Council on Social Work Education Accreditation
Maryville University’s Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Commission on Accreditation. Accreditation provides reasonable assurance about the quality of the program and the competence of its graduates.
With accreditation in mind, we designed our program and curriculum to adhere to the nine core competencies defined by the CSWE. They are*:
- 1. Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior
- 2. Advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice
- 3. Engage anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) in practice
- 4. Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice
- 5. Engage in policy practice
- 6. Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
- 7. Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
- 8. Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
- 9. Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
The CSWE publicly discloses whether programs have currently attained accreditation. You can find a comprehensive list of program statuses through the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs.
*Council on Social Work Education Commission on Accreditation and Commission on Educational Policy, “2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards”
What does CSWE accreditation mean for current, future, and former social work learners?
For current and future students in our BSW program, CSWE accreditation serves to validate the quality of the degree program and the education our curriculum provides. As a respected educational authority in the field of social work, the CSWE expresses a standard of academic excellence that degree programs must reach or exceed. Graduating from an accredited BSW program like ours signals to future social work employers and clients that you have earned the education you need to practice at a high level.
Prior to 2023, our BSW program was in candidacy for accreditation. Accreditation is also assigned retroactively. That means learners who enrolled in our BSW program before 2023 are recognized as attending an accredited BSW program now that it has achieved accreditation.