What is Macro Social Work?
Macro social work focuses on applying social work skills, ethics, and foundations to engage, assess, evaluate, and implement interventions with larger groups, organizations, or communities. Macro social workers often work in administration, management, community organizing, research, and policy/advocacy roles. Rather than working one-on-one with individuals, macro social workers typically address systemic change.
Career Outcomes for Macro Social Work
- Nonprofit director
- Policy advocate (lobbyist)
- Community organizer
- Program leader
- Program evaluator
- Higher education (teaching, leadership, organization)
- Researcher
- So many more
Paths to Licensure for Macro Social Work
For Macro social work you can attain a Licensed Advanced Practice Social Worker (LAPSW) licensure. This license focuses on administration, advocacy, policy, research, and macro-level case management. An LAPSW is generally not licensed to provide clinical mental health services.
More details on how to attain an LAPSW in Tennessee can be found here.
Organizational Leadership Specialty – How Our Macro Degree Is Different
Along with being the only macro program in Tennessee, our macro concentration is unique among other programs in the country due to it being designed specifically around Organizational Leadership. The Organizational Leadership concentration is designed for students who aspire to lead, innovate, and drive positive change within agencies, nonprofits, and community and government organizations. Students are equipped with skills that prepare them to oversee programs, guide teams, and influence policy at the organizational level. Graduates are empowered to become visionary leaders who shape effective services and advocate for lasting improvements across the field of social work.
Network for Social Work Management Partnership
The UT College of Social Work is affiliated with The Network for Social Work Management (NSWM), an international organization focused on advancing social work management and leadership. Students enrolled in the MSSW Organizational Leadership concentration at the University of Tennessee are automatically eligible for the NSWM’s Human Services Management Certificate — a nationally recognized credential that strengthens your qualifications for nonprofit and agency leadership roles.
What is Clinical Social Work?
Whereas macro social work focuses on overall systemic change, cinical social work (sometimes called micro social work) is built around a more direct approach, often working with individuals, families, or small groups directly in a variety of settings using clinical skills of engagement, assessment, and intervention to help them to flourish in the setting in which they exist. Built upon the foundations of social work, clinical social workers operate from a strengths-based perspective and see the whole person in their own environment and in everything they are connected to. Clinical social workers often work as mental health therapists, but are also found in hospitals, schools, higher education, sports organizations, and even farms with animal-assisted therapy or veterinary social work.
Career Outcomes for Clinical Social Work
- Mental health therapist
- School social worker
- Medical / healthcare social worker
- Substance use / addictions counselor
- Geriatric clinical social worker
- Veterinary social work
- Family therapist
- So many more
Paths the Licensure for Clinical Social Work
Clinical social workers can become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). This license focuses on providing mental health therapy, diagnosing mental health conditions, connecting clients to community resources, and creating evidence-based treatment plans.
More information on becoming an LCSW can be found here.
What Makes Our Clinical Degree Different
Our Clinical Practice (CP) concentration prepares students to become skilled practitioners who provide direct, evidence-based support to individuals, families, and groups facing mental health challenges, trauma, or life transitions. This degree path emphasizes advanced training in assessment, counseling techniques, and therapeutic interventions. Graduates are equipped to treat clients across a wide variety of settings.
What is Field Education?
Field education is a required critical component of each student’s academic program. While other academic disciplines may use the word “internship” to describe this applied learning experience, the social work field experience is very in-depth and extensive.
Students in field placements work under the supervision of experienced social work professionals across a variety of settings to train in integrating theory, research, and practice. Placement settings might include schools, courtrooms, hospitals, nursing homes, state agencies, emergency shelters, residential programs, mental health organizations, addiction treatment centers, and many others.
What Makes Our Field Education Different
While most schools leave the matchmaking solely up to the student, the UTCSW works with the student at every step in the process. The Field Coordinator for your program will work with you to explore your practice interests, identify and approve prospective placements, and facilitate your placement interviews.
How to Choose the Right Path for You
Choosing the right social work path starts with understanding what kind of impact you want to make, and how you want to work.
If you’re fueled by deep, one-on-one connections, Clinical social work might be the path for you. Do you wake up excited to sit with people, helping them navigate complex emotions, relationships, or life transitions? If so, clinical social work may be your calling. This path is for those who find meaning in exploring feelings, providing support during tough times, and building therapeutic relationships. If listening deeply and being present for individuals makes your day feel worthwhile, clinical practice puts you right where those moments happen.
If you’re fascinated by the bigger picture, then you may decide to choose macro social work. Maybe your curiosity drives you to ask, “How does this policy affect an entire community?” or “What systems need to change so more people can thrive?” If so, macro social work could be your best fit. Here, you’ll spend your days researching, interviewing diverse voices, and connecting dots between laws, resources, and real-life outcomes. If tying perspectives together and influencing change at a group or societal level excites you, macro practice lets you zoom out and reimagine how systems serve people.
To sum it up:
- Macro is engaging a system or larger number of people and implementing programs and policies
- Clinical is meeting people more one on one depending on the setting
Ultimately, there is no wrong answer. And the great thing that a social work career offers is the flexibility to switch between macro and clinical social work fields with ease.
Certificates To Specialize Either Path
Graduate and postgraduate certificates for social workers offer specialized programs to deepen expertise in specific areas of practice. These certificates combine advanced elective coursework with hands-on field experience, giving you practical skills and knowledge tailored to your interests. Whether you’re leaning toward macro (systems-level) or clinical (individual-focused) practice, these certificates apply to both tracks and can help you stand out and shape your career.
Our Graduate Certificate Options
- Forensic Social Work Graduate Certificate
- Focus: Supporting people and communities involved with legal and correctional systems. Can be applied to both macro (advocacy, policy) and clinical (direct service) roles.
- Gerontology Graduate Certificate
- Focus: Addressing the needs and opportunities of the aging populations. Flexible for direct work with older adults (clinical) or shaping programs and policies (macro).
- School Social Work Licensure
- Focus: Promoting student mental health and well-being in K–12 settings. Primarily clinical through direct support but also includes systems-level impact on school policy.
- Sport Social Work Graduate Certificate
- Focus: Enhancing an athlete’s well-being in teams and community programs. Useful for individual counseling (clinical) as well as program development and advocacy (macro).
- Trauma Treatment Graduate Certificate
- Focus: Helping individuals, families, and communities affected by trauma. Mostly clinical through evidence-based treatment but can also inform trauma-informed practices at broader levels.
- Veterinary Social Work Graduate Certificate
- Focus: Educates mental health professionals in four core areas of veterinary social work. Perfect for those interested in the intersection of animal welfare and human well-being. Also, a continuing education certificate—not a degree program.
Our Postgraduate Certificates:
- Organizational Leadership
- Focus: Gain expertise in management, budgeting, resource development, and leadership. Ideal for those working with nonprofit agencies or community organizations. Not a degree—this is a continuing education certificate to enhance leadership skills.
- Trauma Treatment Postgraduate Certificate
- Focus: Deepen your knowledge and practice in trauma treatment. Designed for those with graduate degrees in social work, counseling, human services, or allied health professions seeking advanced trauma intervention skills.
- Veterinary Social Work Postgraduate Certificate
- Focus: Educates mental health professionals in four core areas of veterinary social work. Perfect for those interested in the intersection of animal welfare and human well-being. Also, a continuing education certificate—not a degree program.
Dual Degrees to Go Further
If you’re passionate about broadening your influence and want to blend social work with another professional area, pursuing a dual degree can open exciting doors. Dual degree programs allow you to earn your MSSW alongside another graduate credential, enhancing your expertise, marketability, and potential leadership.
Our Dual Degree Options:
- MSSW + JD (Juris Doctorate)
- Blend social work with law for roles in legal advocacy, policy development, and supporting vulnerable populations in justice systems.
- MSSW + MLS (Master of Legal Studies)
- Pair social work with foundational legal studies to navigate regulations, compliance, and policy within agencies—without becoming an attorney.
- MSSW + MBA (Master of Business Administration)
- Combine social work expertise with business leadership, preparing for nonprofit management, program administration, and organizational growth.
About the University of Tennessee College of Social Work
The University of Tennessee College of Social Work (UTCSW) is nationally recognized for its academic excellence, ranking #13 among public universities and #24 overall for graduate social work programs. With over 17 years of experience in online education, multiple campus locations, and CSWE-accredited programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, the UTCSW prepares students for versatile and impactful careers. Graduates are equipped with real-world skills, supported by dedicated faculty, and go on to make a difference across diverse fields including healthcare, education, justice systems, and nonprofit leadership.
