Online Social Work Bachelors Degree (BSW)

The Bachelor of Social Work is a professional degree with a national programmatic accreditor and a required field placement, which is why fewer institutions offer it fully online than offer business or psychology. The ones that do have built field placement systems that work at a distance, and that system is the first thing to evaluate.

This page covers what the degree usually contains, what to verify before enrolling, and which primarily online institutions actually award it, from federal completions data. Every school shown reports the program as offered via distance education and awarded bachelors degrees in social work in 2022-23. The bachelors by major hub covers the other majors, and the choosing an online college guide covers the decision in general.

Online colleges awarding social work bachelors degrees

13 primarily online four-year institutions in the federal dataset (at least half of undergraduates enrolled exclusively online) report a social work bachelors program offered via distance education and awarded bachelors degrees in the field in 2022-23. The 8 with the most completions are shown, in order of completions.

Editorial comparison, not a sponsored listing; sponsored listings on this site appear in labeled widgets (see our advertising disclosure). CollegeNPC.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by any institution shown. Completions are first-major bachelors awards reported to IPEDS for 2022-23; a program's current availability, format, and admission requirements should be confirmed with the school. Price figures are federal reporting and vary by student, program, and year.

What an online social work bachelors degree usually covers

BSW programs usually cover human behavior and the social environment, social welfare policy, generalist practice with individuals, families, groups, and communities, research methods, and a supervised field practicum of several hundred hours arranged near the student.

Curriculum varies by institution, and course titles vary more than content does. Compare the published degree plans of two or three programs side by side rather than relying on the concentration names.

Accreditation and what to verify

Institutional accreditation is required, and programmatic accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education is required for the degree to count toward social work licensure in every state and for advanced standing in MSW programs. A BSW from a non-CSWE-accredited program is a general degree, not a professional one. Verify accreditation status on the CSWE directory, and confirm the licensure rules of the state where you intend to practice.

Institutional accreditation is verified in the U.S. Department of Education’s DAPIP database, not on the school’s site; the accreditation guide walks through it in two minutes.

Delivery format

Coursework is delivered online; the field practicum is in person at an agency near you, arranged with the program’s field office. Ask how placements are secured in your area, how many hours are required, and what happens if you move mid-program.

The share of undergraduates enrolled exclusively online, shown on each card above from federal reporting, tells you whether the institution is built around distance students or runs online programs alongside a campus. Both can work; the working adults guide covers the format questions that predict whether adults finish.

Comparing programs on the numbers

Completions tell you which institutions award the degree at scale. They do not tell you what it will cost you or whether students finish. Each school’s page on this site shows average net price, net price by income bracket, completion rate, and median debt from federal reporting, and the comparison tool puts two schools side by side. Transfer credit is the largest lever on the length of any bachelors degree; the transfer credit guide covers how to get a written evaluation before enrolling.

Next steps

1. Confirm the program is delivered fully online, including any practicum, and note any in-person components.
2. Verify institutional accreditation in the DAPIP database and any programmatic accreditation or state approval your goal requires.
3. Get a written transfer credit evaluation from two or three candidates.
4. Compare finalists on net price and completion rate using their school pages here.

Data on this page: U.S. Department of Education IPEDS published charges (2023-24) and average net price (2022-23), and College Scorecard outcomes, retrieved 2026-08-13. Every figure renders from the site data pipeline; definitions, survey years, and refresh cadence are on the methodology page.