Macro vs Mezzo vs Micro Social Work Field Guide

If you have a heart for helping others, social work could be the perfect career for you. Social workers play a crucial role in assisting families in crisis, individuals with mental illness, and communities plagued by poor health, unemployment, homelessness, substance abuse, child neglect, and other complex social issues.

With an increase in demand for health care and social services, social worker jobs are expected to grow 13 percent between 2019 and 2029, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of May 2021. The number of jobs available will vary by specialization, and for most licensed careers in this field, you’ll need a master’s degree in social work.

Before actively pursuing a career in social work, consider which area of social work you’d like to pursue. Social work is typically divided into three scopes of practice:

Macro

Mezzo

Micro

University of Southern California

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Master of Social Work (MSW)

The MSW@USC is the online Master of Social Work from top-ranked USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. USC offers virtual and in-person field education, and students focus on adults, youth or social change.

Minimum completion time: 16 months
Online classes taught by USC faculty
Virtual field training to build skills and confidence

University of Denver

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Master of Social Work (MSW)

The University of Denver’s Online MSW Program is delivered by its top-ranked school of social work and offers two programs. Students can earn their degree in as few as 12 months for the Online Advanced-Standing MSW or 27 months for the Online MSW.

Complete the Online Advanced-Standing MSW in as few as 12 months if you have a BSW; if you do not have a BSW, the Online MSW Program may be completed in as few as 27 months.
No GRE Required
Customizable pathway options include Mental Health and Trauma or Health, Equity and Wellness concentrations

Fordham University

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Master of Social Work (MSW)

Fordham’s skills-based, online MSW program integrates advanced relevant social work competencies, preparing students to serve individuals and communities while moving the profession forward. This program includes advanced standing and traditional MSW options.

Traditional and advanced standing online MSW options are available.
There are four areas of focus: Individuals and Families, Organizations and Community, Evaluation, and Policy Practice and Advocacy.
Pursue the degree on a full-time or part-time track.

Simmons University

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Master of Social Work (MSW)

Aspiring direct practitioners can earn their MSW online from Simmons University in as few as 9 months. GRE scores are not required, and the program offers full-time, part-time, accelerated, and advanced standing tracks.

Prepares students to pursue licensure, including LCSW
Full-time, part-time, and accelerated tracks
Minimum completion time: 9 months

Syracuse University

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Master of Social Work (MSW)

Syracuse University’s online Master of Social Work program does not require GRE scores to apply and is focused on preparing social workers who embrace technology as an important part of the future of the profession. Traditional and Advanced Standing tracks are available.

Traditional and Advanced Standing tracks
No GRE required
Concentrate your degree in integrated practice or clinical practice

Baylor University

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Master of Social Work (MSW)

Complete the Master of Social Work online program at Baylor University in as few as 12 months. Serve populations in Texas and around the world while ethically integrating faith and social work practice. No GRE required.

Address injustice from a strengths-based perspective
Ethically integrates faith and social work practice
Serve as a trusted resource for clients, no matter their personal background
Complete the MSW online program in as few as 12 months

Howard University

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Master of Social Work (MSW)

The online Master of Social Work program from Howard University School of Social Work prepares students for advanced direct or macro practice in culturally diverse communities. Two concentrations available: Direct Practice and Community, Administration, and Policy Practice. No GRE. Complete in as few as 12 months.

Concentrations: Direct Practice and Community, Administration, and Policy Practice
Complete at least 777-1,000 hours of agency-based field education
Earn your degree in as few as 12 months

Case Western Reserve University

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Master of Social Work (MSW)

In as few as a year and a half, you can prepare for social work leadership by earning your Master of Social Work online from Case Western Reserve University’s school of social work.

CSWE-accredited
No GRE requirement
Complete in as few as one and a half years

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Understanding Macro, Mezzo, and Micro Social Work

These three areas of focus in social work practice may overlap but it is important to understand the distinctions between these social work approaches.

Macro Social Work

What is Macro Social Work?

Macro social work encompasses practices like social work research, program development for small and large communities, community-based education initiatives, policy analysis and advocacy, non-profit administration and leadership, and organizational development.

Social workers in this category can frequently be found at government agencies, non-profit organizations, think tanks, and advocacy groups. They typically collaborate with a larger team of researchers, advocates, activists, analysts, educators, and/or government employees. They might lobby to change a health care law or organize a state-wide activist group to advocate for large-scale social policy change.

Importance of Macro Social Work

Because of its focus on policy change and fighting against unjust government or economic practices, macro social work ultimately builds stronger communities and provides better quality of life for the people living in them.

Michael Reisch, the Daniel Thursz Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Social Justice at the University of Maryland, noted that macro social work focuses on the big picture and the prevention of societal problems.

Students in a macro MSW program receive general instruction in social work theory, research methodologies, and ethics, as well as in the design and implementation of social welfare and assistance initiatives.

To learn more about some of the benefits of macro social from an actual social worker, read our interview with Lisa Primm, an executive director of a nonprofit in Tennessee.

Mezzo Social Work

What is Mezzo Social Work?

Mezzo social work is provided on an intermediate scale, involving neighborhoods, institutions, or other smaller groups. Mezzo-level social workers, for example, serve on the staff of schools, hospitals, community centers, and prisons.

Clinical social workers at the mezzo level could coordinate care for their patients and diagnose mental health problems in a hospital setting.

Mezzo practice also can include facilitating substance abuse treatment groups or working with offenders or victims within the criminal justice system.

Importance of Mezzo Social Work

Mezzo-level social workers advocate for and serve clients within all the public systems that make up the fabric of our communities, regions, and nation.

School social workers, for instance, provide support services for students struggling personally, academically or socially. They could provide guidance and intervention on issues such as bullying and truancy.

Often, mezzo-level social workers are also engaged in micro and/or macro social work. This ensures the needs and challenges of individual clients are understood and addressed in tandem with larger social issues.

Micro Social Work

What is Micro Social Work?

When you think of social workers helping a child in foster care or locating housing for a homeless individual, this is micro-level social work.

Family therapy and individual counseling are included under the micro umbrella, as is military social work, where the social worker helps military service members cope with the challenges accompanying military life and access their benefits.

Importance of Micro Social Work

Social workers on the micro level are protecting society’s most vulnerable individuals, including young children, people with mental disabilities, victims of domestic violence, and elderly people in many different aspects of their lives.

Along with providing individual counseling, micro-level social workers connect their clients with important resources, such as temporary housing, healthcare, and mental health services, that will improve their lives.

University of Southern California

info

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Minimum completion time: 16 months
Online classes taught by USC faculty
Virtual field training to build skills and confidence

University of Denver

info

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Complete the Online Advanced-Standing MSW in as few as 12 months if you have a BSW; if you do not have a BSW, the Online MSW Program may be completed in as few as 27 months.
No GRE Required
Customizable pathway options include Mental Health and Trauma or Health, Equity and Wellness concentrations

Fordham University

info

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Traditional and advanced standing online MSW options are available.
There are four areas of focus: Individuals and Families, Organizations and Community, Evaluation, and Policy Practice and Advocacy.
Pursue the degree on a full-time or part-time track.

Simmons University

info

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Prepares students to pursue licensure, including LCSW
Full-time, part-time, and accelerated tracks
Minimum completion time: 9 months

Syracuse University

info

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Traditional and Advanced Standing tracks
No GRE required
Concentrate your degree in integrated practice or clinical practice

Baylor University

info

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Address injustice from a strengths-based perspective
Ethically integrates faith and social work practice
Serve as a trusted resource for clients, no matter their personal background
Complete the MSW online program in as few as 12 months

Howard University

info

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Concentrations: Direct Practice and Community, Administration, and Policy Practice
Complete at least 777-1,000 hours of agency-based field education
Earn your degree in as few as 12 months

Case Western Reserve University

info

Master of Social Work (MSW)

In as few as a year and a half, you can prepare for social work leadership by earning your Master of Social Work online from Case Western Reserve University’s school of social work.

CSWE-accredited
No GRE requirement
Complete in as few as one and a half years

info SPONSORED

Once you have figured out that you want to become a social worker and which area of social work you would like to pursue, visit our list of online MSW programs to explore schools.

What is the Difference Between Macro, Mezzo and Micro Social Work?

Macro vs Micro Social Work

Unlike micro social work, macro social work does not focus on assessing and addressing an individual’s problems through one-on-one or small-group assessments and treatment. Instead, macro social support clients in a more holistic fashion by serving as an advocate for them. Their work includes influencing public policy, conducting research, working with government agencies, organizing activists, drafting petitions, or supporting legislation. However, this doesn’t mean that macro-level social work does not have direct outcomes, Reisch, of the University of Maryland, pointed out.

“One of the fallacies is that macro social work is indirect, while micro practice is sometimes referred to as direct practice,” Reisch said. “It’s incorrect because in both areas, you are working with people, just in different contexts for different ends.”

The need for macro social workers exceeds that of micro social workers. Reisch said that in the last 50 years, more social workers have gravitated toward mezzo and micro work, partly due to the distance from the War on Poverty of the 1960s. Also, women, who once had barriers to law and business professions, became social workers as a way to fulfill a desire to influence policy. They now have more career choices. However, he said, the trend may be shifting. In the last couple of years, he’s noticed an uptick in students pursuing macro areas of study.

“Increasingly, with what’s happening with politics, more and more critical decisions are going to be made at the local level,” he said. “There is a role there for social workers to work at the community level and to advocate for more socially just policies.”

Macro vs Mezzo Social Work

Mezzo social work programs differ from macro and micro programs in that they do not specifically focus on individual or widespread community needs.

Since some of the work on the mezzo level will be on an individual level and some will be with larger groups, the skill-set required for professionals in this field may be more diverse than those in micro or macro positions. For instance, the skills to speak to large groups differs from the skills necessary to communicate effectively with people who have experienced trauma.

Micro vs Mezzo Social Work

While social workers at both the mezzo and micro-levels work with individuals, mezzo social workers typically find their clients within the fabric of a larger organization, such as a school or community center.

Meanwhile, micro social workers typically conduct individual and family counseling, help individuals navigate resources such as Medicare or Medicaid, and intervene in situations in which clients encounter a crisis or distress (i.e. domestic abuse, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder).

Many social workers engage in micro and mezzo practice simultaneously. Even the most ambitious mezzo-level interventions stem from conversations between a single social worker and a single client.

While certain social workers specialize in one aspect of the micro-to-macro scale, most social workers interact with all three levels. Because of this phenomenon, social workers must understand the entire spectrum and how the different scales interact.

Disclosure: Michael Reisch, the Daniel Thursz Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Social Justice at the University of Maryland was interviewed via phone.