Hawai‘i Pacific University Master of Social Work | OnlineHawai‘i Pacific University Master of Social Work | OnlineHawai‘i Pacific University Master of Social Work | Online

That’s why our online Master of Social Work (MSW) prepares you to develop a multicultural social work practice, advocate for social and economic justice, and assist in healing communities affected by intergenerational consequences of historical and cultural trauma. 

As an online student, you will immerse yourself in a learning process that interweaves Western and global Indigenous healing paradigms — a combination that is rarely taught in social work. In turn, you will develop an embodied, intuitive social work practice that helps you to listen, engage with, and serve diverse populations in a culturally humble way.

Diverse, global community 

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Hawai‘i Pacific University is home to a diverse faculty and student population. Once you enroll in this program, you officially become a member of our global ‘ohana.

Two program tracks

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You can apply for the Advanced Standing track if you earned a bachelor’s in social work (BSW) within the last five years, or for the Traditional track if you hold any other bachelor’s degree.

Low student-faculty ratio

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Small class sizes of no more than 15 students mean individual attention and mentorship from faculty members throughout the program.

No GRE required

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You’re more than your test scores — we know that. That’s why we look at other factors such as previous work experience, career plans, and your passion for social work.

Hawai‘i Pacific University seeks applicants with open minds and hearts who will serve in their communities.

The online MSW curriculum combines core courses, two program tracks, three focus options, a cultural immersion, and direct clinical experiences. You will learn to promote community wellbeing through a blend of Western and Indigenous pathways to healing, evidence-based practices, social service programs, and human-service policies. You’ll graduate ready to pursue licensure and serve diverse populations in multicultural settings.

The two program tracks include the following:

Traditional track: This 57-credit track is for you if you hold any other bachelor’s degree or a less recent BSW from an accredited four-year institution.

Advanced Standing track: This 30-credit track is for you if you have earned a bachelor’s in social work (BSW) from an accredited program within the past five years. 

This online MSW also offers three focus areas to choose from to help you serve the communities that matter most to you:

Advanced Generalist Practice: This focus builds on foundation year courses to further prepare you to address complex social issues at multiple levels, integrating micro, mezzo, and macro perspectives. It emphasizes flexibility, critical thinking, and the application of evidence-based practices to support individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

Global Indigenous: This focus builds on foundation year courses to further promote social work practice through a decolonial Indigenous lens. You will begin a process of decolonizing your thinking and move toward understanding social work practice from an interwoven approach that incorporates both Indigenous and Western worldviews. 

Military and Veterans Affairs: This focus will allow you to learn the nuances of social work practice within local, state, and federal government programs when engaging, assessing, and treating active-duty military, veterans, and military family members.

The online MSW program offers a required cultural immersion experience, which is a key part of your foundational learning. The immersion can be done in your home community or you can visit the university campus on the island of Oʻahu for a multi-day immersion. During this cultural immersion, you will:

Note that you are responsible for all immersion-related costs. If you are unable to travel to the Hawai‘i Pacific University campus, you will work with faculty to arrange an alternative experience in your home community.

You will complete 900 hours of fieldwork over four semesters that offers you local, federal, and even international exposure to social work practice. During these in-person clinical experiences, you will perform practice behaviors and activities to meet the nine social work competencies, as declared by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), as well as Hawai‘i Pacific University School of Social Work’s tenth competency that emphasizes Indigenous approaches.

These fieldwork experiences emphasize the needs of the communities. The communities you work with will tell you what services or projects they need you to complete.

Facilitate Community Care as a Social Work Leader

Be a fierce voice and advocate for people who continue to experience economic and social injustice.

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A complex world calls for flexible learning designed for your needs. In the online MSW program, you’ll find an intuitive platform, comprehensive support, and top-notch education designed for real people with real lives.

As a student in the online MSW program program, you will learn from Hawai‘i Pacific University faculty who are experienced, active practitioners and top researchers in the social work field. 

They know that social work is community care. That’s why they model and promote the value of relationships and community-building. You will always have mentors who offer support, guidance, accountability, and empowerment, and who remind their students to embrace the Native Hawaiian values of Pono (righteousness, justice, and balance), Kuleana (privilege and responsibility), and Aloha (acceptance, love, and empathy). In turn, you will graduate ready to offer the same to the communities you serve.

This online MSW offers the blueprint on how to engage and serve diverse populations in multicultural settings. Join us.

The online MSW prepares you to facilitate community care in the face of economic and social injustice. You will graduate ready to work effectively and respectfully with and on behalf of Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in a range of social work settings, such as:

Start your social work huaka‘i (journey) at Hawai‘i Pacific University, and grow into a reflective, culturally humble practitioner.