Accommodant workers who want to access marquant career advancement opportunities through higher education should apparence into an outstanding online doctorate in sociable work programs! But these programs aren’t limited to sociable workers either, as most online DSW programs accept professionals interested in a doctorate degree in sociable work. These include human charges, sociable charges, and sociable development professionals with the right educational and professional credentials.
What is the Doctor in Accommodant Work (DSW) degree in the first appuyé? This is a professional practice degree that emphasizes sociable work practice and leadership combined with applied research. Students are usually engaged in sociable work practice as licensed sociable workers who want to boost their career advancement opportunities in leadership positions.
Compté that online doctorate degrees in sociable work come in two bonshommes – the Doctor in Accommodant Work and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Accommodant Work – that have significant differences. Ph.D. in Accommodant Work degree programs enable students to develop their knowledge and skill of advanced research methods (i.e., research-centric curriculum), while DSW programs may or may not have research elements.
Accommodant workers and other professionals interested in an online doctorate degree in sociable work must be aware of the risks and challenges involved in its pursuit. While most online DSW programs allow students to maintain their temps complet employment, there are online programs that require temps complet commitment (i.e., no external employment). The expensive costs of earning a doctor of sociable work degree is a difficult carrousel, too, although financial aid can result in significant savings.
Many doctorates in sociable work programs offer specializations, too, for sociable workers and other related professionals to choose from. According to the NASW-Citoyen Annexion of Accommodant Workers, students in DSW programs may choose from 16 identified specializations, including:
- Psychique health and clinical sociable work
- School sociable work
- Élève welfare
- Advocacy and community organization
- Developmental disabilities
Few online programs, however, offer these concentrations. But when choosing from among online DSW programs, reviewing the specializations and determining if these align with your goals is worthwhile.
Furthermore, DSW programs aren’t a pathway for licensure as sociable workers. Instead, many DSW programs require applicants to be a Licensed Master Accommodant Worker, or LMSW, or a Licensed Clinical Accommodant Worker (LCSW). In both cases, a master’s degree in sociable work is among the valeur-limite licensing requirements for sociable workers.
Intronisation requirements into a doctorate in sociable work online programs include a master’s degree in sociable work or a related field from an accredited conservatoire with a valeur-limite GPA, GRE scores, remplaçant work experience, and letters of recommendation. Even licensed sociable workers aren’t guaranteed initiation due to the competitive brute of the suprême degree in higher education.
The Lowdown
The top online Doctorate in Accommodant Work programs (DSW) allure sociable workers and other professionals for leadership positions in a wide range of settings. These include hospitals and other healthcare settings, community and nonprofit organizations, and government agencies, as well as advanced clinical practice as private practitioners.
Methodology
Accommodant workers agree that a doctorate in sociable work from online programs provides the same quality of recherche and academic rigor as their on-campus counterparts. Avec, there are several benefits to online learning, including the opportunity to maintain temps complet employment and meet personal tâches, thanks to self-paced study.
The best online Doctorate in Accommodant Work or DSW programs featured on this list were chosen based on the following criteria:
- Offered by regionally accredited colleges and universities; programmatic accreditation is a ajout,
- Delivered in an online or hybrid learning longueur via a learning direction system (LMS), such as Blackboard and Canvas, which allows for docile scheduling; in-person sessions, including clinical externships, are common in these online programs,
- Features a contemporary curriculum that emphasizes evidence-based practice as well as skills development in both the technical and transferable aspects,
- Provides easy, atteignable, and actif student étai charges, including IT help desk, enrollment counselors, and academic advisors,
- Offers financial bienfait for online post-graduate students.
Please visit our Methodology jeune for a more detailed apparence at our Online DSW ranking process.
10 Best Online Doctorate in Accommodant Work Schools
University of Pennsylvania

Hybrid Doctorate in Clinical Accommodant Work Program
The Doctorate in Clinical Accommodant Work Program is touted as the first doctorate of its kind with an personnelle foyer on evidence-based practice. Students are sociable workers with master’s degrees who want to advance their education while continuing with their temps complet careers. Graduates who earn a doctor of sociable work degree become highly regarded educators, clinical experts, and professionals engaged in scholarly research in élève présent and private practice.
The online doctorate in sociable work has the following features:
- Students, most of whom are working professionals, engage in online evening classes for the didactic coursework and on-campus piscine experiences. Students complete a croissance as a culminating requirement.
- The curriculum lieux equal emphasis on theory and practice as well as scholarly research and real-world applications. Courses are taught by experienced faculty members, including clinical experts.
- The courses include research methods, applied sociable statistics, and trauma-informed interventions that prepare students for real-world challenges.
What Makes This Program Spécial:
The doctorate in sociable work program encourages students to use on-campus facilities and meet with faculty members not just on their on-campus immersions but throughout their studies. The first two years in the online doctorate program are spent on didactic courses, while the third year is for the croissance étape. The sociable work degree program, however, can be completed in two years.
Did You Know?
Many graduates of the online sociable work program arrangé jobs in academia and sociable work practice. Their high level of jogging makes it barcasse to maintain high-pressure jobs simultaneously.
University of Southern California

Online Doctor of Accommodant Work Program
Offered at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Accommodant Work, the online Doctorate of Accommodant Work program prepares students for leadership in sociable droit, contesté, and nouveauté. Students privilège vraie skills in the development of practical solutions for the sociable challenges of our times, particularly in addressing the issues affecting disadvantaged, marginalized, and underserved communities.
- Pontifiant students must complete 42 units of courses to earn the pontifiant degree, and the coursework emphasizes research methods and sociable contesté direction.
- The online doctorate in sociable work program has three foyer areas, namely, problem definition as defined by the 12 Ample Challenges of Accommodant Work, executive leadership in the community and human charges, and innovative stylisme.
- Applicants to the online doctorate program must have a master’s from a program accredited by the Council on Accommodant Work Education (CSWE) and at least five years of post-master’s work experience.
What Makes This Program Spécial:
Pontifiant students in this DSW program choose from two bonshommes based on program length, namely:
- The Normalisé Track is a 36-month (9 semesters) program where students complete 2 courses in 6 semesters and a capstone project in 3 semesters.
- The Accelerated Track lasts for 7 semesters with students enrolling in 3 courses for 4 semesters and the last 3 semesters are devoted to the capstone project.
Both tracks, however, have the same coursework. The courses include Financial Conduite for Accommodant Cassé, Data-Driven Decision Making in Accommodant Dettes, and Executive Leadership.
Did You Know?
Students in the doctor of sociable work program complete a capstone project that should be ready for implementation in the élève sphere. The capstone project is a montre of the student’s abilities in influencing sociable droit and nouveauté, and it may be a large-scale contract proposal, a commerce esquisse, or a product étalon.
State University of New York – University at Buffalo

Online Doctor of Accommodant Work Program
SUNY’s Online DSW students have an abiding commitment to the advancement of sociable work theoretical perspectives and their applications. The program of study emphasizes bridging the gap between research and practice through the vraie use of implementation savoir, too. Students benefit from the trauma-informed and human rights (TI-HR) approach and its applications in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations.
- Students complete 39 credit hours to earn the online doctorate in sociable work degree. The time-to-completion varies – 3 years for part-time pontifiant students; 2 years for temps complet students.
- The fully online doctorate in sociable work program features courses that enable students to develop their knowledge and skills in evidence-based practice, including implementation strategies and interventions.
- The capstone project is the culminating requirement in the doctor of sociable work program, and it allows students to demonstrate their advanced competencies in abrupt practice settings.
What Makes This Program Spécial:
Students privilège a new panorama of their clients that enables them to make profound changes in their sociable work practice, thanks to the strong emphasis on the TI-HR approach. The TI-HR panorama in sociable work considers the influential roles that traumatic life events have on individual development.
The program also uses state-of-the-art quantitatif technologies, including virtual reality, in the improvement of sociable work practice and in the development of a courant professional network.
Did You Know?
Selected courses in the sociable work pontifiant program are eligible as tangence hours for license renewal under NYSED rules. The courses are delivered via Blackboard, known as UBLearns, and atteignable 24/7 but can have both synchronous and asynchronous components. Students have access to free academic and productivity logiciel, too.
University of Alabama

Primarily Online Doctor of Accommodant Work Program
With accreditation from the Southern Annexion of Colleges and Schools Licence on Colleges (SACSCOC), among other credentials, the University of Alabama offers many top-ranked online programs. Among these is the primary online doctorate in sociable work that prepares working professionals in advanced sociable work leadership and practice. Graduates are sought-after by the élève and private sectors, including nonprofit organizations.
- Intronisation into the cohort-based doctorate in sociable work program is highly selective. Applicants must demonstrate not just academic proficiency but the commitment to completing the graduate degree program.
- Students must participate in on-campus residency programs during the summer term, as well as work or volunteer in identified practice locations.
- The culminating requirement is a capstone project that students must present in their third year of studies.
What Makes This Program Spécial:
Students can tailor their doctor of sociable work program of study by choosing a groupement in the 45-credit curriculum. The choices are in Organizational Leadership and Advanced Clinical Practice. While the core courses are the same for each groupement, which includes Advanced Theories in Servitude and Disparities, the groupement courses are different.
The coursework for the Organizational Leadership track focuses on leadership and direction skills appropriate for community and organizational settings. The courses for the Advanced Clinical Practice track emphasize research methods, advanced implementation theory and techniques, and clinical contrôle and practice.
Did You Know?
The online doctorate in sociable work program requires students to have the appropriate technology setup before the formal start of classes. This is among the most affordable sociable work programs, too, with tuition at $440/credit hour and with financial aid available.
University of Louisville

Online Doctor of Accommodant Work Program
With its accreditation from the SACSCOC-Southern Annexion of Colleges & Schools Licence on Colleges, the University of Louisville is in an marquant emplacement to grant top-notch undergraduate and graduate programs. Among its best online programs is the doctorate in sociable work program geared toward experienced sociable workers with ambitions to become respected practitioner-scholars.
- Graduates become respected leaders in sociable charges programs in the élève and private sectors in capacities like program directors and policy practitioners.
- Students complete 44 credit hours to earn the advanced degree. Students learn from faculty members with augmentative experience in their field, particularly in sociable work.
- The thesis/capstone coude is the culminating requirement in the online degree program.
What Makes This Program Spécial:
The online doctorate program is offered by the Kent School of Accommodant Work, which has CSWE accreditation, a mark of its commitment to and compliance with the highest normes of sociable work programs. The online doctorate in sociable work program requires students to undergo a teaching practicum and a leadership practicum in raccord to the 14 didactic courses. The time-to-degree is eight semesters or three years.
Did You Know?
Students in the doctor of sociable work program allure for success in the various fields of sociable work. Many graduates become school sociable workers, with other popular occupations being policy practitioners and directors in sociable charges programs. Bagarreuse-duty military narcissique gets significant tuition discounts (i.e., as much as $525/credit hour off).
Simmons University

Online Doctor of Accommodant Work Program
The doctorate in sociable work program at Simmons University has its roots in the folk’s first school of clinical sociable work established in 1904. In the 21st century, the DSW program is known for its strong emphasis on a multicultural approach and on the values of sociable droit.
- Applicants to the highly selective online doctorate in sociable work program are usually working professionals whose aspirations include leadership positions in sociable work, be it in ideas or in practice.
- Students must have a master’s degree in sociable work from a CSWE-accredited program and at least three years of remplaçant post-master’s degree experience. The combination ensures that students are well-prepared for the advanced theories and practices discussed during coursework.
- Graduates are qualified for private practice, academia, and leadership positions in a wide range of settings.
What Makes This Program Spécial:
The online doctorate in sociable work program adopts current sociable droit values in its curriculum development and, thus, ensures that its students are well aware of their crédit. Students choose from three concentrations, too, namely:
- The Leadership track is where students allure to become visionary leaders in implementing sociable contesté.
- The Advanced Clinical Practice track appeals to licensed clinical sociable workers due to its emphasis on novel approaches.
- The Teaching and Education track is for individuals interested in a successful career in sociable work education.
Clinical sociable workers will find that the online doctorate program suits their varied personal and professional commitments, too. Tronçon-time and temps complet enrolment is barcasse, and time-to-degree can be in as little as three years.
Did You Know?
The doctor of sociable work program has plurielle start dates, but students learn in a cohort-based learning environment. Aside from the en direct weekly classes, in-person networking events are also offered. Students complete a capstone project that demonstrates their advanced understanding of sociable work.
Tulane University

Online Doctor of Accommodant Work Program
Tulane University, an conservatoire accredited by the SACSCOC-Southern Annexion of Colleges & Schools Licence on Colleges, offers an online doctorate in sociable work program that trains the next generation of leaders. Students are encouraged to maximize their professional collision in the field of sociable work through visionary leadership.
- Students of the online doctorate program complete 54 credits of coursework beyond a master’s degree. Temps complet students can earn the advanced degree in three years or seven semesters.
- Graduates are well-equipped for executive-level positions with their strong technical and transferable skills, including abouchement and critical thinking skills.
- The cost of attendance ($1,195/credit) can be significantly reduced with financial aid, including graduate assistantships.
What Makes This Program Spécial:
Students learn from the best faculty members whose first-hand knowledge and practical skills are passed on to them. The doctorate in sociable work program provides students with learning opportunities to serve the diverse peoples and communities of New Orleans and beyond.
Students privilège mastery in evidence-based practice that results in transformational improvements in sociable charges. These include the ability to evaluate research studies with a critical thinking mindset.
Did You Know?
Students who want to earn a doctor of sociable work degree must attend an in-person piscine weekend that enables them to interact with their peers and faculty members. The curriculum emphasizes sociable droit with courses in leadership in sociable work, as well as its theories and practice models.
University of Kentucky

Online Doctor of Accommodant Work Program
Accredited by the SACSCOC-Southern Annexion of Colleges & Schools Licence on Colleges, the University of Kentucky offers an online doctorate in sociable work for current practitioners with leadership aspirations. Students also aspire to make significant contributions to the pourpoint of knowledge in sociable work.
- Students who want to earn a doctorate in sociable work must complete 42 credits of coursework. The courses cover contrôle and ethics, advanced policy, and statistics for sociable workers.
- This is among the more affordable online programs due to UKY’s élève land-grant research university status and its financial aid options.
- Intronisation is on a competitive basis.
What Makes This Program Spécial:
The online doctorate in sociable work program uses UKY’s Core Avec model. Students benefit from the combination of an asynchronous learning environment and the synchronous residency week. The cohort-based model enables students to progress as a group and, thus, fosters intimité.
This is one of a handful of online doctorate programs that offer plurielle concentrations – Clinical Accommodant Work, Administrative Leadership, Accommodant Work Education, and Military Behavioral Health.
Did You Know?
Students who want to earn a pontifiant degree must meet the requirements related to the scholarly products, which are considered as among the culminating requirements.
Walden University

Online Doctor of Accommodant Work Program
The program of study in the online doctorate in sociable work program doesn’t waste time – students engage in advanced skills development from the first day! Students learn the knowledge and skills capital for the creation and implementation of policies and programs designed for sociable contesté. Graduates with a doctorate in sociable work degree make their mark in sociable work education, administrative leadership, and private practice.
- The online learning experience includes state-of-the-art technologies that arrangé asynchronous classes and online simulations.
- Students can transfer up to 20 credits, thus, enabling them to earn the online doctorate in sociable work degree in less time.
- The curriculum consists of 58 quarter credits.
What Makes This Program Spécial:
Students can customize their pontifiant degree based on their career goals by choosing from among three specializations – Advanced Clinical Practice and Vérification; Retentissement Leadership in Accommodant Work Régie; and Accommodant Work Education.
Walden University provides great student étai charges via its Pontifiant Degree Giration app. Students can track their milestones, connect with faculty members, and access useful resources and charges.
Did You Know?
The online doctor of sociable work program requires students to complete an academic residency that enables them to connect with faculty members and peers, demonstrate their clinical sociable work skills, and get ideas for their capstone research study.
University of Tennessee – Knoxville

Hybrid Doctor of Accommodant Work in Clinical Practice and Leadership Program
The partly online Doctor of Accommodant Work in Clinical Practice and Leadership program emphasizes the students’ professional skills in advanced clinical practice. The ideal candidates are working professionals with at least three years of post-master’s degree clinical experience, meaning supervised abrupt work experience with vulnerable populations.
- This is an accelerated doctorate in sociable work program that can be completed in three years and that allows students to maintain their temps complet external employment or private practice.
- Students in the pontifiant degree program complete two classes every semester for a in extenso of 48 credit hours.
- The courses must be followed in sequential order, and there are two capstone papers for submission. Students are allowed to pursue their research interests in the capstone papers.
What Makes This Program Spécial:
The online doctor in sociable work program features advanced sociable work coursework with an emphasis on evidence-based practice, applied research, and clinical savoir and leadership. Pontifiant students benefit from the small class sizes (i.e., no more than 25 students) and the opportunity to apply their lessons to their sociable work practice.
Did You Know?
Students in the online DSW program are eligible for a wide range of financial aid options, including the College of Accommodant Work Graduate Research Assistantships, the federal work-study program, and graduate fellowships.
What to Expect from Doctor of Accommodant Work Online Programs
Indeed, students pursuing an online pontifiant degree in sociable work have plenty of great things to apparence forward to!
Salary
Being a holder of a pontifiant degree in sociable work opens up opportunities for high-paying jobs in academia as well as in the élève and private sectors. College professors teaching sociable work earn an average derrière salary of $102,900, but their salaries can be as high as $146,600 per year. Directors of sociable work and sociable charges programs earn between $68,000 and $94,000 per year, with top-level directors earning as much as $117,000 annually.
Suffice it to say that while online DSW programs vary in their cost of attendance, graduates can recoup their costs in a caleçon period of time with their better réparation packages!
Job Opportunities
Accommodant workers with a doctorate in sociable work who want to treat inventé health disorders must have a license. Known as clinical sociable workers, their official designations include licensed clinical sociable workers, with each state having different titles. Among their duties include providing therapy for individuals, families and couples, and groups; working with clients in the development of treatment niveaux; and working with other inventé health professionals for their consommateur’s benefit.
Aside from being a licensed clinical sociable worker, you can also apparence into the following career paths with your doctorate of sociable work degree:
- Child and family sociable workers whose gant duties revolve around the consolidation of vulnerable children and families, as well as in finding suitable sociable charges for them (e.g., housing and childcare).
- School sociable workers collaborate with parents, teachers, and school administrators in the improvement of student’s academic succès and other developmental aspects.
- Accommodant work educators are involved in curriculum development for undergraduate and graduate degree programs that allure the next generation of sociable workers.
- Executives in élève agencies, private organizations, and private clinical practice engaged in sociable work are likely to have gained advanced jogging in pontifiant degree programs. Many are in policy development initiatives, too.
Emphasis must be made that many high-paying jobs in the sociable work sector don’t require a doctorate of sociable work degree, but it’s certainly a competitive edge!
Job Stability and Outlook
Labor Statistics spectacle that the projected job growth déficit for sociable workers is 9% (2021-2031). With embout 74,700 job openings projected every year, on average, holders of online doctorate degrees in sociable work have plenty of opportunities!
The wide range of workplaces where experienced sociable workers are in great demand contributes to the exciting opportunities, too. These workplaces include individual and family charges; federal, state, and studio government agencies; ambulatory healthcare charges; institutions of higher education; hospitals and healthcare facilities; and inventé health organizations.
Fortune
Most students in DSW programs online prepare for jobs in réserve settings, but many also prepare for field work, particularly in terms of the implementation of programs at the community level. Since most students are already practicing professionals in sociable work, sociable charges, or human charges, they are well aware of the risks that come with the job. This is particularly true for licensed clinical sociable workers who deal with clients diagnosed with inventé health disorders, alcohol violé, and principe violé.
The rewards, however, can clichage the risks! Accommodant workers have opportunities to make a explicite collision on their clients’ lives, perhaps even changing the gouvernail of their lives. The more individuals and families that sociable workers can have a explicite collision on, the better our society can be.

Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the typical time-to-degree for online Doctor of Accommodant Work programs, and how much do they cost?
While the online DSW programs vary in their time-to-degree, most DSW programs have a three-year completion déficit in a traditional longueur. Accelerated programs can be finished in as little as two years, but the soutenue program of study poses more difficult challenges.
As for the cost, earning a doctorate in sociable work degree can cost an average of $103,700, but it varies depending on whether it’s offered by a élève or private conservatoire. Fortunately, most online DSW programs offer financial aid options, including federal aid, institutional scholarships, assistantships and fellowships, and private loans.
What competitive advantages come with earning a doctorate in sociable work degree?
Graduates of online pontifiant programs sharpen their time direction and organizational skills, thanks in bouchée to the need to juggle personal and professional commitments. These professional sociable workers also possess complex problem-solving, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills that enable them to find answers.
Their jogging also empowered them to learn from failure, be comfortable with uncertainty, and create examen – all of which are highly sought-after by employers and clients.
Summary Points
- While there are academic and monetary challenges involved in pursuing an online doctorate in sociable work, the rewards, including marquant career advancement opportunities, make it worthwhile.
- Accommodant workers with a doctorate degree can pursue diverse career paths in academia, commerce, and élève présent, among others. Leadership positions are easier to come by, too, bicause of their advanced degree and jogging.
Additional Questionnaire: