Council on Social Work Education Assessment – MSW Program

The MSW program is a newer program and has currently achieved official “Candidacy” status from the Council on Social Work Education. Accreditation is a multi-year process. Here is the official statement regarding Valparaiso University’s MSW Candidacy Status:

Valparaiso University’s MSW Program has achieved candidacy for accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Board of Accreditation (BOA).

Candidacy status indicates that it has made progress toward meeting standards of program quality evaluated through a peer review accreditation process. A program that has attained candidacy status has demonstrated a commitment to meeting the accreditation standards but has not yet demonstrated full compliance.

Students who are admitted to candidate programs in the fall (or later) of the academic year in which the program is granted candidacy status will be retroactively recognized as graduates from a CSWE-BOA accredited program as long as the program attains initial accreditation.

Candidacy is typically a 3-year process, and attaining candidacy does not guarantee that a program will eventually attain initial accreditation.

Candidacy applies to all program options, which include locations and delivery methods.

Accreditation provides reasonable assurance about the quality of the program and the competence of students graduating from the program.

Review our program’s candidacy status in CSWE’s Directory of Accredited Programs. For more information about social work accreditation, contact CSWE’s Department of Social Work Accreditation.

We invite you to explore our guiding documents. The program follows the 2022 Education Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS):

2026:

• 2025-2026 Form_AS_M5.0.1d_Public_Reporting_of_Assessment_Outcomes
• 2025-2026 MSW Assessment Action Plan
• 2025-2026 Form_5.0.3M_Program_Outcomes_Assessment
• 2025-2026 AS 5.O.2(a-b)_MSW_Implicit Curriculum_Assessment