2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States

Annual Statistics on Social Work

Education in the United States

2015

The Annual Survey of Social Work Programs (Annual Survey) is a census of social work programs in the United States

and its territories conducted by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) since 1952. Data collected in the Annual

Survey are the primary source of information about social work students, graduates, and faculty members. In addition

to advancing knowledge about social work education, the data are used to determine program membership dues for

accredited baccalaureate and master’s programs.

Introduction ............................................................................................................................5

Institutional Characteristics ..................................................................................................7

Special Topic: Faculty Employment ................................................................................... 15

Full-Time and Part-Time/Contract Faculty ....................................................................... 17

Baccalaureate Programs .................................................................................................... 21

Master’s Programs.............................................................................................................. 24

Practice Doctorate Programs ............................................................................................. 29

PhD Programs ..................................................................................................................... 33

List of Tables

Table 1. Invitations to and Participation in the 2015 Annual Survey by Survey Section ........................................................ 6

Table 2. Participation Rate by Survey Section, 2011–2015 ..................................................................................................... 6

Table 3. Participating Programs by CSWE Membership Region and Program Level ........................................................... 7

Table 4. CSWE Membership Regions ...................................................................................................................................... 7

Table 5. Institutional Auspice by Program Level ..................................................................................................................... 8

Table 6. Ethnic/Sex Identiﬁcation of Institutions Housing Social Work Programs ................................................................ 8

Table 7. Social Work Programs by Carnegie Classiﬁcation and Program Level ................................................................... 8

Table 8. Basic Carnegie Classiﬁcations .................................................................................................................................. 9

Table 9. Programs Offering Part-Time Option to Students by Program Level ...................................................................... 9

Table 10. Applicant Testing Requirements by Program Level .................................................................................................. 9

Table 11. Number of Degree-Seeking Applicants, Admissions, and Newly Enrolled Students by Program Level ............... 9

Table 12. Student Enrollment by State/Territory and Program Level .................................................................................... 11

Table 13. Availability of Online or Hybrid Courses by Program Level .................................................................................... 12

Table 14. International Graduates and Graduates Planning to Pursue Social Work Careers

Outside the United States by Program Level .......................................................................................................... 13

Table 15. Student Loan Debt by Program Level ...................................................................................................................... 13

Table 16. Programs Offering Title IV-E Stipends .................................................................................................................... 14

Table 17. Faculty Positions Lost Due to Resignation, Retirement, Budget Cuts, or Other Reasons ................................... 15

Table 18. Unﬁlled Faculty Positions......................................................................................................................................... 15

Table 19. Challenges to Hiring Faculty .................................................................................................................................... 16

Table 20. Open Faculty Positions ............................................................................................................................................. 16

Table 21. Faculty Teaching Assignment by Program Level .................................................................................................... 17

Table 22. Academic Rank of Full-Time and Part-Time/Contract Faculty Members ............................................................. 18

Table 23. Administrative Titles of Full-Time Faculty Members .............................................................................................. 19

Table 24. Tenure Status of Full-Time Faculty Members......................................................................................................... 19

Table 25. Demographic Characteristics of Full-Time and Part-Time/Contract Faculty Members ...................................... 20

Table 26. Highest Earned Degree of Full-Time and Part-Time/Contract Faculty Members ................................................ 20

Table 27. Certiﬁcates Offered by Baccalaureate Programs ................................................................................................... 21

Contents

Table 28. Demographic Characteristics of Full-Time and Part-Time Baccalaureate Social Work Majors .......................... 22

Table 29. Number of Baccalaureate Students in Field Placements ...................................................................................... 23

Table 30. Demographic Characteristics of Baccalaureate Graduates ................................................................................... 23

Table 31. Planned Offerings of Applied Social Work Doctoral Degree .................................................................................. 24

Table 32. Joint Degrees Offered by Master’s Programs ......................................................................................................... 25

Table 33. Certiﬁcates Offered by Master’s Programs ............................................................................................................. 25

Table 34. Demographic Characteristics of Full-Time and Part-Time Master’s Students .................................................... 26

Table 35. Student Enrollment in Areas of Specializations Offered by Master’s Programs ................................................... 27

Table 36. Field Placements of Master’s Students by Category .............................................................................................. 27

Table 37. Demographic Characteristics of Master’s Graduates ............................................................................................ 28

Table 38. Focus of Practice Doctorates ................................................................................................................................... 29

Table 39. Demographic Characteristics of Practice Doctorate Program Applicants ............................................................ 29

Table 40. Number of Newly Enrolled Practice Doctorate Students by Educational Background ......................................... 30

Table 41. Demographic Characteristics of Newly Enrolled Practice Doctorate Students .................................................... 30

Table 42. Number of Practice Doctorate Students by Enrollment Status ............................................................................. 31

Table 43. Demographic Characteristics of Practice Doctorate Enrolled Students ............................................................... 31

Table 44. Demographic Characteristics of Practice Doctorate Graduates ............................................................................ 32

Table 45. Years Taken by Practice Doctorate Graduates to Obtain Degree ........................................................................... 32

Table 46. Years That School Policy Allows for Completion of Practice Doctorate Degree .................................................... 32

Table 47. Employment Status of Practice Doctorate Graduates ............................................................................................ 32

Table 48. Demographic Characteristics of PhD Program Applicants .................................................................................... 33

Table 49. Number of Newly Enrolled PhD Students by Educational Background ................................................................. 34

Table 50. Demographic Characteristics of Newly Enrolled PhD Students ............................................................................ 34

Table 51. Applications, Admissions, and New Enrollments in Combined MSW/PhD Programs .......................................... 35

Table 52. Number of Enrolled PhD Students by Enrollment Status ...................................................................................... 35

Table 53. Demographic Characteristics of Enrolled PhD Students ....................................................................................... 35

Table 54. Demographic Characteristics of PhD Graduates .................................................................................................... 36

Table 55. Years Taken by PhD Graduates to Obtain Degree ................................................................................................... 36

Table 56. Years That School Policy Allows for Completion of PhD Degree ............................................................................ 36

Table 57. Employment Status of PhD Graduates .................................................................................................................... 37

List of Figures

Figure 1. Institutional Auspice of Programs ............................................................................................................................. 7

Figure 2. Full-Time Enrollment by Program Level, 2011–2015 ............................................................................................. 10

Figure 3. Part-Time Enrollment by Program Level, 2011–2015............................................................................................. 10

Figure 4. Accredited Baccalaureate and Master’s Social Work Programs ............................................................................ 12

Figure 5. Number of Degrees Awarded by Program Level, 2011–2015 ................................................................................. 13

Figure 6. Percentage of Graduates With Loan Debt by Program Level, 2011–2015.............................................................. 14

Figure 7. Median Amount of Graduate Loan Debt by Program Level, 2011–2015................................................................. 14

Figure 8. Number of Full-Time and Part-Time/Contract Faculty .......................................................................................... 17

Figure 9. Number of Faculty Members With Principal Assignment to the Baccalaureate Program Level, 2011–2015 ...... 18

Figure 10. Number of Faculty Members With Principal Assignment to the Master’s Program Level, 2011–2015 ............... 18

Figure 11. Number of Faculty Members With Principal Assignment to the Doctoral Program Level, 2011–2015 ............... 18

Figure 12. Baccalaureate Student Enrollment, 2011–2015 ...................................................................................................... 22

Figure 13. Number of Master’s Students With Advanced Standing ......................................................................................... 24

Figure 14. Master’s Student Enrollment, 2011–2015 ............................................................................................................... 26

Contents (continued)

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  5

Method

The 2015 Annual Survey was composed of ﬁve survey sections

that gathered data on baccalaureate programs, master’s

programs, practice doctorate programs (social work doctoral

degree other than research-focused PhD), PhD programs, and

faculty members. The program sections included items on

program structure, enrollments, program offerings, and degrees

awarded. The faculty section collected demographic information

and information about academic rank and professional

education of full-time and part-time faculty members; it also

requested information about administrative titles and tenure

status of full-time faculty members.

The survey was administered online through the survey platform,

Zarca Interactive. From November 23–24, 2015, invitations to the

survey were e-mailed to all CSWE-accredited social work programs

and to doctoral social work programs housed at institutions with

CSWE-accredited social work programs (see Table 1). The 2015

Annual Survey closed in March 2016.

When reporting the number of individuals from historically

underrepresented groups, the categories of African American/

Other Black, Chicano/Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Other

Latino/Hispanic, American Indian/Native American, Asian

American/Other Asian, Paciﬁc Islander, Other, and Multiple

Race/Ethnicity are used. Prior to the 2013 Annual Survey, the

category of Multiple Race/Ethnicity was reported separately.

The following changes were introduced in the 2015 Annual

Survey. All survey sections of the Annual Survey were

combined in a single instrument: BSW program, MSW

program, practice doctorate program, PhD program, and

faculty. Previously, the survey had been administered as five

separate instruments. The format for areas of specialized

practice offered by MSW programs was restructured to ask

about methods and fields of practice separately; this is

the format that was used in the Annual Survey from 2013

and prior. The reason for these changes was to provide a

clearer picture of methods and fields of practice taught as

specializations in programs. The state licensure examination

pass rate question for BSW and MSW graduates was removed

in response to program feedback. Additionally, items about

faculty salary were removed from the annual survey due to low

response rates. The CSWE Commission on Research and the

CSWE staff are considering new ways of asking about state

licensure status and faculty salary in the future. Additionally,

the doctoral programs section was truncated to reduce time

burden while still collecting necessary information. Instead of

asking doctoral programs for demographic information about

full-time students taking coursework, full-time students who

completed coursework, part-time students taking coursework,

and part-time students who completed coursework, they

were asked to provide demographic information about their

enrolled students in total (i.e., collapsing across the previous

categories). Items about faculty salary have been dropped

because of low response rates, but the Commission on

Research is hoping to launch a survey of faculty members that

would gather that information.

Truncated text of the survey questions is used in this report

to conserve space. You can ﬁnd a copy of the complete survey

instrument on the CSWE website (www.cswe.org). Any questions

about this report or the Annual Survey can be addressed to

resear[email protected]g.

Participation Rate

Changes in items, wording, and response options alter each

year’s survey instruments. Programs are not required to respond

to most survey items. In the survey sections for baccalaureate

and master’s programs, programs were required to respond only

to the questions about total number of degrees awarded, URL

address of posted assessment outcomes, and year of posting

of assessment outcomes. In the faculty survey section and the

practice doctorate and PhD program survey sections, programs

were not required to respond to any questions. Researchers

should exercise caution in data comparisons across survey year,

program level, and survey item.

Introduction

6  Council on Social Work Education

Table 1. Invitations to and Participation in the 2015 Annual Survey

by Survey Section

Survey Section

Number of

Invitations

Number of

Participants

Participation

Rate (%)

Baccalaureate program 508 503 99.0

Master’s program 242 242 100

Practice doctorate program 8 8 100

PhD program 75 71 94.7

Faculty 569 548 96.3

Table 2 shows that response rates have steadily increased over

the last 5 years. The 2015 Annual Survey response rate across

all ﬁve sections was at the highest level recorded. Most notably,

the Master’s Program and Practice Doctorate Program sections

attained a 100% response rate.

Table 2. Participation Rate by Survey Section, 2011–2015

Survey Section

2011

(%)

2012

(%)

2013

(%)

2014

(%)

2015

(%)

Baccalaureate

program

96.0 96.9 97.3 98.8 99.0

Master’s program 97.7 98.2 99.1 99.1 100

Doctoral program 95.8 84.9 93.2 — —

Practice doctorate

program

— — — 80.0 100

PhD program

— — — 92.0 94.7

Faculty 80.2 86.7 87.1 93.9 96.3

Replaced the Doctoral Program survey instrument used before 2014.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  7

CSWE Membership

Table 3 shows the regional distribution of CSWE program members

that participated in the 2015 Annual Survey. A breakdown of data by

state/territory can be found in Table 12.

Table 3. Participating Programs by CSWE Membership Region

and Program Level

CSWE Region

Program Level

Baccalaureate Master’s

Number % Number %

New England 28 5.6 17 7.0

Northeast 45 8.9 24 9.9

Mid-Atlantic 65 12.9 24 9.9

Southeast 108 21.5 51 21.1

Great Lakes 107 21.3 43 17.8

South Central 54 10.7 25 10.3

Mid-Central 39 7.8 14 5.8

Rocky Mountains 17 3.4 10 4.1

West 22 4.4 27 11.2

Northwest 18 3.6 7 2.9

Total 503 242

Note: See Table 4 for deﬁnitions of membership regions.

Table 4. CSWE Membership Regions

CSWE Region States/Territories in CSWE Region

New England Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,

Rhode Island, Vermont

Northeast New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

Mid-Atlantic Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland,

Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia

Southeast Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi,

North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

Great Lakes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin

South Central Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

Mid-Central Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

Rocky

Mountains

Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota,

Utah, Wyoming

West American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam,

Hawaii, Nevada

Northwest Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington

Auspice

Social work programs from 566 institutions participated in the

2015 Annual Survey (see Figure 1). Public institutions housed

more than one half (54.9%) of social work programs, followed by

private–religion afﬁliated institutions (34.5%) and private–other

institutions (10.6%).

Figure 1. Institutional Auspice of Programs

 Public

 Private-Religion

Afﬁliated

 Private-Other

311

195

Institutional Characteristics

8  Council on Social Work Education

When examining institutional auspice by program level

(see Table 5), there were higher proportions of master’s and

PhD programs housed in public institutions. Baccalaureate

programs were most evenly distributed between public and

private institutions.

Table 5. Institutional Auspice by Program Level

Program Level Aggregate

Auspice

Public

Private–

Religion

Afﬁliated

Private–

Other

Number % % %

Baccalaureate 503 54.9 36.6 8.5

Master’s 242 73.1 16.1 10.7

Practice doctorate 8 37.5 12.5 50.0

PhD 71 66.2 12.7 21.1

Ethnic/Sex Identiﬁcation

Institutions housing social work programs predominantly self-

identiﬁed as nonethnic, co-educational (see Table 6). The largest

category of institutions identifying with a diverse population was

Historically Black College or University.

Table 6. Ethnic/Sex Identiﬁcation of Institutions Housing Social

Work Programs

Ethnic/Sex Identiﬁcation Number %

Nonethnic

Co-educational 468 82.7

Women’s 12 2.1

Historically Black College or University

Co-educational 45 8.0

Women’s 1 0.2

Hispanic-Serving Institution

31 5.5

Tribal College

3 0.5

Other

6 1.1

Total 566

Carnegie Classiﬁcation

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

devised a categorization system for colleges and universities.

On October 8, 2014, the Carnegie Foundation for the

Advancement of Teaching transferred responsibility for the

Carnegie Classiﬁcation of Institutions of Higher Education to

Indiana University Bloomington’s Center for Postsecondary

Research. The Classiﬁcation retained the Carnegie name after

the Center for Postsecondary Research assumed responsibility

on January 1, 2015. For more information about the new

Classiﬁcations website, consult the Center for Postsecondary

Research website. A brief description of the categories is in

Table 8.

As Table 7 shows, of the 566 institutions that participated in the

2015 Annual Survey, 51.6% of social work programs were housed

in 292 institutions classiﬁed as master’s colleges and universities,

followed by 163 doctorate-granting universities (28.8%), 107

baccalaureate colleges (18.9%), and 4 special-focus institutions

and tribal colleges (0.7%).

Table 7. Social Work Programs by Carnegie Classiﬁcation and

Program Level

Carnegie

Classiﬁcation

Program Level

Baccalaureate

(%)

Master’s

(%)

Practice

Doctorate

(%) PhD (%)

Doctorate-Granting Universities

RU/VH 7.2 21.1 62.5 63.4

RU/H 11.3 21.1 0 21.1

DRU 7.4 10.3 0 5.6

Master’s Colleges and Universities

Master’s/L 33.6 35.1 37.5 4.2

Master’s/M 12.9 7.0 0 1.4

Master’s/S 6.2 1.7 0 0

Baccalaureate Colleges

Bac/A&S 6.4 1.7 0 2.8

Bac/Diverse 13.9 1.7 0 0

Bac/Assoc 0.4 0 0 0

Associate’s

Colleges

0.2 0 0 0

Special-Focus

Institutions and

Tribal Colleges

0.6 0.4 0 1.4

Note: See Table 8 for deﬁnition of abbreviations. Number of programs

reporting: baccalaureate=503; master’s=242; practice doctorate=8; PhD=71.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  9

Table 8. Basic Carnegie Classiﬁcations

Classiﬁcation Description

Doctorate-

Granting

Universities

Institutions that awarded at least 20 research

doctoral degrees

RU/VH Research universities (very high research activity)

RU/H Research universities (high research activity)

DRU Doctoral/research universities

Master’s Colleges

and Universities

Institutions that awarded at least 50 master’s

degrees and fewer than 20 doctoral degrees

Master’s/L Master’s colleges and universities

(larger programs)

Master’s/M Master’s colleges and universities

(medium programs)

Master’s/S Master’s colleges and universities

(smaller programs)

Baccalaureate

Colleges

Institutions where baccalaureate degrees

represented at least 10% of all undergraduate

degrees and where fewer than 50 master’s

degrees or 20 doctoral degrees were awarded

Bac/A&S Baccalaureate colleges–arts and sciences

Bac/Div Baccalaureate colleges–diverse ﬁelds

Bac/Assoc Baccalaureate/associate’s colleges

Associate’s

Colleges

Institutions where all degrees are at the associate’s

level, or where bachelor’s degrees account for less

than 10% of all undergraduate degrees

Special-Focus

Institutions

Institutions awarding baccalaureate or higher-level

degrees where more than 75% of degrees are in a

single ﬁeld or set of related ﬁelds (e.g., faith, health)

Tribal Colleges

Members of the American Indian Higher

Education Consortium

Part-Time Programs

Master’s programs were most likely to offer a part-time option to

their students (see Table 9).

Table 9. Programs Offering Part-Time Option to Students by

Program Level

Part-Time

Program

Program Level

Baccalaureate Master’s

Practice

Doctorate PhD

Number of

Programs Offering

221 205 5 32

Percentage of

Programs Offering

44.6 87.6 62.5 46.4

Number of

Programs Reporting

495 234 8 69

Applicant Test Requirements

Master’s and doctoral programs were asked whether they required

any students to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Miller

Analogies Test, or Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL,

for students whose native language was not English). Table 10

aggregates the data from their responses. PhD programs were

most likely to require GRE sections and the TOEFL.

Table 10. Applicant Testing Requirements by Program Level

Requirement

for All or Some

Applicants

Required

by Master’s

Programs

Required

by Practice

Doctorate

Programs

Required by

PhD Programs

Number % Number % Number %

GRE—Verbal

Reasoning

56 24.5 2 25.0 62 89.9

GRE—Quantitative

Reasoning

48 21.0 2 25.0 62 89.9

GRE—Analytical

Writing

46 20.1 2 25.0 56 81.2

MAT 20 8.7 1 12.5 6 8.7

TOEFL 176 76.9 5 62.5 67 97.1

Note: Master’s programs reporting=229; practice doctorate programs

reporting=8, PhD programs reporting=69. GRE=Graduate Record Examination;

MAT=Miller Analogies Test; TOEFL=Test of English as a Foreign Language.

Applications and Admissions

Programs reported student enrollment as of fall 2015. Because

students can apply to multiple programs, CSWE is unable to

produce a count of unduplicated applications; the reported

number of applications is probably higher than the actual number

of applicants. As referenced in Table 11, the acceptance rate was

highest for master’s programs.

Table 11. Number of Degree-Seeking Applicants, Admissions, and

Newly Enrolled Students by Program Level

Stage in Process Program Level

Master’s

Practice

Doctorate PhD

Application

Full-

Time

Part-

Time

Applications received 45,640 13,359 293 1,660

Programs reporting 215 171 8 66

Applications accepted 29,793 9,591 143 526

Programs reporting 217 173 8 68

Overall acceptance rate (%) 65.3 71.8 48.8 31.7

New Enrollment

New students enrolled 18,161 7,559 135 335

Programs reporting 218 178 8 68

Overall new enrollment rate (%) 61.0 78.8 94.4 63.7

10  Council on Social Work Education

Student Enrollment

There was a total enrollment of 95,902 full-time and 29,449

part-time social work students. Across the 5-year period of

2011 to 2015 the full-time enrollment of baccalaureate students

increased by 5.2% (average enrollment=53,957.8). The full-time

enrollment of master’s students increased by 25.7% (average

enrollment=35,369.4). The full-time enrollment of doctoral

(practice doctorate and PhD) students decreased by 1.4%

(average enrollment=1,850.2).

From 2011 to 2015 the part-time enrollment of baccalaureate

students increased by 9.1% (average enrollment=7,152.4).

The part-time enrollment of master’s students increased by

16.1% (average enrollment=19,387.4). The part-time enrollment

of doctoral (practice doctorate and PhD) students decreased

by 37.9% (average enrollment=620.6). As noted earlier in this

report, prior to the 2014 Annual Survey all doctoral programs

responded to a single survey section. Beginning with the 2014

Annual Survey, programs responded separately to practice

doctorate and PhD program survey sections.

Of the 1,789 full-time doctoral students in Figure 2, 185 were

full-time practice doctoral students and 1,604 were full-time PhD

students. Of the 472 part-time doctoral students in Figure 3, 29

were part-time practice doctoral students and 443 were part-time

PhD students. For the number of enrolled doctoral students by

enrollment status, please see Table 41 (for practice doctorate

students) and Table 51 (for PhD students).

Figure 2. Full-Time Enrollment by Program Level, 2011–2015

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

100,000

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

 Baccalaureate  Master’s  Doctoral

52,720 52,798 51,714 57,103 55,454

30,755 34,484 35,178 37,771 38,659

1,815

1,751

1,835

2,061

1,789

Figure 3. Part-Time Enrollment by Program Level, 2011–2015

30,000

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000

5,000

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

 Baccalaureate  Master’s  Doctoral

760

677

710

484

472

6,888 7,279 6,373 7,708 7,514

18,481 19,351 19,010 18,632 21,463

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  11

Table 12. Student Enrollment by State/Territory and Program Level

State/

Territory

Program Level

Baccalaureate Master’s

Practice

Doctorate PhD

Full-

Time

Part-

Time

Full-

Time

Part-

Time

Alabama 1,483 105 458 86 29

Alaska 136 123 23 31

Arizona 815 107 535 219 21

Arkansas 758 50 178 109

California 1,947 167 3,673 3,615 123

Colorado 724 184 717 119 15

Connecticut 703 15 431 101 26

Delaware 146 54

District of

Columbia

115 43 213 26 21

Florida 1,704 493 1,219 663 78

Georgia 601 83 374 267 36

Guam 66

Hawaii 129 12 161 135 15

Idaho 485 58 297 32

Illinois 1,988 422 2,366 949 43 131

Indiana 1,800 129 539 450 12

Iowa 648 34 202 133 7

Kansas 809 122 495 200 32

Kentucky 2,117 260 742 281 61

Louisiana 1,271 390 583 241 13 28

Maine 268 68 232 1,072

Maryland 1,506 128 1,242 317 65

Massachusetts 1,009 258 1,926 1,455 101

Michigan 3,548 694 2,086 799 99

Minnesota 1,319 190 1,330 833 38 27

Mississippi 1,774 98 325 208

Missouri 1,227 243 952 270 75

Montana 212 41 60 7

State/

Territory

Program Level

Baccalaureate Master’s

Practice

Doctorate PhD

Full-

Time

Part-

Time

Full-

Time

Part-

Time

Nebraska 408 11 245

Nevada 77 7 106 55

New Hampshire 244 4 184 18

New Jersey 1,241 92 1,048 1,167 58 37

New Mexico 423 93 261 52

New York 2,743 674 5,284 2,533 13 456

North Carolina 2,875 135 1,058 232 27

North Dakota 216 43 133

Ohio 2,587 497 1,363 322 78

Oklahoma 332 19 138 99

Oregon 351 27 217 345 41

Pennsylvania 3,145 459 2,151 1,274 68 107

Puerto Rico 657 5 828 16 31

Rhode Island 169 23 93 105

South Carolina 1,031 58 303 303 21

South Dakota 87 3 61 21

Tennessee 1,836 174 584 402 33 14

Texas 2,907 322 1,191 560 55

Utah 444 401 94 41

Vermont 108

Virginia 1,703 223 631 237 52

Washington 536 35 393 379 36

West Virginia 428 40 216 98

Wisconsin 1,468 96 407 393 35

Wyoming 130 40 7

Total 55,454 7,514 38,659 21,463 266 2,033

Note: Programs reporting: Baccalaureate Full-Time=469;

Baccalaureate Part-Time=244; Master’s Full-Time=222;

Master’s Part-Time=200; Practice Doctorate=8; PhD=68.

12  Council on Social Work Education

Figure 4 shows the number of accredited baccalaureate and master’s programs by state as of June 2016.

Figure 4. Accredited Baccalaureate and Master’s Social Work Programs

 < 8 programs

 8–14

 15–21

 22–33

 > 33 programs

Online Course Offerings

Master’s programs were most likely to have an online presence, as shown in Table 13.

Table 13. Availability of Online or Hybrid Courses by Program Level

Response

Program Level

Baccalaureate Master’s Practice Doctorate PhD

Number % Number % Number % Number %

Yes, the entire program is available online. 18 4.1 41 17.6 1 12.5 0 0

Yes, part of the program is online or hybrid. 142 32.0 100 42.9 3 37.5 9 13.0

No, but online or hybrid courses will be in operation

next academic year.

11 2.5 21 9.0 0 0 0 0

No, but online or hybrid courses are being developed. 46 10.4 16 6.9 0 0 2 2.9

Other 3 0.7 1 0.4 3 37.5 3 4.3

No 224 50.5 54 23.2 1 12.5 55 79.7

Note: Programs reporting: baccalaureate=444; master’s=233; practice doctorate=8; PhD=69.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  13

Degrees Awarded

A total of 45,837 social work degrees were awarded for the 2014–2015 academic year (see Figure 5); 42.8% were baccalaureate degrees,

56.5% were master’s degrees, and 0.8% were doctoral (practice doctorate and PhD) degrees.

Figure 5. Number of Degrees Awarded by Program Level, 2011–2015

321

307

339

330

358

14,662 15,946 17,221 19,278 19,596

20,573 22,441 22,677 25,018 25,883

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

60,000

40,000

20,000

 Baccalaureate

 Master’s

 Doctoral

In the 2015 Annual Survey, programs reported the number of graduates who were international. Since 2014, programs have reported the

number of students who planned to pursue careers outside the United States (see Table 14).

Table 14. International Graduates and Graduates Planning to Pursue Social Work Careers Outside the United States by Program Level

Program Level

Baccalaureate

Programs

Reporting (N) Master’s

Programs

Reporting (N)

Practice

Doctorate

Programs

Reporting (N) PhD

Programs

Reporting (N)

Number of

international graduates

117 487 347 84 0 4 48 64

As percentage of total

number of graduates

0.6 1.3 0 16

Number of graduates

planning to pursue

careers outside U.S.

128 487 116 39 0 4 12 64

As percentage of total

number of graduates

0.7 0.4 0 4

Student Loan Debt

The amount of loan debt (see Table 15) was smallest for baccalaureate graduates.

Table 15. Student Loan Debt by Program Level

Student

Loan Debt

Program Level

Baccalaureate

Programs

Reporting (N) Master’s

Programs

Reporting (N)

Practice

Doctorate

Programs

Reporting (N) PhD

Programs

Reporting (N)

Percentage of

students with

loan debt

81.3 337 77.7 147 71.0 3 63.1 23

Median amount

of loan debt

$28,000 311 $40,815 138 $40,000 3 $42,804 21

14  Council on Social Work Education

The Annual Survey reports only formal loan data provided by

university ﬁnancial aid ofﬁces (see Figure 6). As reported by

The Economist,

each new graduate in the United States carries

about $40,000 in debt.

Figure 6. Percentage of Graduates With Loan Debt by

Program Level, 2011–2015

100

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

 Baccalaureate  Master’s  Doctoral

79.2

80.6

81 81.3 81.3

77.8

78.5

80.5

78.7

77.7

60.2

60.8

65.5

70.4

From 2011 to 2015, the median amount of graduate loan debt at

the baccalaureate level increased by 17.1%. Median graduate loan

debt at the master’s level increased by 16.1%. Median amount of

graduate debt at the doctoral level (weighted average of practice

doctorate and PhD in 2015) decreased by 0.6%.

The log-on degree. (2015, March 14). The Economist. Retrieved from

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21646219-college-

america-ruinously-expensive-some-digital-cures-are-emerging-log

Figure 7. Median Amount of Graduate Loan Debt by

Program Level, 2011–2015

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

 Baccalaureate  Master’s  Doctoral

$20,000

$40,000

$60,000

41,234

40,815

28,000

27,334

27,243

25,840

23,911

40,616

37,094

36,337

35,160

40,000

33,984

43,432

41,500

Title IV-E Stipends

Since 1980 the federal Title IV-E training program

has been a source

of ﬁnancial assistance for social work students specializing in child

welfare. Current data on the number of social work programs

participating in this program (see Table 16) are necessary when

discussing funding for social work education and student debt load.

Table 16. Programs Offering Title IV-E Stipends

Program

Level

Number

of States/

Territories

Number of

Programs

% of Programs

Reporting

Baccalaureate 33 156 31.6

Master’s 33 105 45.3

National Association of Social Workers. (2004, August). Fact sheet: Title IV-E

child welfare training program. Available at http://www.socialworkers.org/

advocacy/updates/2003/081204a.asp

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  15

Beginning with the 2013 Annual Survey the CSWE Commission

on Research introduced a short topical section to each Annual

Survey. In 2015 a special section focused on faculty employment

was added to the faculty survey section. Anecdotally, some

programs expressed concerns about loss of faculty members

due to resignation, retirement, or other reasons, and some

have struggled to identify enough qualiﬁed candidates to ﬁll the

number of vacancies. Information to explore these challenges

reported by accredited social work programs was collected in the

2015 Annual Survey (see Tables 17 and 18).

Of 548 program participants who completed the faculty section of

the annual survey, 529 (96.5%) responded to the initial question

about loss of faculty members due to resignation, retirement,

budget cuts, or other reasons. More than a third (36.7%, 194) of

the 529 programs responding reported losses of faculty members.

The majority (60.7%, 221) of these losses were in full-time tenured

or tenure-track positions. More than a quarter (26.3%, 138) of 524

programs reported unﬁlled vacancies among faculty positions.

More than three-fourths (77.8%, 165) of these vacancies were

full-time tenured or tenure-track positions. About a ﬁfth (20.2%,

103) of 510 programs reported that they needed additional faculty

members but were not permitted to conduct searches.

Table 17. Faculty Positions Lost Due to Resignation, Retirement,

Budget Cuts, or Other Reasons

Positions Lost Number %

Programs

Reporting (N)

Experienced loss of

positions due to resignation,

retirement, budget cuts, etc.

194 36.7 529

Type of faculty position lost 194

• Full-time tenured or

tenure-track

221 60.7

• Full-time nontenured or

non-tenure-track

or contingent

96 26.4

• Part-time or contract 47 12.9

Total 364

Table 18. Unﬁlled Faculty Positions

Loss Number %

Programs

Reporting (N)

Unﬁlled vacancies

or declined offers of

employment

138 26.3 524

Type of unﬁlled position 138

• Full-time tenured or

tenure-track

165 77.8

• Full-time nontenured

or non-tenure-track

or contingent

37 17.5

• Part-time or contract 10 4.7

Total 212

Programs that needed

additional faculty but were

unable to conduct search

103 20.2 510

Programs were asked to identify the top three challenges to

hiring faculty members from a list of options (see Table 19).

Of the 548 programs that participated in the faculty survey

section 503 (91.8%) responded to this challenge item. The top

issues identiﬁed by programs were constraints regarding the

salaries they could offer, competition with other programs,

inability to search due to budget issues, and location of

program. The most commonly reported other challenges were

not enough candidates who identiﬁed with the mission of the

institutions (e.g., faith-based) and not enough candidates with

the necessary licensure (e.g., clinical). Of the 503 responding

programs 87 (17.3%) reported no serious challenges to hiring

faculty members.

Special Topic: Faculty Employment

16  Council on Social Work Education

Table 19. Challenges to Hiring Faculty

Challenge

Number %

Budget constraints

(available salary offer)

284 56.5

Competition with other programs 169 33.6

Budget constraints (cannot search) 141 28.0

Location of program 138 27.4

Not enough candidates with

necessary practice experience

117 23.3

Not enough candidates with

necessary degree

105 20.9

No serious challenges 87 17.3

Other 34 6.8

Note: Programs reporting=503.

Almost half (48.9%, 256) of 523 programs reported having

faculty openings for which they were currently conducting

searches. About two-thirds (66.3%, 335) of these openings

were full-time tenured or tenure-track positions. More than

two-thirds (69.0%, 285) were open to new doctorate recipients.

Seventy-four programs reported open positions with 50% or

more time devoted to administrative duties. Over half (52.7%, 39)

of these openings were full-time tenured or tenure-track (see

Table 20).

Of the full-time tenured or tenure-track openings, 85.1% were

open to new doctorate recipients. Of the full-time nontenured or

non-tenure track openings, 77.0% were open to new doctorate

recipients. Of the part-time or contract openings, 70.5% were

open to new doctorate recipients.

Of the full-time tenured or tenure-track openings, 11.6%

involved 50% or more time devoted to administrative duties.

Of the full-time nontenured or non-tenure track openings 25.4%

involved 50% or more time devoted to administrative duties.

Of the part-time or contract openings 6.8% involved 50% or

more time devoted to administrative duties.

Table 20. Open Faculty Positions

Faculty Openings Number %

Programs

Reporting (N)

Programs conducting

faculty searches

256 48.9 523

Number of open faculty positions 256

• Full-time tenured or

tenure track

335 66.3

• Full-time nontenured or

non-tenure track

126 25.0

• Part-time or contract 44 8.7

Total 505

Number of faculty positions open

to new doctorate recipients

256

• Full-time tenured or

tenure track

285 69.0

• Full-time nontenured or

non-tenure track

97 23.5

• Part-time or contract 31 7.5

Total 413

Number of open faculty positions

with 50% or more of time devoted

to administrative duties

• Full-time tenured or

tenure track

39 52.7

• Full-time nontenured or

non-tenure track

32 43.2

• Part-time or contract 3 4.1

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  17

Prior to 2007, individualized information was collected about each

faculty member. Programs ﬁlled out a separate form for each

faculty member every year. In 2007 the process changed to collect

individualized information on full-time faculty members but only

aggregate information on part-time faculty members. In 2011 the

process changed again to collect aggregate information about

full-time and part-time faculty members. The shift has led to a

dramatic increase in response rate. The term full-time referred to

faculty members who spent 50% or more of full-time employment

in social work education. The term part-time referred to faculty or

instructional staff members who spent less than 50% of full-time

employment in social work education. Beginning with the 2012

Annual Survey CSWE deﬁnitions of full-time and part-time faculty

members were dropped; institutions self-deﬁned their full-time

and part-time/contract faculty members.

Number of Faculty Members

In the 2015 Annual Survey, as shown in Figure 8, 532 institutions

reported information about 5,603 full-time faculty members, and

452 institutions reported information about 7,387 part-time or

contract faculty members.

Figure 8. Number of Full-Time and Part-Time/Contract Faculty

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

 Full-Time

 Part-Time

15,000

10,000

5,000

5,095 5,898

6,444

6,311 7,387

4,730 5,031

4,981

5,280 5,603

Programs were asked to report the number of full-time and part-

time/contract faculty members by assigned program level (see

Table 21).

Table 21. Faculty Teaching Assignment by Program Level

Faculty Number

Programs

Reporting (N)

Full-Time

525

With principal assignment to

baccalaureate programs

2,134

With principal assignment to

master’s programs

3,049

With principal assignment to

research-focused doctoral

(PhD) programs

313

With principal assignment

to applied doctoral (other

than PhD) programs

Part-Time or Contract

450

Teach baccalaureate-level courses 2,717

Teach master’s-level courses 4,950

Teach research-focused doctoral

(PhD) courses

136

Teach applied doctoral

(other than PhD) courses

122

Data in Figures 9, 10, and 11 were taken from the baccalaureate,

master’s, and doctoral program survey instruments in the

survey period 2011–2012. In the 2013–2015 Annual Surveys, data

in Figures 9–11 and the remaining data in this Full-Time and

Part-Time/Contract Faculty report section were taken from the

Faculty survey section.

Full-Time and Part-Time/

Contract Faculty

18  Council on Social Work Education

Figure 9. Number of Faculty Members With Principal Assignment

to the Baccalaureate Program Level, 2011–2015

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

 Full-Time

 Part-Time

6,000

4,000

2,000

1,579 2,019

2,159

2,221 2,717

2,267 2,660

1,910

2,076 2,134

Figure 10. Number of Faculty Members With Principal Assignment

to the Master’s Program Level, 2011–2015

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

 Full-Time

 Part-Time

9,000

6,000

3,000

3,458 3,989

3,987

3,958 4,950

3,027 3,053

2,653

2,867 3,049

Figure 11. Number of Faculty Members With Principal Assignment

to the Doctoral Program Level, 2011–2015

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

 Full-Time

 Part-Time

800

600

400

200

121

258

449 331

495

450 382

Academic Rank and Administrative Title

The largest proportion of full-time faculty members held the

academic rank of assistant professor, followed closely by associate

professor (see Table 22). The most common academic ranks held

by part-time faculty members were adjunct and lecturer.

Table 22. Academic Rank of Full-Time and Part-Time/Contract

Faculty Members

Academic Rank Full-Time Part-Time/Contract

Number % Number %

Professor 1,127 19.1 91 1.3

Associate professor 1,432 24.2 84 1.2

Assistant professor 1,551 26.2 275 3.8

Instructor 351 5.9 1,142 16.0

Lecturer 341 5.8 1,517 21.2

Clinical appointment 416 7.0 35 0.5

Emeritus 52 0.9 23 0.3

Adjunct 121 2.0 3,498 48.9

Field instructor 307 5.2 176 2.5

Other 206 3.5 170 2.4

Unknown 7 0.1 15 0.2

None 123 1.7

Total 5,911 7,149

Note: Programs reporting: Full-Time=530; Part-Time/Contract=447.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  19

As Table 23 shows, among full-time faculty members with an

administrative title, program directors were most common, with

29.7% (576) holding one of those titles, followed by director of

ﬁeld instruction at 26.2% (509).

Table 23. Administrative Titles of Full-Time Faculty Members

Administrative Title

Number %

Dean 69 3.6

Director 192 9.9

Chairperson 259 13.3

Program Directors

Director of research-focused

doctoral program

57 2.9

Director of applied doctoral program 11 0.6

Director of master’s program 178 9.2

Director of baccalaureate program 330 17.0

Other Dean or Director Positions

Associate dean or director 124 6.4

Assistant dean or director 23 1.2

Director of research/

research administrator

23 1.2

Director of continuing education or

work study

17 0.9

Director of admissions or

minority recruitment

23 1.2

Field Education

Director of ﬁeld instruction 443 22.8

Associate/assistant director of

ﬁeld instruction

66 3.4

Other Titles

127 6.5

Total

1,942

Note: Programs reporting=529.

Tenure Status

Less than half of full-time faculty members were tenured.

About one quarter of faculty members were on tenure track

(see Table 24). Few full-time faculty members were employed

at institutions without a tenure system.

Table 24. Tenure Status of Full-Time Faculty Members

Tenure Status Number %

Tenured 2,405 44.3

On tenure track 1,365 25.1

Not on tenure track or contingent 1,396 25.7

Institution has no tenure system 148 2.7

Other 107 2.0

Unknown 9 0.2

Total 5,430

Note: Programs reporting=529.

Demographic Characteristics

See page 5 of this report to review the methods of calculating

proportional demographic distributions by historically

underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.

The largest proportion of full-time faculty members was in the age

range of 55–64 years (25.8%), followed by faculty members in the

age range of 45–54 years (24.2%). More than two thirds of full-time

faculty members were female. Faculty members from historically

underrepresented groups accounted for 31.1% (1,745) of full-time

faculty members. See Table 25 for demographic characteristics.

Compared with full-time faculty members, part-time/contract

faculty members tended to be younger, and a smaller proportion

(25.7%; 1,899) was from historically underrepresented groups.

20  Council on Social Work Education

Table 25. Demographic Characteristics of Full-Time and

Part-Time/Contract Faculty Members

Demographic Category Full-Time Part-Time/ Contract

Sex

Number % Number %

Male 1,606 28.7 1,915 25.9

Female 3,978 71.0 5,377 72.8

Other

a a a a

Unknown 16 0.3 92 1.2

Age Group

Younger than 35 years 343 6.1 690 9.3

35–44 years 1,207 21.5 1,728 23.4

45–54 years 1,358 24.2 1,548 21.0

55–64 years 1,447 25.8 1,187 16.1

65 years or older 705 12.6 633 8.6

Unknown 543 9.7 1,601 21.7

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 3,677 65.6 4,620 62.5

African American/

Other Black

886 15.8 1,049 14.2

Chicano/Mexican

American

68 1.2 104 1.4

Puerto Rican 81 1.4 105 1.4

Other Latino/Hispanic 193 3.4 298 4.0

American Indian/

Native American

51 0.9 42 0.6

Asian American/

Other Asian

363 6.5 182 2.5

Paciﬁc Islander 20 0.4 19 0.3

Other 32 0.6 48 0.6

Multiple race/ethnicity 51 0.9 52 0.7

Unknown 181 3.2 868 11.8

Note: Programs reporting: Full-Time=532; Part-Time/Contract=452.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

Academic Degrees

Most full-time faculty members (89.1%, 4,993) and

part-time/contract faculty members (87.1%, 6,435) held MSW

degrees. With regard to highest earned degree (see Table 26),

more than two thirds of full-time faculty members held doctoral

degrees, most commonly in social work or social welfare. More

than one quarter of full-time faculty members held master’s

degrees as their highest degree, most commonly in social work.

Compared with full-time faculty members, part-time faculty

members were less likely to hold the doctorate in any ﬁeld and

more likely to hold the master’s as their highest degree.

Table 26. Highest Earned Degree of Full-Time and

Part-Time/Contract Faculty Members

Highest Earned Degree Full-Time Part-Time/Contract

Number % Number %

Research-focused

doctorate in social work

or social welfare

2,861 51.4 707 10.3

Applied doctorate in social

work or social welfare

353 6.3 103 1.5

Other doctorate 678 12.2 231 3.4

MSW 1,552 27.9 5,482 79.5

Other master’s degree 47 0.8 193 2.8

Law 39 0.7 55 0.8

Medicine 8 0.1 6 0.1

Other 9 0.2 21 0.3

Unknown 17 0.3 95 1.4

Total 5,564 6,893

Note: Programs reporting: Full-Time=529; Part-Time/Contract=442.

Professional Licensure

More than half (53.8%; 3,015) of full-time faculty members held a

current license in social work.

Research Activities

During the most recently completed academic year, 61.1% (3,426)

full-time faculty members engaged in research activities.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  21

Five hundred and three (503) BSW programs participated in the

2015 Annual Survey. Less than half (221, 44.6%) of baccalaureate

programs that responded to this item offered a part-time option.

Less than a third (162, 32.8%) of baccalaureate programs that

responded to this item offered a minor in social work. Twelve

(2.4%) baccalaureate programs reported that a social work minor

was offered in other departments/schools at their institutions.

Certiﬁcates

Baccalaureate programs were asked which formal certiﬁcates

were offered (see Table 27). The most frequently offered

certiﬁcates were in aging/geriatrics/gerontology and child

advocacy/child protection/child welfare. Certiﬁcates mentioned

in the Other category included conﬂict resolution, disabilities

studies, faith-based social work, hospice volunteer, leadership,

legal studies, national incident management system, Spanish,

violence prevention/intervention, and women’s studies.

Table 27. Certiﬁcates Offered by Baccalaureate Programs

Certiﬁcate

Programs Offering

Number %

Aging or geriatrics or gerontology 50 10.4

Child advocacy or child protection or child

welfare

50 10.4

Addictions or substance abuse 28 5.8

School social work 11 2.3

Cultural competency or diversity or bilingual

practice

9 1.9

Case management 8 1.7

Juvenile delinquency or juvenile justice 7 1.5

Nonproﬁt studies 5 1.0

Health or health care 4 0.8

Ethnic studies 3 0.6

Family support 3 0.6

Mental health 2 0.4

Other 18 3.8

Total 198

Note: Programs reporting=480.

Enrollment

More than three-fourths of programs (77.4%; 383) that responded

to this item reported that an application was required to declare

social work as a major.

There were 55,454 full-time social work majors enrolled as of

fall 2015 in the 469 programs that provided this information,

with an average of 118.2 students per program. There were

7,514 part-time social work majors enrolled as of fall 2015

in the 244 programs that provided this information, with an

average of 30.8 students.

Table 28 shows the distribution of enrolled full-time and part-time

baccalaureate students by their demographic characteristics.

See page 5 of this report to review the methods of calculating

proportional demographic distributions by historically

underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.

Baccalaureate Programs

22  Council on Social Work Education

Table 28. Demographic Characteristics of Full-Time and

Part-Time Baccalaureate Social Work Majors

Demographic Category Full-Time Part-Time

Sex

Number % Number %

Male 6,742 12.2 1,097 14.6

Female 48,476 87.4 6,342 84.4

Other 20 < 0.1

a a

Unknown 216 0.4 73 1.0

Age Group

Younger than 20 years 9,430 17.0 399 5.3

20–24 years 27,564 49.7 1,989 26.5

25–34 years 7,742 14.0 2,196 29.2

35-44 years 3,743 6.7 1,337 17.8

45 years or older 2,329 4.2 1,182 15.7

Unknown 4,646 8.4 411 5.5

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 28,712 51.8 3,248 43.2

African American/

Other Black

13,751 24.8 2,461 32.8

Chicano/Mexican

American

1,651 3.0 187 2.5

Puerto Rican 703 1.3 54 0.7

Other Latino/Hispanic 4,501 8.1 664 8.8

American Indian/

Native American

509 0.9 134 1.8

Asian American/

Other Asian

1,178 2.1 93 1.2

Paciﬁc Islander 179 0.3 25 0.3

Other 405 0.7 47 0.6

Multiple race/ethnicity 1,288 2.3 143 1.9

Unknown 2,577 4.6 458 6.1

Note: Programs reporting: Full-Time=469; Part-Time/Contract=244.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

Overall, the majority of full-time students was female and

under 25 years of age. Full-time students from historically

underrepresented groups comprised 43.6% (24,165) of the

total full-time enrollment.

The majority of part-time students was female. The age

distribution among the part-time students was more equal than

was the case for the full-time students, with 61% of part-time

students under 35 years of age. Part-time programs had a greater

proportion of students from historically underrepresented groups

(50.7%; 3,808) than did full-time programs. See Figure 12 for total

numbers of baccalaureate student enrollment.

Figure 12. Baccalaureate Student Enrollment, 2011–2015

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

 Full-Time

 Part-Time

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

5,262

7,279

6,373

7,708

7,514

35,107 52,798

51,714

57,103 55,454

Field Education

In the 2015 Annual Survey 449 programs provided information

on 17,354 students in ﬁeld placements as of November 1, 2015.

Among the ﬁeld placement categories child welfare continued to

have the highest concentration of students, followed by school

social work, community mental health or mental health, family

services, and aging or gerontological social work (see Table 29).

Among the placements listed in the other category were crisis/

disaster services, hospice, legal services, tribal social services,

and youth services.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  23

Table 29. Number of Baccalaureate Students in Field Placements

Field Placement Category

Number %

Child welfare 2,888 16.6

School social work 1,784 10.3

Community mental health or mental health 1,568 9.0

Family services 1,549 8.9

Aging or gerontological social work 1,479 8.5

Health/integrative health & mental health 1,379 7.9

Displaced persons/homeless 913 5.3

Corrections or criminal justice 900 5.2

Addictions/physical dependence; alcohol,

tobacco, & other drugs

853 4.9

Domestic violence or violence 700 4.0

Developmental disabilities 581 3.3

Public assistance/public welfare 507 2.9

Community development or planning 463 2.7

Advocacy 327 1.9

Immigrant/refugee work 269 1.6

Occupational social work or rehabilitation 142 0.8

LGBTQ 121 0.7

Global/international social work 93 0.5

Administration 91 0.5

Social policy 88 0.5

Military social work 86 0.5

Posttraumatic stress disorder/veterans 86 0.5

Program evaluation 25 0.1

Other 462 2.7

Total 17,354

Note: Programs reporting =449.

Degrees Awarded

During the 2014–2015 academic year 487 baccalaureate

programs awarded 19,596 degrees. Most graduates

were female, and 37.4% (7,336) were from historically

underrepresented groups. See Table 30 for baccalaureate

graduate demographics.

Table 30. Demographic Characteristics of Baccalaureate Graduates

Demographic Category

Baccalaureate Graduates

Sex

Number %

Male 2,188 11.2

Female 16,251 82.9

Other 0 0

Unknown 1,157 5.9

Age Group

Younger than 20 years 179 0.9

20–24 years 9,695 49.5

25–34 years 4,182 21.3

35-44 years 1,833 9.4

45 years or older 1,212 6.2

Unknown 2,495 12.7

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 10,353 52.8

African American/Other Black 4,067 20.8

Chicano/Mexican American 442 2.3

Puerto Rican 191 1.0

Other Latino/Hispanic 1,635 8.3

American Indian/Native American 150 0.8

Asian American/Other Asian 342 1.7

Paciﬁc Islander 45 0.2

Other 112 0.6

Multiple race/ethnicity 352 1.8

Unknown 1,907 9.7

Note: Programs reporting=487.

24  Council on Social Work Education

Two hundred and forty-two (242) MSW programs participated in

the 2015 Annual Survey. Two hundred and ﬁve (205, 87.6%) of the

234 master’s programs that replied to this item reported that they

offer a part-time program option.

Master’s programs were asked about their institutions’ plans, if

any, to offer an advanced practice doctorate degree (see Table

31). The most commonly offered/planned type of applied doctoral

degree was clinical. The type of degrees listed in the Other

category were research and teaching, and research.

Table 31. Planned Offerings of Applied Social Work Doctoral Degree

Institutions

Status of Applied Doctoral Degree

Number %

Already offer such a degree 9 3.9

Planning to offer in next academic year 3 1.3

Planning to offer within two academic years 11 4.7

Not planning to offer such a degree 209 90.1

Type of Applied Doctoral Degree

Administrative 1 4.3

Clinical 12 52.2

General 3 13.0

Policy 0 0

Teaching 4 17.4

Other 3 13.0

Programs reporting=232.

Programs reporting=23.

Advanced-Standing Application and New Enrollment

The overall acceptance rate (77.7%) for advanced-standing

applicants from baccalaureate programs at their same institution

was higher than the overall acceptance rate (74.4%) for

advanced-standing applicants from other institutions. The overall

new enrollment rate (78.8%) of advanced-standing applicants

from their own baccalaureate programs also was higher than

the overall new enrollment rate (70.3%) of advanced-standing

applicants from other baccalaureate programs. See Figure 13 for

advanced-standing statistics.

Figure 13. Number of Master’s Students With Advanced Standing

Applications

Received

Applicants

Accepted

New Students

Enrolled

 From BSW Program of Own Institution

 From BSW Program of Another Institution

16,000

12,000

8,000

4,000

8,885

5,131 3,989 3,144

4,645

6,611

Master’s Programs

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  25

Joint Degrees and Certiﬁcates

Two hundred and twenty-eight programs reported offering at least

one joint degree (see Table 32). Law was the most popular joint

degree, followed by public health. Among the more frequently

reported joint degrees in the Other category were bioethics,

information science, and mental health-related.

Table 32. Joint Degrees Offered by Master’s Programs

Joint Degree

Programs Offering

Number %

Law 49 21.5

Public health 42 18.4

Public administration/public policy 31 13.6

Divinity/theology 25 11.0

Research-focused doctorate in

social work or social welfare

22 9.6

Business administration 21 9.2

Urban planning 7 3.1

Criminal justice/criminology 7 3.1

Education 6 2.6

Women’s studies 5 2.2

International studies 4 1.8

Applied doctorate in social work or

social welfare

4 1.8

Gerontology 3 1.3

Nonproﬁt management 3 1.3

Other 28 12.3

Note: Programs reporting=228.

Two hundred and twenty-four programs reported offering at least

one formal certiﬁcate (see Table 33). Programs most frequently

offered aging/gerontology and school social work. The most

common certiﬁcates reported in the Other category were community

development, leadership-related, play therapy, and social action.

Table 33. Certiﬁcates Offered by Master’s Programs

Certiﬁcate

Programs Offering

Number %

Aging/gerontology 56 25.0

School social work 48 21.4

Addictions/substance abuse 27 12.1

Child/adolescent welfare 21 9.4

Nonproﬁt management 15 6.7

Health/health care 13 5.8

Trauma 13 5.8

Gender or women’s studies 11 4.9

Global/international/refugee 11 4.9

Military social work 9 4.0

Disabilities 8 3.6

Human services management 7 3.1

Family & marriage 6 2.7

Clinical 4 1.8

Religion or spirituality-related 3 1.3

Forensic social work 1 0.4

Other 38 17.0

Note: Programs reporting=224.

Enrollment

Table 34 shows demographic characteristics of master’s

students, and Figure 14 charts enrollment by year. There

were 38,659 full-time students enrolled as of fall 2015 in the

222 programs that provided this information, with an average

of 174.1 students per program. Overall, full-time master’s

students were predominantly female and under 35 years of age.

There were 38.7% (14,950) full-time students from historically

underrepresented groups.

There were 21,463 part-time students enrolled as of fall 2015

in the 200 programs that reported this information, with an

average of 107.3 students. Part-time master’s students were

predominantly female but more diverse in age than were

full-time master’s students. Master’s programs had 42.3% (9,078)

part-time students from historically underrepresented groups.

26  Council on Social Work Education

Table 34. Demographic Characteristics of Full-Time and

Part-Time Master’s Students

Demographic Category

Full-Time Part-Time

Sex

Number % Number %

Male 5,710 14.8 3,738 17.4

Female 32,781 84.8 17,543 81.7

Other 14 < 0.1 16 0.1

Unknown 154 0.4 166 0.8

Age Group

Younger than 25 years 12,461 32.2 3,036 14.1

25–34 years 15,731 40.7 10,198 47.5

35–44 years 4,752 12.3 4,469 20.8

45 years or older 2,899 7.5 2,987 13.9

Unknown 2,816 7.3 773 3.6

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 21,409 55.4 11,016 51.3

African American/

Other Black

6,684 17.3 4,829 22.5

Chicano/Mexican

American

994 2.6 539 2.5

Puerto Rican 644 1.7 140 0.7

Other Latino/Hispanic 3,297 8.5 1,960 9.1

American Indian/

Native American

317 0.8 190 0.9

Asian American/

Other Asian

1,449 3.7 656 3.1

Paciﬁc Islander 152 0.4 81 0.4

Other 354 0.9 112 0.5

Multiple race/ethnicity 1,059 2.7 571 2.7

Unknown 2,300 5.9 1,369 6.4

Note: Programs reporting: Full-Time=222; Part-Time=200.

Figure 14. Master’s Student Enrollment, 2011–2015

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

 Full-Time

 Part-Time

70,000

60,000

50,000

40,000

30,000

20,000

10,000

18,481 19,351

19,010

18,632 21,463

30,755 34,484

35,178

37,771 38,659

Areas of Specialized Practice

In the 2015 Annual Survey the format for areas of specialized

practice reverted to that used in the 2013 Annual Survey

(i.e., distinguishing methods from ﬁelds of practice) to present

a sharper picture of methods and ﬁelds of practice being taught

as specializations (see Table 35). Master’s programs reported

student enrollment in the following areas of specialized practice:

methods (212) and ﬁelds of practice (174). Clinical/direct practice

had the highest enrollment and was offered by the greatest

number of programs among the various methods. The next

highest offerings and enrollment were in advanced generalist.

Among ﬁelds of practice, the top three in terms of enrollment

and number of programs offering them were children/youths/

families, mental health, and trauma.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  27

Table 35. Student Enrollment in Areas of Specializations Offered

by Master’s Programs

Program Structure/Areas of

Specialized Practice Enrollment Programs Offering

Method

Number %

Clinical or direct practice 20,157 104 49.1

Advanced generalist 7,183 63 29.7

Community development,

organization, or planning

1,112 27 12.7

Administration 880 29 13.7

Policy practice 197 9 4.2

Nonproﬁt or public management 100 4 1.9

Program evaluation 20 1 0.5

Other 2,598 34 16.0

Field of Practice

Children, youths, or families 4,299 61 35.1

Mental health 3,734 46 26.4

Trauma 1,221 10 5.7

Aging, gerontology,

or multigenerational

899 41 23.6

Community or social systems 895 15 8.6

Health 862 28 16.1

Integrated health or

behavioral health

797 9 5.2

Global, international,

immigrant, or refugee issues

388 14 8.0

School social work 355 26 14.9

Addictions or substance abuse 340 22 12.6

Rural social work 296 8 4.6

Multicultural 212 4 2.3

Military social work or

veteran services

87 10 5.7

Leadership 80 7 4.0

Corrections or criminal justice 57 6 3.4

Housing services 8 3 1.7

Disabilities 6 2 1.1

Occupational 6 2 1.1

Research 0 1 0.6

Other 2,470 32 18.4

Programs reporting=212.

Programs reporting=174.

Field Education

As reported by 213 master’s programs, 39,747 students were

assigned to ﬁeld placements as of November 1, 2015. Mental health

had the highest placement of students, followed by child/youths and

school social work. The most common ﬁeld placements in the other

category were corrections/criminal justice, domestic violence, higher

education counseling, and LGBTQ (see Table 36).

On behalf of the John A. Hartford Foundation CSWE requested

updated information about the number of accredited MSW

programs that were offering the Hartford Partnership Program

for Aging Education (HPPAE) ﬁeld model. Thirty-four (34, 15.7%)

programs reported that they offered HPPAE or a similar geriatric

ﬁeld education model based on HPPAE.

Table 36. Field Placements of Master’s Students by Category

Field Placement Category

Number of

Students

% of

Students

Mental health 5,835 14.7

Child or youths 4,816 12.1

School social work 4,324 10.9

Health 3,439 8.7

Families 2,736 6.9

Integrated health or behavioral health 2,233 5.6

Addictions/physical dependence;

alcohol, tobacco, & other drugs

2,033 5.1

Aging or multigenerational 2,024 5.1

Community 1,558 3.9

Clinical 1,313 3.3

Displaced persons/homeless 1,100 2.8

Military social work or veteran services 1,058 2.7

Advanced generalist 927 2.3

Trauma 785 2.0

Disabilities 719 1.8

Administration 675 1.7

Policy 380 1.0

Immigrants or refugees 351 0.9

Global/international 249 0.6

Leadership 236 0.6

Nonproﬁt or public management 227 0.6

Rural 124 0.3

Research 114 0.3

Multicultural 82 0.2

Other 2,409 6.1

Total 39,747

Note: Programs reporting=213.

28  Council on Social Work Education

Degrees Awarded

As reported by 228 programs, the median number of credits

normally required for the master’s degree was 60.0. As reported

by 209 programs, the median number of credits required for an

advanced-standing master’s degree was 36.0.

During the 2014–2015 academic year 25,883 master’s degrees were

awarded by 233 programs. Of these degrees, 174 programs reported

that 5,599 (21.6%) were advanced standing MSW degrees.

Most of the graduates were female. The proportion of graduates

identifying with a historically underrepresented group was 33.7%

(8,720). See Table 37 for master’s graduates demographics.

Table 37. Demographic Characteristics of Master’s Graduates

Demographic Category

Master’s Graduates

Sex Number %

Male 3,447 13.3

Female 20,661 79.8

Other

a a

Unknown 1,771 6.8

Age Group

Younger than 25 years 4,460 17.2

25–34 years 12,066 46.6

35–44 years 3,462 13.4

45 years or older 2,420 9.3

Unknown 3,475 13.4

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 14,001 54.1

African American/Other Black 3,948 15.3

Chicano/Mexican American 528 2.0

Puerto Rican 246 1.0

Other Latino/Hispanic 2,133 8.2

American Indian/Native American 227 0.9

Asian American/Other Asian 873 3.4

Paciﬁc Islander 98 0.4

Other 127 0.5

Multiple race/ethnicity 540 2.1

Unknown 3,162 12.2

Note: Programs reporting=233.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  29

This is the second year of data collection on practice doctorates

separate from data collection for PhDs. All eight programs

currently offering a practice doctorate (doctoral degree other

than research-focused PhD) were invited to take part in the 2015

Annual Survey, and the participation rate was 100%.

In the 2015 Annual Survey, practice doctorate programs were

asked to describe the focus of their doctorates. More than

half of the programs reported a clinical and/or teaching focus

(programs were permitted to select multiple foci; see Table 38).

Table 38. Focus of Practice Doctorates

Focus

Number %

Administration 1 11.1

Clinical 5 55.6

General 2 22.2

Policy 0 0

Teaching 5 55.6

Other 1 11.1

Note: Programs reporting=8.

Most (87.5%, 7) programs reported that their full-time faculty

taught courses in other departments/schools at their institutions.

Applications and New Enrollments

There were 293 applications received in the 2014–2015 academic

year. One hundred and forty-three acceptances into practice

doctorate programs occurred, and 135 students were newly

enrolled in practice doctorate programs (see Table 11).

Demographic information (see Table 39) was provided by seven

programs to describe 223 of the 293 total applicants. More than

three-fourths of the applicants were female. The proportion of

applicants identifying with a historically underrepresented group

was 26.5% (59).

Table 39. Demographic Characteristics of Practice Doctorate

Program Applicants

Demographic Category

Practice Doctorate Applicants

Sex

Number %

Male 42 18.8

Female 172 77.1

Other 5 2.2

Unknown

a a

Age Group

Younger than 25 years 0 0

25–34 years 54 24.2

35–44 years 67 30.0

45 years or older 61 27.4

Unknown 41 18.4

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 128 57.4

African American/Other Black 39 17.5

Chicano/Mexican American 0 0

Puerto Rican 0 0

Other Latino/Hispanic 6 2.7

American Indian/Native American

a a

Asian American/Other Asian 5 2.2

Paciﬁc Islander 0 0

Other

a a

Multiple race/ethnicity 5 2.2

Unknown 36 16.1

Note: Programs reporting=7.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

Practice Doctorate Programs

30  Council on Social Work Education

Programs responded that their 135 newly enrolled students

primarily came from a background in social work (see Table 40),

with all holding master’s degrees in social work. Seven programs

reported that 123 (91.1%) of newly enrolled students had 2 years

of post-master’s applied social work experience.

Table 40. Number of Newly Enrolled Practice Doctorate Students

by Educational Background

Educational Background

Number %

Has MSW and has BSW 56 41.5

Has MSW but does not have BSW 79 58.5

Has non-social work graduate degree

and has BSW

0 0

Has non-social work graduate degree;

does not have BSW

0 0

Does not have graduate degree; has BSW 0 0

Does not have graduate degree; does not

have BSW

0 0

Unknown educational background 0 0

Total 135

Note: Programs reporting=8.

Programs provided demographic information about 143 newly

enrolled students (see Table 41). Most of the new students

were female. The proportion of new students identifying with a

historically underrepresented group was 34.3% (49).

Table 41. Demographic Characteristics of Newly Enrolled Practice

Doctorate Students

Demographic Category

Newly Enrolled Practice

Doctorate Students

Sex

Number %

Male 27 18.9

Female 116 81.1

Other 0 0

Unknown 0 0

Age Group

Younger than 25 years 0 0

25–34 years 33 23.1

35–44 years 46 32.2

45 years or older 34 23.8

Unknown 30 21.0

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 85 59.4

African American/Other Black 33 23.1

Chicano/Mexican American

a a

Puerto Rican 0 0

Other Latino/Hispanic

a a

American Indian/Native American

a a

Asian American/Other Asian 5 3.5

Paciﬁc Islander 0 0

Other

a a

Multiple race/ethnicity

a a

Unknown 9 6.3

Note: Programs reporting=8.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  31

Enrollment

Seven programs provided details, shown in Table 42, on the

enrollment status of 214 enrolled students.

Table 42. Number of Practice Doctorate Students by

Enrollment Status

Number %

Full-time taking coursework 164 76.6

Full-time who completed coursework

(i.e., all but capstone/research paper)

21 9.8

Part-time taking coursework 29 13.6

Part-time who completed coursework

(i.e., all but capstone/research paper)

0 0

Total 214

Note: Programs reporting=7.

In the 2015 Annual Survey, practice doctorate programs were

asked to provide demographic information about their enrolled

students in total; previously this information was separated

by enrollment status (i.e., full-time/part-time by status of

coursework). Programs reported demographic characteristics of

266 enrolled students across enrollment status as of November

1, 2015, or the date in the fall term on which student lists

were ﬁnalized (see Table 43). Students were predominantly

female. The proportion of enrolled students from historically

underrepresented groups was 28.9% (77).

Table 43. Demographic Characteristics of Practice Doctorate

Enrolled Students

Demographic Category

Enrolled

Sex

Number %

Male 50 18.8

Female 216 81.2

Other 0 0

Unknown 0 0

Age Group

Younger than 25 years 0 0

25–34 years 44 16.5

35–44 years 81 30.5

45 years or older 68 25.6

Unknown 73 27.4

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 171 64.3

African American/Other Black 42 15.8

Chicano/Mexican American

a a

Puerto Rican

a a

Other Latino/Hispanic 7 2.6

American Indian/Native American

a a

Asian American/Other Asian 7 2.6

Paciﬁc Islander 0 0

Other 0 0

Multiple race/ethnicity 17 6.4

Unknown 18 6.8

Note: Programs reporting=8.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

Degrees Awarded

During the 2014–2015 academic year 58 degrees were

awarded by four practice doctorate programs (see Table 44

for demographic characteristics). Most of the graduates were

female. The proportion of graduates who identiﬁed with a

historically underrepresented group was 27.6% (16).

None of the four programs reported any international graduates,

and none of the four programs reported any graduates who

planned to pursue social work careers in countries other than the

United States. None of the four programs responding awarded

joint MSW/doctoral degrees over this period.

32  Council on Social Work Education

Table 44. Demographic Characteristics of Practice

Doctorate Graduates

Demographic Category Practice Doctorate Graduates

Sex

Number %

Male 14 24.1

Female 42 72.4

Other

a a

Unknown

a a

Age Group

Younger than 25 years

a a

25–34 years

a a

35–44 years 28 48.3

45 years or older 23 39.7

Unknown

a a

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 33 56.9

African American/Other Black 9 15.5

Chicano/Mexican American 0 0

Puerto Rican

a a

Other Latino/Hispanic

a a

American Indian/Native American 0 0

Asian American/Other Asian 0 0

Paciﬁc Islander

a a

Other 0 0

Multiple race/ethnicity

a a

Unknown 9 15.5

Note: Programs reporting=4.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

Most graduates took 3 years or less to obtain their doctorates (see

Table 45). Three-fourths of the eight programs reported that their

school policy allowed 5 or 6 years for completion of their doctoral

degree (see Table 46).

Table 45. Years Taken by Practice Doctorate Graduates to

Obtain Degree

Years to Awarded Degree

Number %

3 Years or fewer 46 79.3

4 Years 5 8.6

5 Years 5 8.6

Unknown

a a

Total 58

Note: Programs reporting=4.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

Table 46. Years That School Policy Allows for Completion of

Practice Doctorate Degree

Years

Number of Programs % of Programs

4 or fewer 0 0

5 3 37.5

6 3 37.5

Other

a a

Unknown

a a

Note: Programs reporting=8.

Excluded because number of programs in category was fewer than 3.

Employment of Graduates

Four programs provided information on the employment status

of their graduates, shown in Table 47. The largest proportion of

graduates went into private clinical practice.

Table 47. Employment Status of Practice Doctorate Graduates

Employment Status

Number %

Private clinical practice 24 41.4

Non–tenure-line faculty position in

CSWE-accredited program

11 19.0

Tenure-line faculty position in CSWE-accredited program 10 17.2

Faculty position in a program not accredited by CSWE 0 0

Nonacademic research position 0 0

Postdoctoral fellow 0 0

Nonacademic administrative position

a a

Academic research position

a a

Academic administrative position

a a

Consulting position

a a

Other

a a

Not employed 0 0

Unknown

a a

Note: Programs reporting=4.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  33

Seventy-one (94.7%) PhD programs participated in the 2015

Annual Survey. More than two-thirds (68.1%, 47) of 69 PhD

programs reported that their full-time faculty taught courses

in other departments/schools at their institutions. More than

one-third (25, 36.2%) of 69 programs reported that they had a

combined MSW/PhD program.

Applications and New Enrollments

As reported by 66 programs, there were 1,660 applications

received in the 2014–2015 academic year. Five hundred and

twenty-six acceptances were reported by 68 programs, and 335

students were newly enrolled in 68 reporting PhD programs

(see Table 11).

During the 2014–2015 academic year there were 1,694

applicants to the 64 PhD programs that reported demographic

information. More than two-thirds of the applicants were female.

The proportion of applicants identifying with a historically

underrepresented group was 50.3% (852). Table 48 shows PhD

program applicant demographic data.

Table 48. Demographic Characteristics of PhD Program Applicants

Demographic Category

PhD Applicants

Sex

Number %

Male 457 27.0

Female 1,211 71.5

Other 6 0.4

Unknown 20 1.2

Age Group

Younger than 25 years 130 7.7

25–34 years 992 58.6

35–44 years 325 19.2

45 years or older 138 8.1

Unknown 109 6.4

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 588 34.7

African American/Other Black 247 14.6

Chicano/Mexican American 38 2.2

Puerto Rican 16 0.9

Other Latino/Hispanic 76 4.5

American Indian/Native American 13 0.8

Asian American/Other Asian 357 21.1

Paciﬁc Islander

a a

Other 51 3.0

Multiple race/ethnicity 50 3.0

Unknown 254 15.0

Note: Programs reporting=64.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

As reported by 64 programs, degree-seeking, newly enrolled

students primarily came from a background in social work, with

most (80.2%) holding a master’s degree in social work; 12.5% held

graduate degrees from other ﬁelds (see Table 49). Very few (7.2%)

newly enrolled students did not have a graduate degree. Sixty-two

PhD programs reported that 195 (52.0%) of newly enrolled students

had 2 years of post-master’s applied social work experience.

PhD Programs

34  Council on Social Work Education

Table 49. Number of Newly Enrolled PhD Students by

Educational Background

Number %

Has MSW and has BSW 56 14.9

Has MSW but does not have BSW 245 65.3

Has non-social work graduate degree and

has BSW

a a

Has non-social work graduate degree;

does not have BSW

46 12.3

Does not have graduate degree; has BSW

a a

Does not have graduate degree;

does not have BSW

26 6.9

Unknown 0 0

Total 375

Note: Programs reporting=64.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

Sixty-three (63) PhD programs provided demographic information

about 354 newly enrolled students (see Table 50). Most of the new

students were female. The proportion of new students identifying

with a historically underrepresented group was 49.4% (175).

Table 50. Demographic Characteristics of Newly Enrolled

PhD Students

Demographic Category

Newly Enrolled PhD Students

Sex

Number %

Male 89 25.1

Female 260 73.4

Other 0 0

Unknown 5 1.4

Age Group

Younger than 25 years 24 6.8

25–34 years 201 56.8

35–44 years 97 27.4

45 years or older 30 8.5

Unknown

a a

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 171 48.3

African American/Other Black 60 16.9

Chicano/Mexican American 8 2.3

Puerto Rican 5 1.4

Other Latino/Hispanic 27 7.6

American Indian/Native American

a a

Asian American/Other Asian 46 13.0

Paciﬁc Islander

a a

Other 12 3.4

Multiple race/ethnicity 12 3.4

Unknown 8 2.3

Note: Programs reporting=63.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  35

Combined MSW/PhD Programs

More than a third (36.2%, 25) of 69 programs reported having a

combined MSW/PhD program, as shown in Table 51.

Table 51. Applications, Admissions, and New Enrollments in

Combined MSW/PhD Programs

Combined MSW/PhD Program

Number %

Applicants 143

Applicants who were admitted 33

Overall admission rate 23.1

Enrolled as of November 1, 2014 22

Overall enrollment rate 66.7

Enrolled having no graduate degree 5

Enrolled having graduate degree in

another discipline

Note: Programs reporting=25.

Enrollment

Sixty-eight (68) PhD programs identiﬁed 2,047 enrolled students as of

November 1, 2015, or the date in the fall term on which student lists were

ﬁnalized. Table 52 reports students by enrollment status.

Table 52. Number of Enrolled PhD Students by Enrollment Status

Enrollment Status

Number %

Full-time taking coursework 831 40.6

Full-time who completed coursework

(i.e., all but capstone/research paper)

773 37.8

Part-time taking coursework 196 9.6

Part-time who completed coursework

(i.e., all but capstone/research paper)

247 12.1

Total 2,047

Note: Programs reporting=68.

In the 2015 Annual Survey, PhD programs were asked to provide

demographic information about their enrolled students in total;

previously this information was separated out by enrollment status

(i.e., full-time/part-time by status of coursework). Sixty-eight PhD

programs reported demographic information for 2,033 enrolled

students. Table 53 provides the demographic characteristics

of enrolled students across enrollment status. Students were

predominantly female. The proportion of enrolled students from

historically underrepresented groups were 43.8% (891).

Table 53. Demographic Characteristics of Enrolled PhD Students

Demographic Characteristic

Enrolled Students

Sex

Number %

Male 493 24.2

Female 1,539 75.7

Other

a a

Unknown

a a

Age Group

Younger than 25 years 56 2.8

25–34 years 829 40.8

35–44 years 650 32.0

45 years or older 377 18.5

Unknown 121 6.0

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 1,068 52.5

African American/Other Black 313 15.4

Chicano/Mexican American 32 1.6

Puerto Rican 39 1.9

Other Latino/Hispanic 107 5.3

American Indian/Native American 26 1.3

Asian American/Other Asian 268 13.2

Paciﬁc Islander

a a

Other 50 2.5

Multiple race/ethnicity 52 2.6

Unknown 74 3.6

Note: Programs reporting=68.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

36  Council on Social Work Education

Degrees Awarded

During the 2014–2015 academic year 300 degrees were awarded

by 64 PhD programs. As reported by 11 programs, 23 (7.7%)

degrees were awarded as joint MSW/PhD degrees. Among 61

programs that reported this information, three (4.9%) programs

reported that their degrees were awarded jointly with another

department/school (divinity, public health, and sociology).

Most of the graduates were female (see Table 54). The proportion

of graduates who identiﬁed with a historically underrepresented

group was 40.7% (122). Sixty-four PhD programs reported 48

(16.0%) international graduates. Sixty-four programs reported 12

(4.0%) graduates who were planning to pursue careers outside

the United States.

Table 54. Demographic Characteristics of PhD Graduates

Demographic Category

PhD Graduates

Sex

Number %

Male 60 20.0

Female 237 79.0

Other

a a

Unknown

a a

Age Group

Younger than 25 years 0 0

25–34 years 104 34.7

35–44 years 118 39.3

45 years or older 73 24.3

Unknown 5 1.7

Racial/Ethnic Identiﬁcation

White (non-Hispanic) 169 56.3

African American/Other Black 41 13.7

Chicano/Mexican American

a a

Puerto Rican 6 2.0

Other Latino/Hispanic 12 4.0

American Indian/Native American

a a

Asian American/Other Asian 44 14.7

Paciﬁc Islander

a a

Other 9 3.0

Multiple race/ethnicity

a a

Unknown 9 3.0

Note: Programs reporting=64.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.

More than half (58.7%) of graduates took 4 to 6 years to obtain

their doctorates, as shown in Table 55.

Table 55. Years Taken by PhD Graduates to Obtain Degree

Years to Awarded Degree

Number %

3 Years or fewer 14 4.7

4 Years 42 14.1

5 Years 71 23.8

6 Years 62 20.8

7 Years 45 15.1

8 Years 19 6.4

9 Years 16 5.4

10 Years or More 29 9.7

Total 298

Note: Programs reporting=63.

Most programs (80.6%) reported that their school policy allowed

7–10 years for completion of a PhD degree (see Table 56). The

most common Other school policy was 5–6 years with the

possibility of extension.

Table 56. Years That School Policy Allows for Completion of

PhD Degree

Years

Number of Programs % of Programs

4 or fewer 0 0

5–6 6 9.0

7–8 35 52.2

9–10 19 28.4

11 or More

a a

Other 4 6.0

No Limit

a a

Note: Programs reporting=67.

Excluded because number of programs in category was fewer than 3.

2015 Annual Statistics on Social Work Education in the United States  37

Employment of Graduates

PhD programs provided information on the employment status of

their graduates (see Table 57). More than a third of PhD graduates

obtained tenure-line faculty positions in CSWE-accredited

programs. Other employment reported were adjunct teaching

positions or positions outside the United States.

Table 57. Employment Status of PhD Graduates

Employment Status

Number %

Tenure-line faculty position in

CSWE-accredited program

118 39.7

Nonacademic administrative position 34 11.4

Postdoctoral fellow 25 8.4

Academic research position 23 7.7

Private clinical practice 21 7.1

Non–tenure-line faculty position in

CSWE-accredited program

18 6.1

Nonacademic research position 14 4.7

Academic administrative position 14 4.7

Consulting position 6 2.0

Faculty position in a program not accredited by CSWE

a a

Other 14 4.7

Not employed 6 2.0

Unknown

a a

Total 297

Note: Programs reporting=59.

Excluded because number of individuals in category was fewer than 5.