One of the top questions for social work students at every degree level is exactly how they are going to pay for the rigorous education required to become a New York social worker.
According to NCES, the National Center for Education Statistics, the average annual cost of an undergraduate degree in 2023 was $20,727. For graduate students, that number was $20,513. And New York, home to some of the most elite universities in the nation, often skews well above either of those numbers.
Social work salaries in New York are pretty generous compared to much of the country. On the other hand, cost of living in New York in general is the second highest out of all states, and New York City itself is not only the most expensive city in the United States, it’s also one of the most expensive in the world.
So a little help in cutting down on your college expenses is more than welcome when you’re mapping out your plans to become a social worker in New York.
Fortunately, there are many agencies and organizations that are ready to help.
Cutting Through the Tangle of Options in Modern Financial Aid Packages for Social Work Studies
NASW and CSWE conducted a survey in 2020 that found that around 46 percent of MSW students are the first in their families to attend college. That means that many are walking in the door without a strong base of knowledge on the ins and outs of financial aid. And it’s a system where you definitely need some knowledge to navigate your options.
So a short explainer is in order on the various kinds of financial aid you might be able to tap into for your social work studies.
Grants
Grants are free funds to apply to your college costs based on your financial need. Usually offered directly by the state or federal government. Some grants may incur post-graduate service obligations in their terms. This often means working in areas that are underserved by social workers for a certain period of time.
Scholarships
Scholarships are similar to grants in that there is no need to repay the money, but they often have criteria beyond just financial need. They can include mandatory minimum performance requirements for GPA, require that you pursue a particular major, or belong to certain qualifying underrepresented groups. They are competitive, so even if you qualify, there are no guarantees that you’ll receive them if other students are offered the money instead.
Loans
Loans are money you can use to cover your expenses for school, including tuition, supplies, or room and board, but of course you’re on the hook to pay it back later. Loans have various terms of repayment and can be offered by both private and government lenders. All loans include interest, which means that you end up repaying more than the amount you initially borrowed. However, some professions, including social work, may have government-run loan forgiveness programs that will allow you to forgo repayment in return for performing some period of service in a critical needs area.
Work Study
This is a category of funding that combines some sort of obligation to work during your schooling, but typically in an area that is related to your major. There are government work-study programs that coordinate with colleges to place you in outside positions, but there are also college-run programs that offer fellowships which place you in roles at the school in return for covering tuition and/or offering stipends.
Both grants and scholarships may require repayment if you accept the money but do not complete your studies for some reason.
It’s possible to find full-ride scholarships that cover your entire degree program, but that’s a relatively rare occurrence. In most cases, students end up piecing together various combinations to these different types of aid to get through a complete course of study in social work. That means you may find several scholarships that pitch in, receive some government grants, and take on a loan while working part-time in a work study program.
In the face of some pricy tuition rates, it’s nice to know there are resources to help almost anyone in New York access a social work education.
Getting Started With Federal Assistance for College Expenses
Almost every social work student in New York or anywhere else in the country will start their funding project at the highest level: FAFSA.
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
The broadest, biggest college tuition assistance program in the nation is Federal Student Aid. It’s a clearing house for a range of federal programs designed to help cover college expenses, including:
- Pell Grants
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants
- Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grants
FAFSA is an unparalleled resource for understanding various kinds of tuition assistance. It’s also a comprehensive way to help establish your eligibility for other kinds of assistance. Drawing on tax filing information, you can see where you and your family stand. Family finances are considered to determine overall financial need, which is information that may also be requested when applying for scholarships.
Data filed with your FAFSA can also be sent directly to schools you have applied to, which simplifies their work in lining up funding resources for you. Because it’s a federally-run process, you also have protected options for appealing funding decisions if they don’t go your way.
New York State Higher Education Services Corporation is the Biggest State Resource for Social Work School Funding
Federal funding may be your first stop, but after that, social work students here should check out the many financial aid resources available directly through the state of New York.
New York’s central resource for student financial aid comes through the Higher Education Services Corporation. Similar to the Federal Student Aid system, it offers one-stop shopping for grants and scholarships, loans, and work study opportunities. It can also hook you up with loan forgiveness programs.
Since many of these are exclusive to New York state, this is a resource you can tap into without competing against a national audience. And because New York state values higher education, it’s considerably more generous than many other parts of the country.
There are also scholarships offered for top graduating NYS high school students, tribal members, veterans, children of deceased and disabled vets. There are even scholarships specifically for survivors of tragedies that have occurred in New York, such as the World Trade Center attacks or the crash of Flight 3407 in Clarence. For reasons entirely apart from your social work ambitions, it’s possible you may qualify for such grants, so they are worth reviewing.
But for social work specific funding options, it’s these HESC programs that are most likely to be useful to you:
NYS Licensed Social Worker Loan Forgiveness (LSWLF) Program | HESC
One of the absolute best supports from New York state for social workers is the LSWLF program. Open to any professionally licensed social worker in New York (that means an LMSW or LCSW) with an outstanding student loan balance from the state, federal government, or private sources subject to government oversight, it will cover up to $26,000 in payments. To qualify, you must work as a full-time social worker in a critical human service area for at least 35 hours per week for a year, and continue to perform such work as long as the program covers your payments.
This is solid gold for social workers in crucial areas like Allegany, Essex, or Montgomery counties, as well as some areas of nearly every other part of New York. You can take advantage of the program for up to 4 years of qualified service, which can take a big chunk out of almost any student loan.
Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) | HESC
TAP is offered to New York students who have lived in the state for at least a year and earn less than $30,000 per year, or $60,000 if married. You can receive up to $5,665 per year toward associate or bachelor’s studies.
Enhanced Tuition Award (ETA) | HESC
The ETA is aimed at undergraduates from families residing in New York that earn less than $125,000 per year who want to attend pricey private schools. Up to $6,000 in tuition can be covered as long as you maintain full-time studies.
Excelsior Scholarship Program | HESC
Maybe the best HESC program for students from families earning less than $125,000 annually, the Excelsior scholarship allows you to attend full-time undergraduate studies at any CUNY or SUNY school completely free. That opens up social work programs at:
- SUNY Stony Brook
- SUNY Brockport
- SUNY at Fedonia
- SUNY Plattsburgh
- SUNY University at Albany
- SUNY Binghamton University
- CUNY Hunter College
- CUNY Medgar Evers College
- CUNY York College
- CUNY Lehman College
NYS Child Welfare Worker Incentive Scholarship | HESC
Many people on their way to becoming social workers don’t wait until they have gone all the way through school and licensing to start helping out in the field they love. When you see a need, you pitch in as soon as you can. So it’s entirely possible that you will be hard at work in areas like child care and welfare long before you complete the rigorous schooling needed to become a social worker.
This New York State scholarship is aimed straight at you. Covering tuition costs equivalent to full-time study at a SUNY School, and up to $20,000 for graduate students at private universities, the Child Welfare Worker Incentive Scholarship is open to employees of any licensed child welfare agency. It can go toward either graduate or undergraduate studies.
In return, you must agree to continue providing care at a licensed child welfare agency (not necessarily the same one you were working at initially) for at least five years after graduation—but that’s an easy call for anyone interested in child and family social work in the first place.
Your New York Social Work School May Offer the Best Advice in Financial Assistance Packages
Often, the most important stop you can make while looking for financial assistance resources is the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend. No one will have a better understanding of the costs you will face or the resources available that apply to their programs. They’ll be able to:
- Assist you with FAFSA applications
- Provide detailed annual budgets to estimate your total cost of attendance
- Offer a range of financial aid packages to show options for assistance
- Clue you in to unique scholarship or assistance opportunities based on your standing or background
Many schools of social work, particularly at private universities, offer their own need-based scholarship grants to qualifying students.
There are sometimes school-specific scholarship opportunities or fellowship positions created by alumni donations or foundations. Financial aid offices will also have a line on unique opportunities at your university for research-based grants or fellowships that can cover some of your costs through work at the school itself.
Fully-funded Social Work Degree Programs Offer an All-Expenses Paid Education in Your Dream Career
Maybe the holy grail in financial assistance in social work circles is the fully-funded degree program.
These aren’t common, but they are sometimes found at private universities offering master’s and doctoral studies in social work.
Those advanced programs are so expensive that it’s almost entirely beyond the ability of average students to get through them even with other financial assistance.
Because social work is about inclusivity and justice, though, social work departments at schools with sufficient endowments sometimes offer to pick up the whole check for tuition. These are typically needs-based and limited in number, but offer a tremendous opportunity for students who can land them.
These are often delivered as fellowship programs, a kind of work study involving research or teaching. That means they may come with health insurance and a stipend for living expenses as well as full coverage for tuition.
Fully-funded opportunities are another reason to get in touch with your chosen school’s financial aid office as early in the process as possible. They’ll have the best idea of your eligibility and the availability of any such options, and can get you on the inside track where possible.
- The high school you graduated from or town you have lived in
- Any kind of minority group you may belong to
- Places where your parents may have served in the military or where they currently work
- Your specialization within the field of social work
National Association of Social Work Foundation Scholarships
NASW has an entire dedicated foundation that provides scholarship funding to social work students. These scholarships are nationwide and competitive, but they are also aimed directly at students who are facing challenges in paying for their social work education. In order to qualify, you must become a NASW member, and remain in good standing for as long as you are taking advantage of the scholarship.
Since NASW is the premier social work organization in the United States, it’s pretty likely you would already be considering membership whether you need the scholarship or not.
Additionally, most of the scholarships require you to submit a biographical essay, statement of merit, financial statement, and two or more professional references. They are usually also aimed at specific specialization areas that you’ll have to demonstrate some connection or commitment to serving.
Verne LaMarr Lyons Scholarship
Supported in part by The New York Community Trust, this is a scholarship for master’s degree students who have a commitment to work in African American communities in health or mental health practice. Around six individuals are chosen annually.
Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarship
This scholarship is awarded annually to up to ten individuals in MSW programs who have a commitment to working with American Indian or Hispanic/Latino populations. The grant is for $4,000.
Lawanna Renee Barron Scholarship Endowment Fund
This scholarship offers $1,000 to one fortunate recipient enrolled in an accredited MSW program each year. You may, however, apply for multiple years if necessary. This is focused on supporting students who are interested in working in rural settings supporting the health and mental health care of primarily African American communities.
Other Social Work and Human Services Scholarship Opportunities for New York Students
The big players have the major resource for funding your social work studies, but the reality is that most students piece together their tuition funding from many different sources. Smaller scholarships that run in the hundreds or thousands of dollars may not seem like much compared to the price tag on a full social work master’s degree. But once you start adding a few of them together, you can see how they make a significant dent in your out-of-pocket expenses or otherwise reduce the loan you may need.
While there are thousands of scholarships available for college education, your first look should go toward the ones aimed directly at social work or human services students. These won’t have the same flood of applicants as other, more general, scholarships. They also offer you the advantage of bringing strong evidence of your commitment to their causes when you apply.
National Association of Black Social Workers
NABSW scholarships go toward supporting the nearly 23 percent of MSW students today who are Black/African American. These awards go to Black students interested in social work to cover tuition, fees, and supplies. You must be a NABSW member to qualify. There are 10 different awards, ranging from $500 to $2,500, made annually.
NASW-NYC Scholarships
While the New York State chapter of NASW doesn’t have any scholarships open to social work students state-wide, if you are in NYC you are in luck: the Political Action for Candidate Election group of NASW-NYC from time to time offers two social work scholarships: the David Roth Scholarship and the Miriam Doberman Scholarship. Separately, the Latino Social Work Coalition and Scholarship Fund, a one-time NASW-NYC task force, awards between $500 and $1,500 to eligible social work students pursuing degrees to work with the Latino community.
Council on Social Work Education Minority Fellowship Program
CSWE is a major player in social work education as the accrediting agency behind all programs accepted for New York State licensure. They also run the Minority Fellowship Program as a way to enhance the training for full-time, master’s level students at CSWE-accredited schools. Applicants must be in their final year of studies and focused on specializing in mental health or substance use disorder practice, with a commitment to serving racial or ethnic minority communities after graduation.
Council on Social Work Education Carl A. Scott Memorial Fund
Carl Scott was one of the big movers behind the MFP program, so social work students already have one reason to remember him as they are paying for college. But in his memory, the CSWE also established a separate fund devoted solely to helping two students each year with $500 devoted to paying for text books. Open to all students but aimed at BIPOC BSW and MSW students, these awards are offered to those who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting equity, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
APA Interdisciplinary Minority Fellowship Program
Although it’s not restricted to social work students, this grant from the APA does cover MSW students who are committed to entering careers in behavioral health for ethnic and racial minorities. You don’t need to belong to a minority group to apply, but minority applicants are strongly encouraged.
Mayor’s Graduate Scholarship Program
Another unique program available in NYC is accessible only to current government employees. This is a perfect fit for anyone with an associate or a BSW already working in human services for the city on a full-time basis. It’s a cooperative effort with universities in the area that offer variable amounts of tuition reduction for attending their MSW programs.
National Council of Jewish Women – New York – Jackson Stricks Scholarship
Two lucky students receive a one-time scholarship award of $5,000 or $10,000 from this program annually. It offers financial aid to students with physical challenges that impact mobility, vision, or hearing to pursue their academic studies in the NYC metropolitan area. With a great need for social workers who can share their lived experiences in these areas, this is an excellent resource to bridge gaps in educational opportunity.
City of New York Human Services Career Advancement Scholarship
Along similar lines as the MGSP but available to any human services worker at an organization holding a contract with the city, the City University of New York offers dual-track support to earning a CUNY degree or a social work license. In this unique program, you can either apply your grant toward an associate, bachelor’s, or master’s program at a CUNY school, or toward a test prep class for MSW grads who are still attempting to pass their licensing exam.
Substance Use Disorders Education and Leadership Scholars Program
Not a direct scholarship, the SUDELSP program is a joint program funded by SAMHSA and the Opioid Response Network via the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry that offers stipends and specialized learning opportunities to selected BSW and MSW students.
Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund
Over 60 years of supporting social justice has lead Davis-Putter to offer more than 1,500 scholarships totaling nearly $5 million. You could be one of the next recipients if you are an active or emerging organizer in progressive movements for social and economic justice… a perfect fit for social work students in New York. These are needs-based awards that can be applied to either graduate or undergraduate studies in social work.
The Truman Scholarship
While many scholarships for social workers are aimed at those handling the micro issues of substance use and mental disorders, homelessness, and the like, there are also some big scholarships aimed at big picture engagement in social justice. The Truman Scholarship is one of those, offering up to $30,000 toward graduate school for scholars devoted to public service. The money isn’t all—Truman scholars receive advising and mentorship, additional training, and preferential hiring in government positions.
American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences Undergraduate Scholarships
Sometimes you can find truly excellent scholarships for social work degrees that are a little bit off the beaten path. The AAFCS awards are some of these. Family and consumer sciences cover culinary arts, education, food science and nutrition… but also health management and wellness, housing, human and child development and family relations, and personal and family finances that lead people to better lives and stronger families. That’s a subset of the social work field as well, which means these awards of up to $5,000 may support your BSW studies.
National Organization for Human Services Spirit of Service Scholarship
Another common crossover resource for social work students are grants with a focus on more general human and community service. That’s particularly true for those taking an undergraduate path that involves majoring in human services. This $500 undergraduate scholarship from NOHS is a good example of awards that many social work students will qualify for.
Stephen J. Brady Stop Hunger Scholarships
Food security is a major concern for many social workers. If you’re planning to specialize in this critical niche, then this $10,000 scholarship from the Sodexo Stop Hunger foundation can go a long way to funding your education. On top of the tuition funding, recipients receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the Foundation’s annual fundraising event, where they can make valuable connections to top global and national food suppliers.
General Scholarship Options Open to Social Work Students in New York
While these scholarships and fellowships represent a big slice of those available to social work students in New York, there are also plenty of different scholarships that aren’t aimed at any particular type of degree or field of study. In the wide world of college funding, you will find scholarships that you may qualify for on the basis of:
You may also have additional funding options available if you are either a military veteran or a survivor of a military veteran. Both active duty and former service members have many excellent state and federal resources to help pay for social work degrees.
One thing is certain: with all these choices, anyone with the grit and determination to change the lives of New Yorkers can find the resources to do it.
Scholarships come and go. Loan and fellowship terms change, sometimes year to year. So think of this list of resources more as your jumping off point than a final destination. Each year brings new options. The more diligent and persistent you are the more opportunities you’ll uncover… much like your eventual role in social work itself.