Methodology · 2027 Edition
How Kentucky's MSW Census Gets Built
Every tuition estimate on this site is built from two officially published inputs and one visible formula. Where inputs were missing, we label the gap instead of guessing — and every Kentucky-specific quirk, including the Louisville planning-estimate caveat, is documented below.
Why this count is Kentucky-only
Kentucky’s MSW landscape doesn’t fit a national template. The flagship in Lexington charges every online student in-state tuition and publishes its own per-credit estimates. A private nonprofit in Campbellsville pairs a published $640 rate with a faith-integrated curriculum. Louisville runs the state’s only MSSW (Master of Science in Social Work) through its Kent School. And Kentucky State University’s program is excluded entirely — its own catalog discloses it is not currently CSWE-accredited. Averaging those together would be honest-looking fiction, so this census works one Kentucky program at a time, from published Kentucky university sources, with the trail shown for every figure.
What we'll put a number on — and what we won't
A number appears on this site only when the university has published both halves of it: (1) a per-credit graduate tuition rate with a stated year and residency, and (2) the required credit total for the track. One half missing means the cell reads not published — we don’t interpolate, extrapolate, or borrow another program's rate.
This rule is what makes the census a census instead of a guess. In this edition it means four of Kentucky’s nine programs carry estimates and five don’t. The four: UK ($790/credit, 2025–26), WKU ($607 resident, 2025–26), and Campbellsville ($640/credit) all use program-specific published rates. Louisville is the deliberate exception: the university publishes no MSSW-specific per-credit rate, so its figures use the university’s standard online graduate rate ($850/credit) as a clearly labeled planning estimate — never presented as a Kent School price. NKU, Brescia, EKU, Pikeville, and Spalding each lacked a confirmed per-credit rate in current primary sources, so they are labeled not published.
The arithmetic, shown in the open
Each estimate is worked out separately per track (regular, advanced standing), because credit totals differ by track. The math sits on every program profile — e.g., UK regular standing: 60 × $790 = $47,400; WKU advanced standing: 33 × $607 = $20,031.
Every estimate is tuition only — no mandatory fees, books, field-education costs, or living expenses, and no financial aid subtracted. That’s deliberate: the sticker figure first, so you can do your own subtraction with scholarships and assistantships rather than trusting someone else’s net-price math.
Residency rates, rate years, and the Louisville caveat
Every estimate carries two labels: the rate year and the residency basis. UK charges all online social work students in-state tuition ($790/credit, 2025–26) and offers block tuition that can cut full-time costs by up to 40% — the census’s most distinctive pricing feature. WKU’s estimates use the resident graduate rate ($607); distance-only online students are assessed a different rate ($707), which is flagged on the profile. Campbellsville publishes a single $640 rate for everyone.
The Louisville figures deserve their own label: they are planning estimates built from UofL’s standard online graduate tuition rate ($850/credit) because no MSSW-specific rate could be verified. The Kent School may set program-specific rates, and campus rates differ. Treat Louisville’s numbers as a budgeting sketch, not a quote — and confirm the real rate with the school.
Universities reprice every academic year: a 2025–26-based estimate is a planning figure for 2027 entry, not a quote. Confirm the live rate with the university itself before you enroll — never with this page.
How each Kentucky program got checked
Accreditation status was checked against the CSWE directory of accredited programs and university-published pages, including three Kentucky quirks that needed care: UPIKE’s initial accreditation (granted March 2023), Brescia’s initial accreditation (granted February 2019), and Spalding’s continuous accreditation since November 2000. Kentucky State University was excluded after its own CourseLeaf catalog was observed carrying a public disclosure that its MSW is “not currently accredited by CSWE” — the census excludes unaccredited programs rather than scoring them.
Credit totals came from graduate catalogs and program handbooks; tuition rates from official tuition schedules and program pages. Every profile lists its sources with links. Where a source couldn’t be verified — Spalding’s regular-standing credit total, confirmed only in secondary sources — the input was treated as unpublished.
Licensure summaries were checked against the Kentucky legislature’s published statutes: KRS 335.100 for the CSW/LSW/LCSW framework, 201 KAR 23:025 for the LCSW’s two years of supervised clinical experience including 200 documented supervision hours, and 201 KAR 23:016. This edition was last verified in October 2026.
Where the census is thin
- Every estimate leaves out fees, books, field costs, and living expenses — real cost of attendance runs higher.
- No estimate subtracts financial aid — scholarships and assistantships bring net cost down from here.
- Rate years differ across programs; cross-program comparisons mix vintages.
- Louisville’s figures are planning estimates from the university standard online graduate rate, not published MSSW prices.
- A delivery format counts only when the university states it outright; silence is labeled "confirm with the program," never inferred.
- Licensure summaries describe general paths; confirm current requirements with the Kentucky Board of Social Work.