bothell, WA)

  • Masters in Public Policy Analysis
  • $11,305 Tuition Cost
  • $4,277 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
  • Suburban Campus Setting

University of Washington-Seattle Campus

(Seattle, WA)

  • Masters in Public Policy Analysis
  • Masters in Social Work (MSW)
  • $11,305 Tuition Cost
  • $10,350 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
  • Urban Campus Setting

University of Washington-Tacoma Campus

(Tacoma, WA)

  • Masters in Social Work (MSW)
  • $11,305 Tuition Cost
  • $4,565 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
  • Urban Campus Setting

Walla Walla University

(College Place, WA)

  • Masters in Social Work (MSW)
  • $24,360 Tuition Cost
  • $10,622 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
  • Suburban Campus Setting

Washington State University

(Pullman, WA)

  • Masters in Human Development and Family Studies
  • Masters in Public Policy Analysis
  • $10,874 Tuition Cost
  • $5,100 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
  • Suburban Campus Setting
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