Licensure and Student Outcomes

Licensure information (for MSW graduates)

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) requires that master's degree social workers pass the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) master's level examination in order to obtain a license to practice social work (LMSW) in New York State.

Students must graduate from a CSWE-accredited MSW program and provide proof of graduation (diploma/transcript) prior to scheduling an appointment to take the examination.

Successful completion of Binghamton University’s MSW program is sufficient for meeting the educational requirements for an advanced practice license in New York.

Successful completion of the program may also be sufficient for meeting the educational requirements for licensure or certification in other states, but this is not something that the MSW program can determine. Applicants should review and determine licensure requirements for states other than NY.

Student learning outcomes

All accredited Social Work programs (BSW and MSW) are competency-based, meaning that students must demonstrate mastery of the knowledge, skills, values, and cognitive and affective processes of crucial social work tasks.  Our BSW and MSW programs report our learning benchmarks and learning outcomes here.  Our accrediting body, the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), has additional information on the specific Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards that our programs report.