BSW Degree Completion and Transfer Programs

How BSW Degree Completion Works

BSW degree completion programs take the credits you’ve already earned, usually an associate degree or about 60 semester credits, and finish the Bachelor of Social Work in the upper-division years. This page compares 204 BSW programs at 188 schools in 43 states that publish a transfer or completion route, every one checked on the school’s own site in October 2026.

The structure is nearly always the same. A BSW splits into a lower division (general education plus a few introductory social work and social science courses) and a professional upper division (practice, policy, research, human behavior and the field practicum). Completion programs let a community college or another four-year school handle the first half.

You’ll see three kinds of route:

• Dedicated completion programs. 18 programs here are built only for transfer students, such as Millersville University’s online BASW, which admits students with an associate degree or at least 60 transferable credits on a rolling basis.
• 2+2 and articulation agreements. A named partnership with a community college, such as UA Little Rock’s 2+2 agreement, which lets students with a two-year degree finish the BSW in two years.
• Standard transfer admission. The school accepts transfer credit into its regular BSW and publishes a two-year transfer plan, as Seattle University does for junior transfers.

Who a Completion Route Suits

A degree completion BSW is built for you if:

• You’re at a community college now. Many states have transfer pathways that map your associate degree straight into a BSW. Albany State University in Georgia, for example, pairs its BSW with an Associate of Arts in Core Curriculum with a Social Services Transfer Pathway.
• You earned an associate in human services or social work. Ball State lets Ivy Tech and Vincennes associate of science in social work graduates start its online BSW with junior status, and Stony Brook waives its introductory course requirement for partner associate degrees in Human Services.
• You started a bachelor’s and stopped. Programs like La Sierra University’s evening adult degree program admit transfer and returning students over 22 with at least 30 semester units.
• You work in human services already. 26 of these programs list a part-time plan, and 72 are offered online.

The Numbers Behind 204 Transfer-Friendly Programs

Most are campus programs: 144 list campus delivery, 72 online and 13 hybrid. 196 are CSWE-accredited and 8 are in candidacy or pre-candidacy.

Public universities dominate. 115 of the 188 schools are public, with a median federal tuition and fees figure of $10,208 for a full-time year (2023-24, NCES College Navigator). The private median is $34,250. The lowest federal figure belongs to Dalton State College in Georgia at $3,283. The highest is New York University at $60,438, which accepts up to 64 transfer credits.

Among the 45 programs that publish a per-credit rate, the median is $425. Salish Kootenai College in Montana lists $148 per credit for Montana residents (2025-26) and lower rates for Indian and Indian descendant students, with a 2+2 articulation agreement for transfer students.

Field hours are a constant. The median among the 56 programs that state their hours is 420.

Starting With an Associate in Social Work

An associate degree in social work or human services is a common first step, but it isn’t a BSW. What it does is cover your general education and some introductory courses, so you can enter a BSW’s upper division ready to go.

How much it counts depends on the receiving school:

Watch for one catch: human services credits don’t always count toward social work. The University of Washington notes that human services credits often do not transfer into its social welfare major. If you’re still choosing community college courses, the transfer finder shows which BSW schools take what.

Online BSW Degree Completion Programs

If you want a bachelor of social work online, completion programs are where the format is most common, because they’re built for working adults who already have credits. Some strong options:

• Ohio State University’s online BSSW requires at least 30 semester hours and a 2.0 GPA to apply, takes about two years for a typical student with 60 credit hours, and places you at an agency near your community for 400 hours in your final year.
• Simmons University’s online degree completion BSW uses rolling admission and requires over 425 hours of supervised internship plus 40 hours of community service.
• Briar Cliff University’s online completion BSW admits students with an associate degree in human services, social work or general studies, or 62 transferable credits, at $340 per credit (2026-27).
• Ball State’s online completion BSW charges $346 per credit for Indiana residents and $578 for nonresidents taking only online courses.

UNC Charlotte lets you choose its campus or online program at the upper-division application. For every online option at every stage, see the online BSW programs page.

How Transfer Credit Gets Counted

Transfer policies differ more than prices do. Read the school’s exact limits before you apply:

• Maximum transfer credits. Saint Ambrose University and Avila University accept up to 90. NYU accepts up to 64. Northern Arizona University accepts up to 75 units from an accredited community college. UConn accepts up to 12 transferable BSW credits from accredited BSW programs.
• Residency requirements. Walden University requires at least 45 credits completed at Walden. Northeastern State requires transfer students from two-year schools to complete at least 60 hours at a four-year school.
• Social work courses. Elizabeth City State University gives no credit for courses from non-accredited social work programs. Edward Waters University accepts social work courses in transfer only from CSWE-accredited schools.

One rule applies everywhere: CSWE’s 2022 standards bar accredited programs from granting social work course credit for life experience or previous work experience. Some schools use experience in other ways. Pacific Oaks College accepts three years of significant professional or life experience, or 24 transferable credits, as an admission route, and University of Phoenix applies prior learning assessment toward the degree, but neither replaces your social work courses.

Getting Into the Social Work Major as a Transfer Student

Being admitted to the university isn’t the same as being admitted to the BSW. Many programs here run a second application for the professional upper division, and transfer students face it too:

• University of Connecticut asks for at least 54 credits by the end of sophomore spring and a minimum 2.7 GPA for transfer students (2.5 for UConn students), with a February 1 final deadline.
• Arkansas State University is competitive: a 2.75 GPA overall and in the major, 45+ semester hours, three professional recommendations and an application due the second Friday of February.
• University of North Carolina at Charlotte requires a 2.5 GPA, 60 credits by the start of upper division, a personal essay and a resume, with priority deadlines of March 1 or May 1.
• Utah Valley University runs a cohort with a fixed timeline: Fall 2026 admits graduate in Spring 2028.

The deadline often falls a full semester before you’d start, so plan your transfer around the BSW calendar, not just the university’s.

The Practicum and the Road to an MSW

Completion programs keep the full practicum. Every CSWE-accredited BSW includes at least 400 field hours, and many of these programs ask for more: Florida State requires 512 clock hours, Winona State and The University of Findlay 480, and Northeastern State 450 over the last two semesters at the same agency.

Finishing a BSW also opens advanced standing in an MSW, which lets you skip generalist content you’ve already covered. 121 of these programs sit at schools with their own MSW route. Cal State LA pairs two years of upper-division BSW coursework with a 33-unit, 11-month advanced standing MSW downtown, and UNC Charlotte offers a 39-credit, one-year advanced standing MSW. The BSW to MSW guide explains the full route.

How to Choose a BSW Completion Program

• Get a transfer evaluation before you apply. Colorado State University-Fort Collins and Grand Canyon University both run formal evaluations; ask for one in writing.
• Look for a named agreement. A 2+2 or articulation agreement with your community college, like UT Arlington’s direct transfer pathways with Collin College, Dallas College, Tarrant County College and Weatherford College, protects your credits.
• Match the BSW application calendar. UConn’s final deadline is February 1; Utah Valley admits once a year in a cohort.
• Check CSWE status. 196 programs here are accredited and 8 are in candidacy or pre-candidacy. Students who start in or after a program’s candidacy year are recognized as graduates of an accredited program once it earns accreditation.
• Plan the practicum year. Florida A&M’s field practicum is a full-time work week for one semester; Dalton State’s senior practicum is 15 hours a week plus on-campus training.
• Check the license in your state. The LBSW license guide and the license checker show whether your state licenses BSW graduates.

If cost is your first filter, compare these programs against the most affordable online BSW programs and the BSW cost guide. If you want both degrees fast, the accelerated BSW programs page covers 2+1 and 3+1 plans. North Carolina students have several state routes: see the North Carolina page.