Master of Social Work: General – California

LU’s MSW program offers all the courses and internships necessary to meet education requirements for licensure in California* for any of the following credentials. Students are encouraged to meet with their gate advisor by contacting msw@liberty.edu for course selection and sequencing information to ensure they will meet the requirements for their specific license of choice.

*Please note that state licensure regulations and requirements are subject to change. Students are encouraged to consult their state licensing board (California) regularly for updated information.

Associate Clinical Social Worker (ASW)

• Exam Requirement: No exam required.
• Postgraduate Supervised Experience Requirement: No postgraduate supervised experience required before licensure.
• Additional Requirements
  • Completed 12 hours of graduate-level coursework in California Law and Ethics.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)

• Exam Requirement: The candidate must pass an ASWB exam for the appropriate licensure level.
• Postgraduate Supervised Experience Requirement: In a period of no less than 104 weeks, the candidate must have completed at least two (2) years (OR 3,000 hours) of post-degree supervised experience in clinical social work, including at least 2,000 hours in clinical psychosocial diagnosis, assessment, and treatment, including psychotherapy or counseling. At least 1,700 of these experience hours (13 weeks) must be supervised by a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW); the remainder may be supervised by an LCSW, a licensed professional clinical counselor, a licensed marriage and family therapist, a licensed psychologist, a licensed education psychologist, or a physician/surgeon who is certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry. This must be concurrent with a minimum rate of one (1) hour of direct clinical supervision per week, of which 52 weeks of supervision must be individual, triadic, or both.
• Additional Requirements
  • Must hold a current, active ASW registration.
  • Passed a California Laws and Ethics examination.
  • Completed the following additional courses, either in fulfillment of other educational requirements for licensure or in a separate course:
    • Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention (6 hours)
    • Provision of Mental Health Services via Telehealth (3 hours)
    • Child Abuse Assessment and Reporting in California (7 hours)
    • Human Sexuality (10 hours)
    • Alcoholism and Other Chemical Substance Abuse and Dependency (15 hours)
    • Aging, Long Term Care and Elder/Dependent Adult Abuse (10 hours)
    • Spousal/Partner Abuse Assessment, Detection, and Intervention (15 hours)
    • California Cultures and the Social and Psychological Implications of Socioeconomic Position (15 hours or 1 semester unit)