Founded in 1952, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is the national association representing social work education in the United States. Its members include more than 900 accredited baccalaureate, master’s, and practice doctorate degree social work programs and their affiliated social work educators, students, and staff, as well as practitioners and agencies dedicated to advancing quality social work education.
Through its many initiatives, activities, and centers, CSWE supports quality social work education and provides opportunities for leadership and professional development so that social workers are empowered to play a central role in achieving the profession’s goals of social and economic justice.
CSWE’s Board of Accreditation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the accrediting agency for social work education in the United States and its territories.
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Staff Directory
Meet the people responsible for delivering on CSWE's promise of ensuring excellence in social work education.
Governance
Review financial and annual reports, and learn more about volunteer-driven leadership and oversight.
Corporate Partnership & Support
What We Do
CSWE accreditation is a rigorous peer-review process following the competencies and standards defined in the 2022 Educational Policies and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). It assures recipients of social work services and students, faculty, and staff of social work education programs that the program has a clearly defined mission and objective that are achievable and consistent with expectations of social work practice.
The primary goal is to ensure quality education and preparation of social workers. Social work is a public service field founded on core values of justice, dignity, self-worth, human relations, integrity, and competence. The EPAS is grounded in these core values and engages competent and qualified educators and community partners to ensure student competency in the research, policy, theory, and practice of social work.
At the core of social work education is the responsibility to build and nurture healthy communities and contribute to the public good. Our Education and Research division leads national efforts to advance excellence in social work education through faculty development, scholarly resources, and fellowship initiatives.
We strengthen teaching and learning in social work programs, preparing students to enter a variety of practice settings. CSWE supports the full continuum of social work education to meet complex societal challenges with competence and compassion.
CSWE also understands the need for research to inform policy and practice and to serve the needs of CSWE member programs and their deans, directors, faculty, and students.
None of CSWE’s research has a bigger impact than the Annual Survey of Social Work Programs, which is delivered to all CSWE-accredited programs and contacts for practice doctorate and research doctorate programs. The annual survey collects information about social work programs, students, graduates, and faculty members. These data shape the future of social work education through research, program planning, and advocacy efforts across the field and beyond.
Our members make up a vibrant community of social work educators, practitioners, and students. CSWE members are part of a collective voice advocating for social work education and the values of the social work profession.
Members gain access to exclusive resources, professional development opportunities, networking events, and the latest research. Whether they are individual educators, students, or representatives of a program institution, CSWE membership provides valuable benefits tailored to their needs. Learn more about CSWE membership
CSWE’s work is supported in part by generous individuals, organizations, and corporate partners, which help make possible our Annual Conference, our professional and student development resources, and other events and resources enjoyed by CSWE members.
CSWE needs this essential support, and more, to deliver on its mission of advancing excellence in social work education. Government funding to coalitions and organizations has declined since the beginning of 2025, jeopardizing the future of initiatives like our Minority Fellowship Program and our Substance Use Disorders Education and Leadership Scholars program.
CSWE publishes relevant, timely, and quality thought leadership that advances the cause of social work education and provides value and support to educators, practitioners, and students on their professional journey.
CSWE Press publishes scholarly works, but with an expanding readership to serve, also acquires practical works like handbooks, professional development texts, and literary nonfiction that explore social justice, and lived experiences as they relate to or enhance social work curricula and field work practicum education.
The Journal of Social Work Education is a refereed professional journal focused on education in social work and social welfare, serving as a forum for creative exchange on relevant trends, innovations, and issues.
Through initiatives and programs like the Minority Fellowship Program, the Substance Use Disorders Education and Leadership Scholars Program, the Doctoral Student Policy Fellowship, and more, CSWE is actively engaged in creating opportunities for social work students to conduct research, gain important professional experience, and receive critically needed financial aid.
Each year, CSWE’s Annual Conference brings together thousands of CSWE members and social work practitioners, including the largest gathering of graduate and undergraduate programs in professional social work education. The event features hundreds of sessions, poster presentations, plenaries, receptions, and special institutes and summits.
Additionally, CSWE’s professional awards and commissions and councils awards are given out each year at the conference.
Program Map
CSWE accredits more than 900 baccalaureate, master's, and practice doctorate social work programs across the United States and its territories.
Organizational Partners
Land Acknowledgement
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) acknowledges that its office is located on ancestral lands of Indigenous Peoples throughout the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and territories. This is true of the cities where CSWE events occur and the areas where council staff and volunteers reside.
Indigenous Peoples had and continue to have extended networks of relatives that include human and nonhuman life as well as the seen and the unseen across diverse geopolitical and ecological spaces. Sacred ties to the land and water distinguish Indigenous Peoples from all other people or cultures.
Despite the genocide, relocation, and removal of millions of Indigenous Peoples from those areas, ties to these networks and lands have persevered through centuries of oppression, colonization, appropriation, and other efforts to erase these cultures.
CSWE’s office is in Alexandria, Virginia, and we honor the 11 state-recognized ancestral tribes. Our organization is committed to achieving social justice and equity for Indigenous Peoples in ways that respect their ancient cultures and sovereign rights and that address a legacy of colonization and oppression. Social work education strives to prepare tomorrow’s practitioners to effect social change for all people.
With humility, we recognize and respect all Indigenous Peoples and their ties to the land.
The CSWE, the Indigenous and Tribal Social Work Educators Association, and the Commission on Diversity and Social & Economic Justice have collaborated on this Land Acknowledgment Statement to raise awareness of the global truth and reconciliation movement addressing historical and systemic issues of Indigenous Peoples.
For more, read the statement from CSWE and the Indigenous and Tribal Social Work Educators Association