New Program Applicant Process

New Applicant Social Work Programs 

The Board of Accreditation (BOA) of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) to accredit baccalaureate and master’s social work degree programs in the United States and its territories. Information for institutions seeking to accredit new baccalaureate or master's in social work programs is outlined on this page. 

In addition to baccalaureate and master’s program accreditation, CSWE-BOA also accredits post-master’s social work fellowship programs and recently piloted the accreditation processes for practice doctorate programs; visit the respective pages for further information. 

New Applicant Process

Declare your intent to seek accreditation

• Email the Accreditation Services Manager(Opens in a new window) to be added to the expressed interest list. Please include:

  • Instiution Information​​​​:

    • Institution Name

    • State

    • President/Chancellor Name and Credentials

    • President/Chancellor Email

  • Program Information

    • Level (Baccalaureate or Master's)

    • Primary Contact Name and Credentials (see policy 4.1 in Accreditation Policy Handbook)

    • Primary Contact Email

Submit Candidacy Eligibility Application and Pay Candidacy Eligibility Fee

• Candidacy Eligibility Application

• Current Candidacy Fees and Related Expenses

  • Direct questions regarding accreditation fees to feesaccred@cswe.org.

Submit 2022 EPAS Benchmark 1 materials:

• Benchmark 1 Volume 1 Template

• Benchmark 2: Course Syllabi

• Benchmark 3: Student Handbook and Field Manual 

• Additional Resources for New Applicants:

  • Benchmark Grid 

    • The Benchmark Model chart illustrates which features of the Educational Policies and Academic Standards (EPAS) and which accreditation standards (AS) the program is working on during each candidacy visit

  • Faculty Hiring Grid 

    • Resource to assist programs in planning their faculty hiring throughout the candidacy process

  • 2022 EPAS Accreditation Team Approach Grid:

    • Optional resource for managing and delegating duties to team members.

  • Policy 4.7 Document Formatting & Submission Requirements in the Accreditation Policy Handbook: Required guidelines for formatting documents for submission to CSWE.

• 2022 EPAS Resources

  • 2022 EPAS Interpretation Guide

  • 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS)

  • Additional required forms, samples, and resources here. 

Review and Approval by Accreditation Services Manager(Opens in a new window) 

• Once approved, program is granted pre-candidacy status and is assigned to an accreditation specialist.

• For information regarding the candidacy process, from pre-candidacy through initial accreditaiton decision, please visit Candidacy Process.

Training and Consultations

Drop-In Group Consultations

Join the Accreditation Services Manager(Opens in a new window) for drop-in group consultations on the candidacy process(Opens in a new window). While these consultations are optional, we encourage all institutions considering accreditation to attend. Registration information can be found below. Please stay tuned for additional drop-in session dates.

The drop in sessions are applicable from the exploration phase through granting of pre-candidacy status/Benchmark 1 approval by CSWE Staff. All program faculty members and administrators are welcome to attend; a team-approach is encouraged. Topics discussed cover understanding timetable considerations, retroactive accreditation in relation to student admittance, required institutional actions to demonstrate accreditation eligibility. 

In addition, we recommend emailing the Accreditation Services Manager(Opens in a new window) to be added to the expressed interest list. Please include: 

Date	Day of the Week	Time (Eastern)	Registration Link
3/11/2025	Tuesday	12:00-1:15pm	https://cswe.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctduGppz8qH9esdLRoGjMPycyUB2_hUV_E(Opens in a new window)
3/26/2025	Wednesday	1:00-2:15pm	https://cswe.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYvdOirqzkoGtJPdYLqSK9jUMqcJtr-l6tJ(Opens in a new window)
4/9/2025	Wednesday	1:00-2:15pm	https://cswe.zoom.us/meeting/register/nTUnUMGsQ9Gfwx0onOTujQ(Opens in a new window)
4/22/2025	Tuesday	12:00-1:15pm	https://cswe.zoom.us/meeting/register/pLJWHzS5TN2T2EtBLT5KXA(Opens in a new window)
5/6/2025	Tuesday	1:00-2:15pm	https://cswe.zoom.us/meeting/register/p9ycCSb0Rjm8Bh3i_XoCrg(Opens in a new window)
5/21/2025	Wednesday	12:00-1:15pm	https://cswe.zoom.us/meeting/register/pam6vld4TLu-MQB3KT2awg(Opens in a new window)

One-on-one consultations are available as necessary. Email the Accreditation Services Manager to inquire and coordinate a time.

Training

• Review Presentation for New Applicant Programs at 2024 APM(Opens in a new window) 

• Attend 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) training for baccalaureate and master's programs hosted by CSWE staff members.

• Visit our training web page for previous presentation slide decks and upcoming opportunities.