The CSWE organizational mission includes the charge to advocate for social work education and research. CSWE's strategic plan outlines the need for research to inform policy and practice and to serve the needs of CSWE member programs—their deans, directors, faculty members, and students. The CSWE Commission on Research (COR) and CSWE research staff work to serve that need. The COR developed research priorities with input from the CSWE commissions and councils to guide their work; they will report on progress periodically.
CSWE conducts research through surveys, the annual census of social work programs, and quality assurance measures for the Board on Accreditation. Descriptions of the ongoing research efforts and reports on the results are available in this section. Contact the Institutional Research staff for more information about projects and data.
Research Updates
2020 Annual Survey of Social Work Programs
The Annual Survey of Social Work Programs (Annual Survey) is a census of social work programs in the United States and its territories conducted by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) since 1952. Data collected in the Annual Survey are the primary source of information about social work students, graduates, and faculty. View the 2020 survey results.
The Value of Accredited Social Work Programs
Accredited social work programs have value not only to the students seeking quality education and a career in social work. Accredited programs also have value for colleges and universities that provide that education. CSWE members can 
download a 1-page highlight here.
Pulse Surveys
Spring 2021
As COVID-19 continued to force higher education institutions in the United States to make adjustments and alter their operations in spring 2021, CSWE collected additional real-time data on the shifting landscape of social work education in the United States. The spring 2021 pulse survey was launched on March 10, 2021. Focuses of the survey were field placements and collecting innovative ideas to minimize the impact on students, as well as applications, enrollment, staffing, budget concerns, and student and faculty/staff member well-being. More than 260 unique institutions responded to the survey, representing 226 baccalaureate programs, 130 master's programs, 10 practice doctorate programs, and 23 research doctorate programs. A reference copy of the spring 2021 survey is available here. You can access the brief here.
Fall 2020
Respondents were asked to identify how their programs were being administered in the fall 2020 semester and whether this was different from how they traditionally administered the program. E-mail invitations were sent in early September to program representatives from all CSWE-accredited baccalaureate and master’s social work programs and to primary contacts for the practice doctorate and research doctorate program sections for the CSWE Annual Survey of Social Work Programs. More than 250 unique institutions responded to the survey, representing 214 baccalaureate programs, 131 master’s programs, nine practice doctorate programs, and 22 research doctorate programs. Access the brief here.
Spring 2020
A short pulse survey was administered in March 2020, as institutions were first experiencing the impacts of the pandemic, to better understand how CSWE's members were being affected. A short brief with the results is available here.
CSWE/GADE Report on the Current Landscape of Doctoral Education in Social Work
More social work students are pursuing doctoral degrees today compared to 5 years ago. This report paints a picture of practice doctorate and research doctorate programs by highlighting trends in enrollment, degrees conferred, student demographics, program offerings, students' goals for completing the degrees, and more. The data also show a steady increase in the number of practice and research doctorate programs being offered over the last 5 years. Read the report for more insights.
Social Work Student Perceptions: Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Educational Experience and Goals
CSWE presents research that shows that more than nine in 10 social work students whose in-person classes moved online during the spring 2020 semester would be interested in returning to the classroom. The survey, conducted in partnership with faculty members from the California State University, Sacramento, Division of Social Work, showed the impact on students when social work education moved online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also gathered information about students' intentions to enroll in fall 2020 courses in different scenarios and how students had been personally affected by the pandemic.
Specifically, the results show that 91.1% of students who had face-to-face classes in the spring would reenroll in face-to-face classes in thhe fall if offered by their programs. Access the full brief here.
2015 State of Field Education Survey
Read a final report of findings on the 2015 State of Field Education Survey from the CSWE Council on Field Education. The first publication from this survey was an executive summary released in 2015. The final report provides additional analysis with a focus on field directors.
National Workforce Initiative
In 2015 the Leadership Roundtable launched a national social work workforce study encompassing all levels and fields of practice. The George Washington University Health Workforce Institute has produced three products: Profile of the Social Work Workforce and reports on graduates from 2017 and 2018. Read more about the workforce study here.