Statement Regarding CSWE Accreditation

The Master of Social Work program at Colby-Sawyer College has achieved candidacy for accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Board of Accreditation (BOA). 

Candidacy for a baccalaureate or master’s social work program by the BOA indicates that it has made progress toward meeting standards of program quality evaluated through a peer review accreditation process. A program that has attained candidacy status has demonstrated a commitment to meeting the standards set by the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) but has not yet demonstrated full compliance. 

Students that are admitted to candidate programs in the fall (or later) of the academic year in which the program is granted candidacy status will be retroactively recognized as graduates from a CSWE-BOA accredited program as long as the program attains initial accreditation. Candidacy is typically a 3-year process and attaining candidacy does not guarantee that a program will eventually attain initial accreditation. 

Candidacy applies to all program options, which includes locations and delivery methods. 

Accreditation provides reasonable assurance about the quality of the program and the competence of students graduating from the program. 

Review our program’s candidacy status in CSWE’s Directory of Accredited Programs. For more information about social work accreditation, contact CSWE’s Department of Social Work Accreditation.