Social Worker Licensing
Applicants for the four levels of licensing must pass a national exam through the State of Minnesota Board of Social Work. Degrees must be earned from programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education or the Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work.
Licensed Social Worker
The LSW requires a bachelor's degree in social work.
Licensed Graduate Social Worker
The LGSW requires a graduate degree in social work.
Licensed Independent Social Worker
The LISW requires a graduate degree in social work, documentation of supervised practice and 100 hours of direct supervision per 4,000 hours of non-clinical practice.
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker
The LICSW requires a graduate degree in social work, documentation of 360 clock hours in various clinical content areas, documentation of supervised practice and 200 hours of direct supervision per 4,000 hours of clinical practice, including 1800 hours of direct clinical client contact.
Licensing Exams
Apply for a License
Code of Ethics
Academic Clinical Content
Students who complete our Advanced Standing master of social work program earn 300 Academic Clinical Content (ACC) hours toward the 360 required for licensure. Foundation master of social work students earn 360 ACC hours. Based on years of attendance, graduates can use the grid documents below to calculate hours in each clinical knowledge area.
The State of Minnesota Board of Social Work accepts our grid documents as attachments to Form 1, Certification of Clinical Clock Hours (.pdf). Download the Academic Clinical Content documentation form (.pdf).
View past ACC grid documents below:
Academic Clinical Content - Foundation (PDF)
Academic Clinical Content - Advanced/Concentration Standing (PDF)
Students can earn clinical hours in a dozen non-Social Work classes. View the Allied Discipline Courses document (.pdf).
DISCLAIMER: Verification of academic clinical content hours is a student responsibility. The documents above are published as a courtesy to students. Academic clinical content can be earned at other accredited institutions.