Which ONLINE college can I complete credits to obtain Bachelors fastest?

[sanantone]

You should calculate whether it's cheaper to do a non-social work bachelor's plus a 60-credit MSW or a BSW and a 30 to 36-credit MSW. Generally, undergraduate tuition is cheaper, and advanced standing MSW programs require far fewer credits. Plus, if you qualify for the Pell Grant, you can only use it at the undergraduate level.

[ss20ts]

@OP, I merged the two threads, it's essentially the same info/questions: Bachelors > MSW > Licensure
Each person has their own scenario/situation or something, it all depends on you to complete the requirements of the degree. You may want to fill in the last post addendum here to give us more details, so we can provide appropriate advice: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Essentially, without more details from you, it's hard to decipher what Bachelors would be better for you as you're working full time.  I am hard pressed to recommend UMPI, I suggest Excelsior for max transfer of alternative credits and to take the 7 credits for residency requirements.  You must make sure to take prerequisite courses required for your Masters, you need to find a few of your choice so you know the requirements and take them.

I can take credits through excelsior while enrolled in UMPI?

---

You'd have to enroll at Excelsior to take classes there.

---

You should calculate whether it's cheaper to do a non-social work bachelor's plus a 60-credit MSW or a BSW and a 30 to 36-credit MSW. Generally, undergraduate tuition is cheaper, and advanced standing MSW programs require far fewer credits. Plus, if you qualify for the Pell Grant, you can only use it at the undergraduate level.

There's also the time factor.

[sanantone]

@OP, I merged the two threads, it's essentially the same info/questions: Bachelors > MSW > Licensure
Each person has their own scenario/situation or something, it all depends on you to complete the requirements of the degree. You may want to fill in the last post addendum here to give us more details, so we can provide appropriate advice: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Essentially, without more details from you, it's hard to decipher what Bachelors would be better for you as you're working full time.  I am hard pressed to recommend UMPI, I suggest Excelsior for max transfer of alternative credits and to take the 7 credits for residency requirements.  You must make sure to take prerequisite courses required for your Masters, you need to find a few of your choice so you know the requirements and take them.

I can take credits through excelsior while enrolled in UMPI?

---

You'd have to enroll at Excelsior to take classes there.

---

You should calculate whether it's cheaper to do a non-social work bachelor's plus a 60-credit MSW or a BSW and a 30 to 36-credit MSW. Generally, undergraduate tuition is cheaper, and advanced standing MSW programs require far fewer credits. Plus, if you qualify for the Pell Grant, you can only use it at the undergraduate level.

There's also the time factor.

Earning a BSW cuts a year off of the MSW. The OP potentially has 44 credits, but they would have to apply first to see what will transfer. There might be BSW programs that will allow the student to test out of general education courses. Either way, there's no getting around the practica.

[ss20ts]

Earning a BSW cuts a year off of the MSW. The OP potentially has 44 credits, but they would have to apply first to see what will transfer. There might be BSW programs that will allow the student to test out of general education courses. Either way, there's no getting around the practica.

And how long would it take to complete a BSW versus say the BLS at UMPI? The BLS at UMPI can be completed in under 6 months. Doubtful that a BSW can be completed in that timeframe.

[dfrecore]

You should calculate whether it's cheaper to do a non-social work bachelor's plus a 60-credit MSW or a BSW and a 30 to 36-credit MSW. Generally, undergraduate tuition is cheaper, and advanced standing MSW programs require far fewer credits. Plus, if you qualify for the Pell Grant, you can only use it at the undergraduate level.

The issue is going to be getting those clinical hours in.  If you need to work to live, then getting the hours you need for the BSW may be almost impossible to do.

But, if you get a fast, inexpensive bachelor's degree, you can then work and save up for the MSW - and while you're at it, you may even be able to get better paying jobs because you have a degree.  Getting the BSW first means you are stuck for a good long while, and then you come out with a degree that is almost (but not quite) meaningless.  You almost HAVE to get a MSW afterwards for it to have any value.

But I agree that you need to find the combination that works best, and makes the most of your available time/money/effort now and in the future.

[bjcheung77]

@OP, I merged the two threads, it's essentially the same info/questions: Bachelors > MSW > Licensure
Each person has their own scenario/situation or something, it all depends on you to complete the requirements of the degree. You may want to fill in the last post addendum here to give us more details, so we can provide appropriate advice: https://www.degreeforum.net/mybb/Thread-...Area-works

Essentially, without more details from you, it's hard to decipher what Bachelors would be better for you as you're working full time.  I am hard pressed to recommend UMPI, I suggest Excelsior for max transfer of alternative credits and to take the 7 credits for residency requirements.  You must make sure to take prerequisite courses required for your Masters, you need to find a few of your choice so you know the requirements and take them.

I can take credits through excelsior while enrolled in UMPI?

What I meant by 'hard pressed' is that it's not advisable to recommend UMPI because you're working full time. Instead, I mentioned that I recommend Excelsior University... The main reason is because you're working full time, depending on your budget, commitments, and other variables, Excelsior may be the better choice as they only need 7 credits residency requirements, the 113 credits can be transferred in through self-paced ACE/NCCRS credit providers.

[sanantone]

Earning a BSW cuts a year off of the MSW. The OP potentially has 44 credits, but they would have to apply first to see what will transfer. There might be BSW programs that will allow the student to test out of general education courses. Either way, there's no getting around the practica.

And how long would it take to complete a BSW versus say the BLS at UMPI? The BLS at UMPI can be completed in under 6 months. Doubtful that a BSW can be completed in that timeframe.

Most people don't complete competency-based bachelor's programs in six months. Most don't even complete them in one year. 

You should calculate whether it's cheaper to do a non-social work bachelor's plus a 60-credit MSW or a BSW and a 30 to 36-credit MSW. Generally, undergraduate tuition is cheaper, and advanced standing MSW programs require far fewer credits. Plus, if you qualify for the Pell Grant, you can only use it at the undergraduate level.

The issue is going to be getting those clinical hours in.  If you need to work to live, then getting the hours you need for the BSW may be almost impossible to do.

But, if you get a fast, inexpensive bachelor's degree, you can then work and save up for the MSW - and while you're at it, you may even be able to get better paying jobs because you have a degree.  Getting the BSW first means you are stuck for a good long while, and then you come out with a degree that is almost (but not quite) meaningless.  You almost HAVE to get a MSW afterwards for it to have any value.

But I agree that you need to find the combination that works best, and makes the most of your available time/money/effort now and in the future.

You're still going to need two practicums for the MSW if you don't have a BSW. Advanced standing programs typically require one practicum. A liberal studies degree might or might not lead to a higher-paying job, but the pay will rarely be high enough to allow for significant savings, especially if one is working in human services. 

I'm not saying the BSW to MSW path definitively makes better sense, but it should be considered along with accelerated BSW/MSW joint programs in which some of your courses will count toward the BSW and MSW. Of course, New York doesn't appear to have a BSW license like some other states do, but they do have job openings looking for BSWs. A worksite practicum is an option for MSW students if their employer has a qualified social work supervisor.

[ss20ts]

Earning a BSW cuts a year off of the MSW. The OP potentially has 44 credits, but they would have to apply first to see what will transfer. There might be BSW programs that will allow the student to test out of general education courses. Either way, there's no getting around the practica.

And how long would it take to complete a BSW versus say the BLS at UMPI? The BLS at UMPI can be completed in under 6 months. Doubtful that a BSW can be completed in that timeframe.

Most people don't complete competency-based bachelor's programs in six months. Most don't even complete them in one year. 

The OP already has 44 credits. So they're not starting from scratch. We have had many people on here complete their UMPI degree in 6 months who start with nothing. I have not seen anyone take a year to complete their degree at UMPI.

[allvia]

You can't become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with an MA in psychology. Also, no BSW is going to be super quick. It requires hundreds of hours of internship experience as does the MSW.

Depending on the state, you'll need a certain number of supervised clinical hours after graduating with your MSW to become an LCSW/LICSW.

Social work regulations and licensure/registration requirements: https://www.aswb.org/regulation/laws-and...-database/

As far as MSW programs, I did a ton of research and ultimately chose Western New Mexico U.  It's a CSWE accredited school, fully online/asynchronous, with extremely flexible options, more electives than many of its competitors, 6 start dates each year, and a completely flexible curriculum as far as how many courses and in what order you take them.

In addition to the above, I would recommend you take a look at a few MSW programs and write down the majority of their requirements. Your main goal is to complete the required Bachelors for entry, it doesn't have to be a BSW if you want a quicker way to get the check the box Bachelors.   WNMU is a good school, there is another one I would recommend is Eastern University for about the same price range and also completely online.  In short, Bachelors> MSW> License requirements

Eastern University doesn't meet the requirements for NY, they are very transparent on this - https://www.eastern.edu/about/accreditat...l-work-msw. I can't speak to the program at WNMU, it doesn't list this information anywhere that I can see.

[carrythenothing]

I can't speak to the program at WNMU, it doesn't list this information anywhere that I can see.

https://socialwork.wnmu.edu/about/social...sclosures/

MSW: Western New Mexico University’s Master’s of Social Work meets professional licensure standards for the state of New York and is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.