New York is possibly one of the most diverse states in the United States, giving you the opportunity to get a wide variety of social work experience during your time as a student. Of the 19.6 million people living in New York, almost nine million live in its three largest cities: New York City, Buffalo, and Rochester.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that New York has considerably larger Asian, Hispanic, and African-American populations than the national averages. As a result, you need the skills to work with people of differing ethnic backgrounds while being respectful of their culture, background, and experiences.
Studying in New York gives you access to a huge selection of MSW schools. In fact, there are 34 schools with MSW programs in New York. They have an average acceptance rate of 50%, so depending on where you apply, you may be facing a stringent admissions process. The average cost of tuition in New York is $24,313, which is similar to tuition costs throughout New England.
All MSW programs in New York follow roughly the same structure. You complete one year of foundation and core classes, during which you gain a solid background in different aspects of social work. Then, in your second year, you concentrate on higher-level courses that relate to your career path and give you experience working with the populations you hope to serve.
There are many different concentration approaches amongst New York schools. Some do not offer different concentrations, and instead prepare you for work as a generalist practitioner. Other schools, like Columbia University, offer you several different concentration choices. Columbia University has four choices: Advanced Clinical Practice, Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming, Policy Practice, and Social Enterprise Administration.
A large part of your MSW degree is your clinical hours. You’ll practice what you’ve learned in a variety of settings throughout the entire duration of your program. You can generally plan on completing between 900 and 1200 clinical hours.
With over a dozen industries and fields employing social workers, you have lots of options you can consider as you start your career. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a wide range of social work employers that include nursing homes, mental health clinics, correctional facilities, and schools. However, most social workers are employed by healthcare organizations or government agencies.
Some of the largest social work employers in New York include Covenant House New York, Birch Family Services, Lifetime Care, and CHE Psychological Services. You can also elect to work in private practice if you get the highest level of social work licensure in New York.
As a social worker, your practice in New York is governed by the Social Work Division of the Office of the Professions. Your first step is becoming licensed as a Licensed Master Social Worker. You can submit an application to sit for the social work exam. After passing your exam, you can work as an LMSW.
To become an LCSW and have full freedom to provide clinical services, you must complete 2,000 supervised clinical work hours. After you submit proof of your hours, you can take your exam and get your license.
With the many different job titles you can hold as a social worker, it’s no surprise that salaries for social workers vary from person to person. Healthcare, mental health, and family social workers earn average salaries of $47,400 per year to $54,800 per year. If you decide to work in a clinical field, like family therapy or substance abuse counseling, you may be able to earn an average salary of $36,600 per year or $42,900 per year (O*Net, 2012).
No matter what specialty you are in, social work is a growing field in New York. Family, mental health, and healthcare social workers can look forward to job growth of 9% to 23% (O*Net, 2012). Substance abuse counselors and family therapists can expect job openings to increase by 14% to 26% through 2020 (O*Net, 2012).
Schools in New York Offering Masters in Social Work Programs
Adelphi University
(Garden City, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $27,870 Tuition Cost
- $12,548 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
Buffalo State SUNY
(Buffalo, NY)
- Masters in Social Work and Public Administration Policy
- $5,570 Tuition Cost
- $820 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
Columbia University in the City of New York
(New York, NY)
- Masters in Social Psychology
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $45,028 Tuition Cost
- $36,083 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
Cornell University
(Ithaca, NY)
- Masters in Housing and Human Development
- Masters in Public Policy Analysis
- $43,185 Tuition Cost
- $33,006 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
CUNY Graduate School and University Center
(New York, NY)
- Masters in Social Psychology
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $5,430 Tuition Cost
- Urban Campus Setting
CUNY Hunter College
(New York, NY)
- Masters in Social Psychology
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $5,430 Tuition Cost
- $4,619 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
CUNY Lehman College
(Bronx, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $5,430 Tuition Cost
- $4,999 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
CUNY Queens College
(Flushing, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $5,430 Tuition Cost
- $5,821 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
Fordham University
(Bronx, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $41,000 Tuition Cost
- $18,676 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
Long Island University-Brentwood Campus
(Brentwood, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $31,202 Tuition Cost
- Suburban Campus Setting
Long Island University-Brooklyn Campus
(Brooklyn, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $31,168 Tuition Cost
- $10,460 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
Long Island University-C W Post Campus
(Brookville, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $31,202 Tuition Cost
- $15,078 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
Long Island University-Rockland Campus
(Orangeburg, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- Suburban Campus Setting
Long Island University-Westchester Campus
(Purchase, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- Suburban Campus Setting
Mercy College
(Dobbs Ferry, NY)
- Masters in Human Development and Family Studies
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $16,996 Tuition Cost
- $6,393 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
Nazareth College
(Rochester, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $27,090 Tuition Cost
- $11,949 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
New York University
(New York, NY)
- Masters in Social Psychology
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- Masters in Social Work and Public Administration Policy
- $40,878 Tuition Cost
- $17,672 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
(Troy, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $43,350 Tuition Cost
- $20,300 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
Roberts Wesleyan College
(Rochester, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $25,350 Tuition Cost
- $13,304 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
Rochester Institute of Technology
(Rochester, NY)
- Masters in Public Policy Analysis
- $32,784 Tuition Cost
- $14,305 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
Saint Joseph’s College-New York
(Brooklyn, NY)
- Masters in Social Work and Public Administration Policy
- $19,500 Tuition Cost
- $8,392 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
Sarah Lawrence College
(Bronxville, NY)
- Masters in Human Development and Family Studies
- $45,900 Tuition Cost
- $29,206 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
Stony Brook University
(Stony Brook, NY)
- Masters in Public Policy Analysis
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $5,570 Tuition Cost
- $2,327 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
SUNY at Albany
(Albany, NY)
- Masters in Public Policy Analysis
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $5,570 Tuition Cost
- $2,052 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
SUNY at Binghamton
(Vestal, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- Masters in Social Work and Public Administration Policy
- $5,570 Tuition Cost
- $1,769 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
SUNY College at Brockport
(Brockport, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $5,570 Tuition Cost
- $3,230 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
SUNY College at Oswego
(Oswego, NY)
- Masters in Family and Consumer Sciences
- $5,570 Tuition Cost
- $3,109 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
Syracuse University
(Syracuse, NY)
- Masters in Human Development and Family Studies
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $37,610 Tuition Cost
- $23,013 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
Teachers College at Columbia University
(New York, NY)
- Masters in Social Psychology
- Urban Campus Setting
The College of New Rochelle
(New Rochelle, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $29,330 Tuition Cost
- $8,474 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
The New School
(New York, NY)
- Masters in Public Policy Analysis
- Masters in Social Work and Public Administration Policy
- $37,538 Tuition Cost
- $12,040 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
Touro College
(New York, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $14,550 Tuition Cost
- $3,600 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting
University at Buffalo
(Buffalo, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $5,570 Tuition Cost
- $5,608 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Suburban Campus Setting
Yeshiva University
(New York, NY)
- Masters in Social Work (MSW)
- $35,500 Tuition Cost
- $23,878 Scholarship and Financial Aid Awards
- Urban Campus Setting