Utah has 5 CSWE-accredited Bachelor of Social Work programs, the authoritative count from the CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs. The longest-accredited is Utah State University, which has held CSWE accreditation since 1974. 2 of the 5 record an online option; the rest are campus-based. 2 are hosted at a Carnegie R1 (very 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.
Utah BSW programs at a glance
5
CSWE-accredited BSW programs
1974
Oldest, Utah State University, accredited since
2
Offer an online option
2
At an R1 or R2 research university
Utah's 5 programs span CSWE accreditation from 1974 to 2022, and the highest-scoring on our five-factor model is Utah State University at 8.1 out of 10, a Carnegie R1 research university. The newest, Southern Utah University, earned accreditation in 2022. Among the Utah programs we have verified tuition for, published in-state tuition runs from $5,471 to $10,480 a year. A child, family, and school social worker in Utah earns a median of $52,000 a year, 13% below the national median of $59,550 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
All 5 CSWE-Accredited BSW Programs in Utah
Every one of these BSW programs in Utah 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
Utah State University
Logan, UT · CSWE-Accredited since 1974 · On-Campus
8.1
On-Campus Carnegie R1 Full-time 7 campuses Accred. since 1974Why it ranks in Utah
Based in Logan, Utah State University is a public university offering a BSW in Utah. A Title IV-E Child Welfare Program funded under the Social Security Act recruits social work majors into public child welfare careers, and a Public Mental Health and Substance Use Program creates employment openings for BSW students. Advising is split between a Logan campus advisor and a statewide advisor. Seniors complete a hands-on field practicum, and graduates leave qualified to be licensed as social service workers in Utah. The department points students toward child welfare, youth services, mental health, criminal justice, aging and health care settings in public and private agencies. CSWE accreditation dates to 1974, 52 years of unbroken standing, above the Utah median of 25 years. It operates more approved teaching sites than any of the BSW programs in Utah.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $7,387 · Out-of-state $23,305 / year
Locations
Logan, UT (1974-present); Brigham City, UT (1974-present); Tooele, UT (1974-present); Price, UT (1974-present); Blanding, UT (1974-present); Moab, UT (1974-present); Vernal, UT (1974-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 10.0
- Delivery (22%) 7.0
- Prestige (15%) 10.0
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #2
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT · CSWE-Accredited since 2001 · Online or On-Campus
7.4
Online or On-Campus Carnegie R1 Full & part-time 1 campus + online 2 certificates Accred. since 2001Why it ranks in Utah
Based in Salt Lake City, University of Utah is a public university offering a BSW in Utah. The degree runs 120 credits with a 65-credit social work core that includes the 400-hour practicum, and courses have to be taken in sequence. Students pick one of three tracks, generalist, substance use disorder counseling, which meets Utah DOPL licensing requirements, or the Title IV-E child welfare career pathway, which takes a separate application. A core crisis intervention course carries the state of Utah's Crisis Worker Certification, the credential required to work the Utah Warm Line, the 988 crisis line, mobile crisis outreach teams and crisis stabilization facilities. Other core courses cover agency database work in applied statistics and professional documentation in an advanced writing course. In-state tuition runs $10,480 a year against $32,932 for nonresidents, above the Utah median of $6,006.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $10,480 · Out-of-state $32,932 / year
2026-27 tuition & fees · utah.edu
Locations
Salt Lake City, UT (2001-Present); Online (2015-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 6.0
- Delivery (22%) 7.0
- Prestige (15%) 10.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 7.0
- #3
Weber State University
Ogden, UT · CSWE-Accredited since 1974 · On-Campus
7.4
On-Campus Full & part-time 1 campus 1 certificate Accred. since 1974Why it ranks in Utah
Weber State University teaches the BSW in Ogden, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Utah. Applying to the major means finishing 60 to 63 semester hours first, including anthropology, psychology, sociology, a biology course that must be strictly human in content, and SW 1010 followed by SW 2100. Applicants need a 2.5 GPA, two references, a one to two page autobiographical essay, and a signed agreement to the NASW Code of Ethics. The major is offered as either a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts and sits in a department that also runs a gerontology minor covering the physical, psychological and social aspects of aging. Human Services Edu ranked it the most affordable social work bachelor's degree in Utah for 2019-20. CSWE accreditation dates to 1974, 52 years of unbroken standing, above the Utah median of 25 years. It carries the lowest published in-state tuition among the BSW programs in Utah.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $5,471 · Out-of-state $16,164 / year
Locations
Ogden, UT (1974-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 10.0
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 10.0
- Breadth (11%) 5.0
- #4
Utah Valley University
Orem, UT · CSWE-Accredited since 2011 · On-Campus
4.4
On-Campus Full-time 1 campus Accred. since 2011Why it ranks in Utah
Based in Orem, Utah Valley University is a public university offering a BSW in Utah. The 120-credit degree carries a 66-credit discipline core built on a four-course practice sequence covering individuals, groups, families and macro work, plus two semesters of human behavior and the social environment, statistics and research methods. Twelve credits of social work electives draw on courses such as crisis intervention, case management, global social work, and child abuse, neglect and domestic violence. Field is split into two six-credit practicums, SW 4820 and SW 4830, taken in the fall and spring of the senior year. Core social work courses must be passed with a B- or higher, and electives with at least a C-. CSWE accreditation dates to 2011, 15 years of unbroken standing, below the Utah median of 25 years.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $5,614 · Out-of-state $17,174 / year
Locations
Orem, UT (2011-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 4.4
- Delivery (22%) 4.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
- #5
Southern Utah University
Cedar City, UT · CSWE-Accredited since 2022 · Online or On-Campus
4.4
Online or On-Campus Full-time 1 campus + online Accred. since 2022Why it ranks in Utah
Southern Utah University teaches the BSW in Cedar City, one of the CSWE-accredited BSW programs in Utah. Coursework moves through a three-part practice sequence covering individuals and families, then groups, then communities and organizations, alongside human behavior in the social environment, values and ethics, research methods, and family and social welfare. Because the program sits in the Family Life and Human Development department, majors also take courses on family problems, marital problems, and school and community partnerships. Two practicum fairs a year let students present themselves to agencies and rank their top three sites, and the field director matches placements using preferences from both sides. Graduates are prepared to sit for the Utah Social Service Worker license exam, which many state social services jobs require. CSWE accreditation dates to 2022, 4 years of unbroken standing, below the Utah median of 25 years.
Annual tuition (not factored)
In-state $6,006 · Out-of-state $19,822 / year
Locations
Cedar City, UT (2022-present); Online (2022-present)
Five-factor score breakdown
- Longevity (40%) 2.6
- Delivery (22%) 7.0
- Prestige (15%) 5.0
- Schedule (12%) 6.0
- Breadth (11%) 3.0
The Social Work Industry in Utah
A Bachelor of Social Work is the entry credential for Utah'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, Utah's 5 accredited programs are based across 11 cities, including Logan, Brigham City, Tooele, Price, Blanding, Moab, and others, 2 offering an online option. 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 Utah social-service economy. Online-capable programs extend that access to students in rural and remote parts of the state, areas the federal government (HRSA) frequently designates as mental-health workforce shortage areas.
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 0.44 in Utah, meaning the occupation is 56% less concentrated than the national average. The state supports roughly 1.1 of these jobs per 1,000 jobs statewide.
In Utah, social workers held about 5,580 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 UT | Median | Mean | 10th to 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child, family, and school social workers | 1,930 | $52,000 | $59,670 | $36,040 to $98,800 |
| Healthcare social workers | 1,750 | $78,150 | $78,270 | $44,410 to $109,270 |
| Mental health and substance abuse social workers | 1,240 | $50,770 | $63,570 | $37,980 to $101,350 |
| Social workers, all other | 660 | $66,440 | $72,260 | $51,090 to $114,500 |
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 Utah; O*NET: Child, Family, and School Social Workers; CSWE Directory of Accredited Programs; HRSA health workforce shortage areas.
Social Work Licensure in Utah
Licensing data from the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), the body that develops the social work licensing exams, captured 2026.
Utah licenses social workers at the bachelor level, so a CSWE-accredited BSW is the degree requirement for an entry-level license here. That makes program accreditation, the basis of our ranking, a direct licensing prerequisite.
| License | Name | Exam | CSWE BSW required |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSW1 | Social Service Worker 1 | No ASWB exam required | Not specified |
| SSW2 | Social Service Worker 2 | No ASWB exam required | Not specified |
The license ladder continues to the master's level (CSW), 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.