Licensure Determination | Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
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​Social Work Licensure Determinations

State social work licensing standards vary by state.  

Some states only require the completion of an MSW degree from a CSWE accredited program to be eligible for social work licensure in that state. These states have a Brown School "positive determination" — as seen in the table below.  

Other states require specific curricular paths (a mixture of courses), explicit course content, and/or other state-specific requirements.  States that require explicit content or additional requirements have a Brown School "negative determination” —as seen in the table below.

A “negative determination” does not mean that your Brown School program prevents social work license eligibility in your state. This designation simply means that there are additional requirements, specific content, and/or state-specific requirements that you must meet in order to be eligible for licensure, if you choose to pursue it.

This document provides information on additional requirements from each state with a negative determination.  If you have questions, please contact brownadmissions@wustl.edu to set up a time to speak with our MSW program office. 

​STATES WITH Positive Determination

​STATES WITH Negative Determination 

*Negative determination unless Mental Health concentration

**Positive determination for LMSW; Negative determination for LCSW unless Mental Health concentration

​Alabama

​California

​Alaska 

​Colorado

​Arizona

​Florida*

​Arkansas

​Indiana*

​Connecticut

​Kansas

​Delaware

​New Jersey*

​Georgia

​New Mexico

​Hawaii

​New York**

​Idaho

​South Carolina

​Illinois

​Texas

​Iowa

​Vermont

​Kentucky

​Virginia**

​Louisiana 

​Washington 

​Maine

​Wisconsin*

​Maryland


​Massachusetts


​Michigan

Minnesota

​Mississippi

​Missouri 

​Montana

​Nebraska

​Nevada

​New Hampshire

​North Carolina

​North Dakota

​Ohio

​Oklahoma

​Oregon


​Pennsylvania

​Rhode Island

​South Dakota

​Tennessee

​Utah 

​West Virginia


​Wyoming