Advanced Standing MSW Degrees in Florida

Florida is a state that faces a lot of current social and public welfare problems. It’s the kind of stuff that makes people who are interested in social justice and equality stand up and take notice. From Don’t Say Gay to new legal threats against immigrant workers, if social justice is your jam, your blood is probably boiling.

Even social work education itself is under threat from new Florida legal restrictions against teaching common race and gender materials in classrooms.

The combination of genuine need and invented culture wars is driving a lot of new people toward careers in social work. It’s a field where you can engage head-on with issues like equal rights, justice for immigrants, and economic justice. You can even get started while you’re still a student, through efforts like Barry University’s Center for Human Rights and Social Justice.

If you’re motivated by the day-to-day struggles of other Floridians who could use your help, the last thing you want to do is drag your feet getting the right degree to be a licensed social worker here. If the fast track is what you are looking for, then an Advanced Standing Master of Social Work degree might be the right choice.

The Sarah Goldman Story: Sometimes You Need to Fight Just To Get a Chance to Fight For Others

Many people are drawn to social work because they have personally experienced what it is to be disadvantaged, disregarded, or disrespected. Their life experience provides both motivation and a certain set of skills to pass along to others.

That’s where BSW graduate Sarah Goldman of the University of Central Florida is coming from. As a student with cerebral palsy, her experiences in the College of Health and Public Affairs there were unique, including being stranded in her wheelchair on the second floor during a fire alarm—fortunately, only a drill.

It was a powerful learning experience in that diversity class for classmates who hadn’t considered her challenges, and another chance for Goldman to create a dialogue on campus about equal opportunity and the need to fight for social services for person’s with a disability.

As she moves on to a master’s in clinical social work at FSU, she plans to continue to use her experiences to give back and help others—soon, with an MSW degree to back her up.

What Exactly Is an Advanced Standing Master of Social Work Degree?

Advanced standing master of social work degrees offer a quick path to MSW qualifications for students who have completed a qualifying Bachelor of Social Work degree.

Some schools call their advanced standing programs accelerated or one-year MSW degrees. But pay attention — some schools use accelerated to describe a standard MSW with a more intensive course load and faster pace.

To be eligible for advanced-standing status, that BSW you hold must be accredited by the Council for Social Work Education (CSWE), and it almost certainly is. In fact, these days, you might have a hard time finding one that isn’t. That accreditation means that graduate programs can rely on the quality and coursework you will have gone through to earn that bachelor’s.

The same rule applies to your MSW program — it must be CSWE-accredited to qualify for licensure in Florida.

Included in that coursework are substantially the same kinds of classes and concepts that are otherwise taught in the first year of a regular two-year MSW degree.

With those studies out of the way, you are free to jump directly into the concentration year of the MSW, which would be year-two for traditional MSW students.

It’s a way to get your full educational qualifications for licensure in Florida in a total of only five years.

Some advanced standing MSW degree programs aren’t strictly one-year programs—different colleges may have a curriculum that covers about 15 months of typical studies, and part-time options can extend it even further.

Of course, that means that advanced standing won’t work if you don’t already have a bachelor of social work degree. Even closely related programs, like those in behavioral health or mental health counseling, won’t qualify.

Florida’s Advanced Standing MSW Degrees Offer Generalist and Specialized Tracks

For most advanced standing MSW programs, the coursework you will take is dependent on your specialization. Without the foundational first year to get through, you are free to launch directly into classes devoted to your specific area of interest.

Among Florida social workers in healthcare, 35% hold an MSW, while 36% in child and family welfare and school social work have earned their MSW. In mental health and substance abuse counseling, it’s nearly twice that, with 66% holding an MSW as of 2023.

What you can be sure of is that these will represent advanced studies in that area. Whether it’s a deep dive into clinical assessment and intervention planning or leadership, advocacy, and policy practice, you’ll be hitting the most current and proven practices in your field.

Of course, there are generalist advanced standing MSW programs available at various Florida universities as well, so you don’t actually have to pick one of those concentrations. In a generalist program, you would instead go through standard, general-purpose social work courses like Introduction to Trauma and Resilience, or Evaluation of Social Work Practice.

Although MSW degrees are not primarily research-focused, you will usually find some research and statistical analysis training included as a part of your coursework.

You might also find that the particular concentration you are interested in isn’t available in an advanced standing format. In those cases, a two-year Master of Social Work program may be your only option. But with every single one of the thirteen CSWE-accredited MSW programs here providing an advanced-standing option for qualified students, odds are good you can find one that will serve up what you are looking for.

And if you are going full-bore at social justice causes, there are schools here that are happy to get you into the game while you are still studying. At the University of Central Florida, for instance, students who belong to the Florida Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-FL) have a chance to directly lobby state lawmakers as part of the annual LEAD (Legislative Education and Advocacy Day) effort.

Ana G. Mendez University | AGM University

Liberal Arts Division
Private University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus, online)

Also Offers:

Barry University

School of Social Work
Private University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus, online)

Also Offers:

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University FAMU

College of Social Sciences Arts and Humanities, Department of Social Work
Public University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus)

Also Offers:

Florida Atlantic University

Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work
Public University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus)

Child Welfare Certificate, Healthy Aging Certificate, Addictions Certificate

Also Offers:

Florida Gulf Coast University

Marieb College of Health and Human Services, Department of Social Work
Public University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus)

Medical Social Work, no concentration

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Florida International University

Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, School of Social Work
Public University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus)

Also Offers:

BSW
Standard Two-Year MSW
PhD in Social Welfare
MSW-JD
MSW-MPH
Minor in Social Welfare
Certificate in Child Welfare Services
Graduate Certificate in Addictions
Graduate Certificate in Child Welfare
Graduate Certificate in Social Work Practice for the Elderly
Post-MSW Graduate Certificate in Clinical Practice

Florida State University

College of Social Work
Public University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus, online)

Clinical Social Work, Social Leadership

Also Offers:

BSW
Standard Two-Year MSW
Graduate Certificate in Child Welfare Practice
Graduate Certificate in Gerontology
Graduate Certificate LEAD in Social Work
PhD in Research Methods and Teaching

Saint Leo University

College of Health Professions
Private University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus)

Also Offers:

Southeastern University

College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Private University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus)

Also Offers:

University of Central Florida

College of Health Professions and Sciences, School of Social Work
Public University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus, online)

Also Offers:

Minor in Aging Studies
BSW
Aging Studies Undergraduate Certificate
Children’s Services Undergraduate Certificate
Standard Two-Year MSW
Military Social Work Graduate Certificate
Nonprofit Management Minor
Spanish for Social Work Undergraduate Certificate

University of North Florida

College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Sociology Anthropology and Social Work
Public University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus)

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University of South Florida

College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, School of Social Work
Public University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus, online)

Also Offers:

University of West Florida

Usha Kundu MD College of Health, Department of Social Work
Public University

Advanced-Standing MSW (on-campus, online)

Also Offers:

Minor in Social Work
Minor in Aging Studies Interdisciplinary
Minor in Child Welfare
Minor in Substance Abuse
Minor in Social Welfare
BA in Children and Society
BSW
Standard Two-Year MSW

Even in such fast-paced programs, you’ll also find at least a couple of class slots available for elective courses. This is a great way to round out your training, even in areas not specifically in your concentration focus.

Classes like Grief, Loss, and Life; Social Work Practice in Integrated Healthcare; and Substance Abuse Treatment all offer unique ways to customize your training for specific niche jobs in the field, like those at Operation New Hope. With offices from Jacksonville to Saint Petersburg, the organization employs social workers with expertise in addictions to help people with substance use disorders get their lives together through job placements.

Getting Experience in Florida Communities Is Critical in Advanced Standing MSW Programs

As quick as an ASMSW can be, all of them make time for one of the most important parts of your social work education: practical field experience.

This won’t be completely unfamiliar to you, since your BSW program will also have included some practicum courses that let you get your feet wet in some real world social work practice. But what you find at this level will be a whole new ballgame.

Placements at locations like the Betty Griffin House in Saint Augustine, can give you both the tragedy and the hope that comes with providing a healing experience for survivors of sexual assault. Or you may land at the Psychological Performance Program Clinic for the 7th Special Forces Group at Elgin Air Force Base near Panama City, developing your understanding of the warrior mindset and how it copes with post-traumatic stress.

Practicum placements for advanced standing MSW students will focus on honing the more high-level skills that you study at the master’s level. You’ll get more advanced challenges in the workplace, driving home the lessons of the classroom and rounding them off with practical adaptation.

You’ll also find that those placements line up with your specialization, which gives you real practical expertise in the same focus area that you will be practicing in after graduation. It’s an invaluable part of shaping your social work skills toward the ultimate goal of making a difference in the lives of your clients.

Online Advanced Standing MSW Programs May Accelerate Your Path to Florida Social Work Even Further

For an even faster path to social work licensure in Florida, you might find yourself drawn to an online advanced standing MSW degree.

Although they include the same number of credits and the same kind of field experience as traditional on campus programs, online studies can still speed up your degree completion by getting rid of some common obstacles to graduate education.

Graduate students are older and tend to have more obligations than undergrads, from starting families to nurturing their career growth. That can make it tough to fit in a traditional MSW degree, even a one-year advanced standing program.

By the time you’re a grad student, you already have beach days and campus life out of your system and gladly welcome the opportunity to study remotely.

Online studies introduce enough flexibility to your education to let you fit it in when and where you have the time.

Asynchronous courses let you shift your class participation or lecture viewing to any time of day
Remote connections allow you to live wherever you need to be, rather than within commuting distance of a college campus
A broad selection of online school choices allows you to pick the program that best fits your goals and needs

There are also hybrid options, which bring together online and traditional classes to get the benefits of both online flexibility and in-person intensity in your social work education.

You’ll still have the in-person experience of practicum and internship placements, but many online programs excel at finding opportunities near you no matter where you are located. FSU’s College of Social Work, in addition to relationships with social services agencies throughout Florida, has field placement opportunities in just about every other state in the country.

An Advanced Standing Master of Social Work Unlocks the Same Licensing and Jobs Throughout Florida as Any MSW

An advanced standing Master of Social Work gives you the exact same set of qualifications as a traditional MSW. That includes the necessary educational component that you need to become a Certified Master Social Worker (CMSW) or Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).

A full 66% of Florida’s social workers who specialize in mental health and substance abuse hold MSW degrees as of 2023 according to US Department of Labor surveys.

That means you will be eligible for exactly the same kinds of jobs all across Florida as any MSW graduate.

Understanding Degree Options For Different Florida Social Work Licenses

The kind of job you can get as a Florida social worker of course depends on your social work license. And the kind of license you can get will depend in part on the contents of your MSW program, advanced standing or otherwise.

The Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy & Mental Health Counseling requires that applicants for the LCSW have completed at least 24 semester hours of graduate-level coursework in the theory of human behavior and clinical practice methods. At least one course must be in psychopathology.

Many Advanced Standing programs in the state are specifically designed to training clinical social workers, or have a clinical social work concentration to meet those standards.

For a CMSW, on the other hand, you need 3 semester hours covering diverse macro-practice areas like agency administration and supervision, social work research, community organizing, staff development, and human services advocacy.

It’s possible to work those courses into a clinical degree specialization by choosing the right electives. But there are also degree options like FSU’s Social Leadership Concentration or UNF’s generalist Advanced Standing MSW that are entirely macro-focused… just right for a CMSW.

In a state with the third largest population in the country as well as one of the most vibrant cultural mixing bowls, that includes positions in every available social work specialization.

You can stay focused on micro-level social work practice, delivering clinical services directly to clients in need as they need it, like the LCSW therapists working at the Florida Cancer Specialists and Research Institute assisting oncology patients through some of the toughest trials of their lives.

Or you can branch out to big picture macro social work, putting together systems and assistance programs for entire populations of at-risk Floridians. That can mean working as an Advocacy Coordinator with ECHO of Brandon, building new resources for communities in crisis.

Or you may end up somewhere in between, as a Guardian Ad Litem with the Justice Administrative Commission, looking out for the interests of kids in your case load.

It’s an unfortunate commentary on the state of our society today that for advanced standing MSW graduates there are so many positions serving so many different communities and populations throughout our great state. But it’s a ray of pure Florida sunshine that so many people here step up to get this kind of education in order to meet those needs.