Eastern Oregon University MSW program earns candidacy status

Eastern Oregon University’s online Master of Social Work program won candidacy status from the Council on Social Work Education Board of Accreditation, a step that moves the La Grande program closer to building a local pipeline for Union County and other rural communities. EOU said the designation shows the program has met substantial national standards and is part of its effort to address worker shortages across behavioral health, health care, schools, aging services and community-based organizations.

Christine Saladino, the MSW program director, said the milestone reflected years of collaboration among faculty, staff, university leadership and community partners. EOU President Dr. Kelly Ryan said the university is focused on preparing graduates for meaningful careers that address critical community needs.

The program was first publicly discussed in June 2023, when EOU said it was working to launch a new master’s degree to help address a shortage of mental health professionals in rural areas. Then-interim dean Rae Ette Newman described the need as a “drought” of mental health resources, a blunt label that fit the reality in many small Eastern Oregon communities where counseling and behavioral health services are hard to find.

EOU’s current catalog lists the degree as a 62-credit program requiring 900 field practicum hours. Students with a CSWE-accredited Bachelor of Social Work can enter an advanced standing track that takes 30 credits. The university says the program is 100% online and asynchronous, and that fieldwork can be completed in students’ local communities, a structure designed to let students stay in place while training for jobs that often are most scarce outside Oregon’s larger population centers.

The university also linked the MSW rollout to affordability. In 2025, EOU announced Oregon Health Authority Health Care Workforce Grant-backed scholarships for Oregon residents during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 academic years, including full tuition for up to 12 full-time Oregon residents in Fall 2025 and additional scholarships of up to $6,260 in later terms. EOU is now accepting applications for Spring 2027 and Fall 2027, and its licensure disclosure says students admitted in the fall of the academic year candidacy is granted may be retroactively recognized if the program later earns initial accreditation.