Clinical DSW Programs

Which Schools Offer a DSW in Clinical Social Work?

Twenty-three DSW programs in 15 states teach advanced clinical practice, either as the whole degree or as a named track. Four put “clinical” in the degree itself:

• Penn awards a Doctor of Clinical Social Work, CSWE accredited, in 12 course units over about three years. It covers clinical practice, teaching, supervision and trauma-informed interventions, and ends in a dissertation and defense.
• NYU runs a Doctorate in Clinical Social Work over three years and 19 courses, meeting Wednesday evenings at Washington Square. It includes a teaching or supervisory internship.
• Yeshiva University offers a Clinical DSW of 45 credits in a live Zoom classroom, with tracks in advanced clinical practice, teaching practice and clinical practice evaluation.
• Angelo State University in Texas offers a DSW in Clinical Social Work of 63 semester credit hours, in person or synchronously online, with an internship and a two-part capstone. It focuses on individual, couple, family and group practice skills.

Others build clinical work into a broader DSW. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville teaches clinical practice and leadership, Loma Linda teaches clinical leadership, and Rutgers centers clinical social work. Walden, Simmons, Alabama, Kentucky and Maryland each offer a clinical practice track or focus.

Clinical DSWs That Require a License

Most DSWs ask only for an MSW and experience. Clinical programs often go further, and this is the clearest way to sort them:

Program	License rule	Post-MSW experience
Yeshiva	Professional licensure required	Three years of supervised clinical experience
NYU	LMSW or equivalent required; LCSW strongly preferred	Two years
Rutgers	LSW required; LCSW preferred	Two years
Loma Linda	Clinical license, or documented progress toward it, required	Four years
Alabama	Current license expected for the Advanced Clinical Practice track	Three years
Buffalo	Active license where you practice, if applicable; waiver possible	Two years
Maryland	LCSW-C or comparable license preferred	Two years of direct practice
Kansas	Licensure preferred, not required	Three years, clinical or macro
Morgan State	Clinical licensure preferred, not required	Three years
Angelo State	Master’s-level license in any state preferred	Post-master’s experience required

If you hold an LCSW already, every program here is open to you. If you’re still collecting supervised hours, Loma Linda’s “progress toward licensure” rule and the preferred-only programs are your realistic options.

What a Clinical DSW Adds if You’re Already Licensed

You don’t need a doctorate to practice. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says clinical social workers need a master’s degree, supervised clinical experience and a state license. A clinical DSW is for what comes after that:

• Supervision. Walden’s track is named Advanced Clinical Practice and Supervision, Maryland lists supervision as a focus, and Penn includes it in its curriculum.
• Teaching. Many schools hire DSW graduates to teach practice courses. NYU builds in a teaching or supervisory internship, and Yeshiva offers a teaching track.
• Evidence for your own practice. Yeshiva’s clinical practice evaluation track and Buffalo’s agency intervention project train you to test what works with your clients.
• Specialized depth. Penn covers trauma-informed interventions, Barry focuses on trauma-informed leadership and practice, and Inter American University of Puerto Rico teaches neuroscience in clinical practice.

For pay, the BLS reports a May 2025 median of $67,880 for healthcare social workers and $60,280 for mental health and substance abuse social workers. The DSW’s value is in the roles it opens, not a set raise.

Clinical DSW Programs Compared

Estimated tuition is the published per-credit rate times credits, before fees. Blank cells mark figures the school doesn’t state in a comparable form.

Program	Format	Credits	Final project	CSWE status	Estimated tuition
Alabama	Online, June residencies	45	Capstone		$19,800
Buffalo	Online, part time	39	Agency intervention capstone		$31,200
Kentucky	Online	42	Capstone	Candidacy	$33,180
Barry	Online, weekly live class	50	Capstone manuscript		$35,000
Kansas	Online, alternate Saturdays	42	Capstone		$41,790
Spalding	Online, Saturdays	50	Capstone with original research		$42,500
Walden	Online, one virtual residency	59 quarter	Capstone	Accredited	$43,070
Maryland	Campus, one weekend a month	60	Capstone	Pre-Candidacy	$58,500
Simmons	Online	48	Capstone		$60,720
Adelphi	Hybrid, monthly in Manhattan	54	Yearlong capstone	Pre-Candidacy	$67,500
Penn	Hybrid, two campus residencies	12 course units	Dissertation	Accredited
Tennessee	Online, two summer residency weeks	48	Applied project	Accredited
NYU	Campus, Wednesday evenings	19 courses	Two-paper portfolio
Yeshiva	Live online evenings	45	Two publishable articles
Rutgers	Campus weekends	54	Portfolio	Candidacy
Loma Linda	Online, part-time cohort	79 quarter	Practice-based project	Candidacy
Angelo State	Campus or live online	63	Capstone and internship
Memphis	Online, August residency week	48	Capstone	Candidacy
Long Island University	Brooklyn evenings or fully online	45	Research report with oral defense

Online, Evening or on Campus: How Clinical DSWs Meet

Seventeen of the 23 clinical programs are offered online, five on campus and three as hybrids (some offer more than one format). Since most students keep seeing clients, schedules matter as much as location.

• Evening classes. NYU meets Wednesday evenings in Manhattan, Long Island University one evening a week in Brooklyn or fully online, and Yeshiva in an evening Zoom classroom.
• Weekend blocks. Maryland meets one weekend a month in Baltimore, Rutgers holds nine onsite weekend residencies a year, and Spalding and Kansas teach live online on Saturdays.
• Short residencies. Tennessee asks for a week in Knoxville each of the first two summers, Alabama four and then five days each June, and Memphis two days every August.
• Mostly asynchronous. Walden uses one virtual residency, and Kentucky offers an asynchronous alternative to its residency week.

Twelve of the 23 offer a part-time path, which matters if you carry a full caseload.

Capstone, Portfolio or Dissertation

Nineteen of the 23 programs end in a capstone or applied project rather than a dissertation. The format shapes what you leave with:

• Publishable papers. NYU requires two publishable papers and a conference presentation; Yeshiva’s Grand Challenge project requires two publishable articles, an oral defense and a conference presentation. Barry’s capstone manuscript is submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. These fit you if you want to teach.
• Practice change. Buffalo’s four-semester capstone implements and evaluates an intervention at your agency. Alabama offers intervention development, a practice-focused thesis or a first-authored journal manuscript.
• Dissertation. Penn’s dissertation can be chapter-style or two publishable articles. Inter American University of Puerto Rico requires a doctoral dissertation, with a publishable article in place of a comprehensive exam.

What Clinical DSWs Cost

Ten clinical programs publish a rate that yields an estimate. They run from $19,800 at Alabama to $67,500 at Adelphi, with a midpoint of $41,790. Per-credit rates run from $440 to $1,787, the top being NYU’s $1,787 per point, per term, plus fees. Penn bills $7,575 per course unit for 2026-27.

Residency changes some prices. Buffalo charges New York residents $800 per credit and others $1,148; Maryland charges $975 in state and $1,330 out of state. Kansas charges a flat $995 including fees, and Kentucky $790 for every online student. For the full ranking, see the affordable online DSW programs page, and run your numbers in the DSW cost calculator.

CSWE Status of Clinical DSWs

Three clinical programs are CSWE accredited: Penn, Walden and Tennessee. Loma Linda, Kentucky, Rutgers and Memphis hold candidacy, and Maryland and Adelphi hold pre-candidacy. Candidacy isn’t accreditation; if a program later earns it, the status covers students who started in or after the candidacy year.

CSWE says barriers to practice tied to a doctorate’s accreditation status aren’t expected until well into the future, and your clinical license rests on your MSW either way. The CSWE-accredited DSW programs page explains the process.

One clinical program is coming: the University of Nebraska at Omaha lists an online DSW with Advanced Clinical Practice and Leadership and Advocacy focuses in its catalog. It starts later; the school says admission details are coming soon.

Clinical DSW, PhD or Neither?

• Choose a clinical DSW if you’re a licensed clinician who wants to supervise, teach practice courses or lead a clinical program, and you want to keep working while you study.
• Choose a PhD if you want a tenure-track research career. CSWE doesn’t accredit PhDs, but many are funded. Compare the two in DSW vs PhD in social work or with the DSW or PhD tool.
• Choose neither yet if you’re still working toward your clinical license. Most programs want two to four years of post-MSW experience, and your license matters more to your clinical career than a doctorate does.

If you lean toward running programs rather than seeing clients, the DSW leadership programs page fits better.

How to Choose a Clinical DSW

• Check the license rule first. Yeshiva, NYU, Rutgers and Loma Linda require a license or progress toward one.
• Match the schedule to your caseload. Evening programs (NYU, Yeshiva, Long Island University) and Saturday programs (Kansas, Spalding) fit full-time clinicians.
• Pick the final project for your next job. Publishable papers for teaching, an agency capstone for practice leadership.
• Look for the clinical depth you want. Trauma (Penn, Barry), supervision (Walden, Maryland), neuroscience (Inter American University of Puerto Rico).
• Compare total cost. Estimates run from $19,800 to $67,500 among programs with a published rate.
• Confirm CSWE status if it matters to you. Penn, Walden and Tennessee are accredited.

The program matcher narrows the field by format, focus and price, and the full DSW program list covers every option. Check admission details in DSW requirements.