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CSU

California State University-Monterey Bay

📍 Seaside, CA · Public
MSWCSWE Accredited

At a glance

MSW Tuition
$9.3K · $19K
in-state / out-of-state · /yr
Total Program
$19K · $39K
2yr program · in-state / out-of-state
MSW Grads
51
2023–24 actual
LCSW Payback
0.9yr
After licensure

Across all programs at the institution, 68% of students take at least one course online, and 12% are enrolled exclusively online.

CSWE-Accredited Programs at California State University-Monterey Bay

MSW · Master of Social Work

Initially accredited 2010 · Status: Accredited
Available at: Seaside, CA
Visit program page → · msw@csumb.edu

What this MSW costs you — and how fast it pays back

At $9.3K/yr in-state tuition, the full California State University-Monterey Bay MSW program runs about $19K over 2 years. After completing post-MSW supervised hours (typically 2 years) and passing the ASWB Clinical exam, an LCSW in clinical practice typically earns ~$20,000/yr more than an LMSW without clinical licensure. That makes your tuition payback period roughly 0.9 years after licensure.

This is a directional estimate using BLS national medians. Actual ROI varies by region, setting, and specialization. Out-of-state students typically face higher tuition; some programs offer assistantships that reduce net cost.

Data sources & methodology. Tuition, enrollment, and institutional metadata are pulled from the IPEDS 2024-25 release (NCES). CSWE accreditation status, program format, and locations are from the public CSWE Accredited Programs directory. Graduation counts come from IPEDS Completions (CIP code 44.0701, July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024). LCSW salary lift estimate uses a conservative $20,000/yr delta between LMSW and LCSW (vs ~$30K vs no MSW) — see BLS OEWS 2023. Information last updated May 2026 — accreditation status, tuition, and program details may have changed since IPEDS reporting; always verify with the school directly. Browse all 622 programs →