Connecticut has 8 CSWE-accredited Bachelor of Social Work programs, the authoritative count from the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs. The longest-accredited is University of Saint Joseph, which has held CSWE accreditation since 1974. None of the 8 record an online option, all are campus-based. 1 is hosted at a Carnegie R1 (very high research) university and 1 at a Carnegie R2 (high research) university.
Each program below is scored on the same five-factor model used in our national ranking, so the order reflects accreditation longevity, delivery and schedule flexibility, program breadth, and the institution's Carnegie research tier, all applied identically nationwide.
Connecticut BSW programs at a glance
8
CSWE-accredited BSW programs
1974
Oldest, University of Saint Joseph, accredited since
0
Offer an online option
2
At an R1 or R2 research university
Connecticut's 8 programs span CSWE accreditation from 1974 to 2019, and the highest-scoring on our five-factor model is University of Saint Joseph at 7.2 out of 10. The newest, Fairfield University, earned accreditation in 2019. Among the Connecticut programs we have verified tuition for, published in-state tuition runs from $6,664 to $55,510 a year. A child, family, and school social worker in Connecticut earns a median of $78,970 a year, 33% above the national median of $59,550 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
All 8 CSWE-Accredited BSW Programs in Connecticut
Every one of these BSW programs in Connecticut holds current CSWE accreditation. Status, dates, campus locations and online options come from the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs, and each card cites its own sources inline. Tuition is shown for reference only and is not factored into the score.
- #1
University of Saint Joseph
West Hartford, CT · CSWE-Accredited since 1974 · On-Campus
7.2
On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus Accred. since 1974Why it ranks in Connecticut
Based in West Hartford, University of Saint Joseph is a private university offering a BSW in Connecticut. The major sits in the Department of Social Work and Equitable Community Practice inside USJ's School of Interdisciplinary Health and Science, and students can add a concentration in either Latino Community Practice or Social Work in Sports Settings. Course planning runs off a published academic map that the program treats as a reference rather than a fixed sequence. One of the two optional concentrations pairs the major with sports settings, preparing students to work with athletes, coaches and sports organizations on social issues inside that world. Its internships and field experiences run through sports organizations, community organizations and government agencies. Published tuition is $45,608 a year at one rate for residents and nonresidents, above the Connecticut median of $11,498. No other program among the BSW programs in Connecticut has held CSWE accreditation longer.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$45,608 / year (private, one rate for all students)
Locations
West Hartford, CT (1974-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 10.0
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #2
Southern Connecticut State University
New Haven, CT · CSWE-Accredited since 1975 · On-Campus
7.1
On-Campus Carnegie R2 Full-time 1 campus Accred. since 1975Why it ranks in Connecticut
Southern Connecticut State University teaches the BSW in New Haven, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Connecticut. Admission is competitive and runs once a year, with a February 15 deadline, decisions by March 31, and only 70 to 80 seats depending on departmental resources. Applicants need 57 credits of university and cognate coursework, a 2.50 GPA, ENG 112, the quantitative reasoning requirement, and a B- or better in SWK 200. This is the only university in Connecticut that offers the bachelor's, master's and doctorate in social work, with practicum sites concentrated in New Haven and across the state. Students admitted to the major automatically join the Social Welfare Organization, which runs clothing drives and attends the state NASW spring conference. In-state tuition runs $6,664 a year against $19,940 for nonresidents, below the Connecticut median of $11,498.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $6,664 · Out-of-state $19,940 / year
Locations
New Haven, CT (1975-present)
Visit the Southern Connecticut State University BSW program site
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 10.0
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 7.5
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #3
Sacred Heart University
Fairfield, CT · CSWE-Accredited since 1981 · On-Campus
6.4
On-Campus Full-time 1 campus Accred. since 1981Why it ranks in Connecticut
Sacred Heart University teaches the BSW in Fairfield, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Connecticut. The BSW sits inside a School of Social Work that also runs an MSW and a PhD, with a combined bachelor's to MSW dual degree open to undergraduates. Its mission names racism and its impact on practice explicitly, and frames instruction through the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. The school is housed at West Campus, the former GE global headquarters in Fairfield. The school publishes a state-by-state licensure disclosure that is unusually blunt about the limits of a bachelor's degree. New York, Illinois, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington do not let graduates use the title social worker without a graduate degree, while Colorado, Georgia and Florida permit the title but license only at the master's or clinical level. Published tuition is $48,160 a year at one rate for residents and nonresidents, above the Connecticut median of $11,498.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$48,160 / year (private, one rate for all students)
Locations
Fairfield, CT (1981-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 9.2
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #4
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, CT · CSWE-Accredited since 1991 · On-Campus
6.2
On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus Accred. since 1991Why it ranks in Connecticut
Based in New Britain, Central Connecticut State University is a public university offering a BSW in Connecticut. The degree is campus based rather than online, run out of Henry Barnard Hall. Students run a chapter of the Chi Upsilon social work honor society. Applicants are also screened on behavior, not just grades. Reviewers score candidates on a professional disposition rubric assessed inside SW 225, 226 and 227, on a competence scale covering professional identity, critical thinking and engaging difference, and on a 70 hour volunteer experience evaluation where every category must come back at 3 or better. In-state tuition runs $6,664 a year against $19,940 for nonresidents, below the Connecticut median of $11,498.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $6,664 · Out-of-state $19,940 / year
Locations
New Britain, CT (1991-present)
Visit the Central Connecticut State University BSW program site
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 7.6
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #5
Western Connecticut State University
Danbury, CT · CSWE-Accredited since 1984 · On-Campus
6.2
On-Campus Full-time 1 campus Accred. since 1984Why it ranks in Connecticut
Western Connecticut State University teaches the BSW in Danbury, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Connecticut. The major takes 57 semester hours of a 120 hour BA and is built on a four-course practice sequence, SW 309 through SW 314, plus required work in psychology, sociology, American government and biology. A C+ is the minimum passing grade in every major course, and a 2.75 GPA across major requirements is needed to graduate. Field happens twice: a junior practicum of 104 hours over 13 weeks, then two senior semesters of 208 hours each. Practicum days are Tuesdays and Thursdays with the seminar on Mondays or Wednesdays, so students need weekday hours between 9 and 5 free, and they provide their own transportation to placement sites. In-state tuition runs $6,664 a year against $9,996 for nonresidents, below the Connecticut median of $11,498.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $6,664 · Out-of-state $9,996 / year
Locations
Danbury, CT (1984-present)
Visit the Western Connecticut State University BSW program site
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 8.7
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #6
Eastern Connecticut State University
Willimantic, CT · CSWE-Accredited since 1998 · On-Campus
5.3
On-Campus Full-time 1 campus Accred. since 1998Why it ranks in Connecticut
Eastern Connecticut State University teaches the BSW in Willimantic, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Connecticut. Admission to the major is competitive and separate from admission to the university, with a single January 31 deadline and roughly 35 students taken each year. Because the sequence is a locked cohort, students must get in early enough to spend their last four semesters mostly on social work, about 40 of the final 60 credits. The program reports that 77 percent of its graduates move straight into graduate school and 96 percent enter with advanced standing. Named destinations include Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, Boston College, NYU, Fordham and the University of Michigan. In-state tuition runs $6,664 a year against $9,996 for nonresidents, below the Connecticut median of $11,498.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $6,664 · Out-of-state $9,996 / year
Locations
Willimantic, CT (1998-present)
Visit the Eastern Connecticut State University BSW program site
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 6.5
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #7
University of Connecticut
Hartford, CT · CSWE-Accredited since 2018 · On-Campus
4.7
On-Campus Carnegie R1 Full-time 1 campus Accred. since 2018Why it ranks in Connecticut
University of Connecticut teaches the BSW in Hartford, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Connecticut. The BSW is offered only at the UConn Hartford campus and runs as a two-year upper-division major, with small cohorts and internship sites drawn from the surrounding capital city. Graduates can move into the school's advanced standing MSW and finish it across a summer plus one academic year. Seniors carry a single placement across both semesters, about 14 hours a week for 203 hours a term and 406 in total, with weekly supervision from a BSW practicum instructor based at the site. Placement also requires a background screening, immunity titers and annual tuberculosis screening, all paid for by the student. CSWE accreditation dates to 2018, 8 years of unbroken standing, below the Connecticut median of 39 years.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $16,332 · Out-of-state $39,000 / year
Locations
Hartford, CT (2018-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 3.3
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 10.0
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #8
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT · CSWE-Accredited since 2019 · On-Campus
3.9
On-Campus Full-time 1 campus Accred. since 2019Why it ranks in Connecticut
Fairfield University teaches the BSW in Fairfield, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Connecticut. The degree totals 125 credits, of which 15 required social work courses account for 47. It opens in the first year with a two course Social Work Essentials sequence on self awareness, bias and professional self care, then moves into paired human behavior courses, a policy and social justice course and a research course, both of which carry community engaged learning. Fieldwork begins in the fall of senior year and runs 450 hours across two semesters for 8 credits, locked in tandem with an integrative seminar so that failing either means repeating both. Placements have included mental health agencies, supportive housing programs, substance abuse services, group homes and a hospital network, with recent sites such as Catholic Charities of Fairfield County and the Center for Family Justice. Published tuition is $55,510 a year at one rate for residents and nonresidents, above the Connecticut median of $11,498.
Annual tuition (not factored)
$55,510 / year (private, one rate for all students)
Locations
Fairfield, CT (2019-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 3.1
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
The Social Work Industry in Connecticut
A Bachelor of Social Work is the entry credential for Connecticut's front-line social-service workforce. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET, social workers are employed across public human-services and child-welfare agencies, hospitals and health systems, K-12 schools, community mental-health and substance-use programs, aging and disability services, and nonprofit and faith-based organizations. BSW-level roles are generalist and direct-practice: case manager, child and family caseworker, community and behavioral-health worker, and social and human-service assistant. Supervisory, therapeutic, and independent clinical positions generally require a master's. If you plan to pursue graduate education, BestMSWPrograms.org covers the best MSW programs to help you take that next step.
Per the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs, Connecticut's 8 accredited programs are based across 7 cities, including West Hartford, New Haven, Fairfield, New Britain, Danbury, Willimantic, and others, all campus-based. 2 are hosted at a Carnegie research university (R1 or R2), which adds research and teaching-hospital placements to the local training pipeline. CSWE standards require supervised field education, so programs build placement partnerships with local agencies, hospitals, schools, and nonprofits, which makes the state's campuses a training and hiring pipeline into the surrounding Connecticut social-service economy.
Nationally, the BLS projects social-worker employment will grow 7% from 2024 to 2034, faster than the average for all occupations, with about 67,300 openings projected each year, many from the need to replace workers who leave the occupation. The BLS projects faster-than-average growth for healthcare social workers and for mental health and substance abuse social workers, specialties that hire at both the bachelor's and master's levels.
Child, family, and school social workers, the most common BSW-level specialty, have a location quotient of 1.22 in Connecticut, meaning the occupation is 22% more concentrated than the national average. The state supports roughly 3.1 of these jobs per 1,000 jobs statewide.
In Connecticut, social workers held about 8,880 jobs across the four social work occupations as of May 2025, per the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program. Employment, annual wages, and pay range by specialty:
| Occupation | Employed in CT | Median | Mean | 10th to 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child, family, and school social workers | 5,230 | $78,970 | $80,180 | $48,660 to $109,980 |
| Healthcare social workers | 1,650 | $79,900 | $83,290 | $59,100 to $104,900 |
| Mental health and substance abuse social workers | 1,540 | $78,640 | $78,250 | $49,260 to $108,530 |
| Social workers, all other | 460 | $69,080 | $76,860 | $47,070 to $114,880 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025. Wages cover all workers in each occupation; BLS does not break wages out by degree, and BSW-level roles typically fall toward the lower end of each range. Location quotient compares the state's job concentration to the national average (1.0 = the national rate). O*NET reports tasks, skills, and local outlook by occupation.
Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Social Workers; BLS state wage data for Connecticut; O*NET: Child, Family, and School Social Workers; CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs; HRSA health workforce shortage areas.
Social Work Licensure in Connecticut
Licensing data from the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the body that develops the social work licensing exams, captured 2026.
The license ladder continues to the master's level (MLSW), and the clinical, independent-practice level (LCSW). A CSWE-accredited BSW also qualifies graduates for Advanced Standing admission to a master's program.
How We Ranked These Programs
Every program is scored on the same five-factor model used in the national ranking, with no state-specific adjustments. Four factors are drawn from the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs; prestige uses the institution's 2025 Carnegie research classification.
- Accreditation longevity (40%): years of continuous CSWE accreditation.
- Delivery flexibility (22%): online option and number of approved campus locations.
- Prestige (15%): 2025 Carnegie research tier (R1, R2, or baseline).
- Schedule flexibility (12%): full-time and part-time plans of study.
- Program breadth (11%): embedded certificates and dual-degree options.
For the full model, see our ranking methodology.