The Most Affordable Master of Social Work (MSW) Programs in New York

You don’t just stumble in to being a social worker. It’s a tough field with high standards and salaries that are more Hunts Point than Hamptons. You do it because you’re called to do it, because it has to be done and people need you.

Most people who develop that drive and compassion come from a background where social work isn’t a foreign concept. You’ve seen the good it can do in action. While the earliest social workers from right here in the state where social work was born were largely upper class dilettantes with the time and wealth to do good deeds, the economic profile is different today.

According to a 2020 report from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the ranks of modern social workers are predominantly female, BIPOC, and among the first in their families to graduate from college.

Early charity workers in New York were born into wealth and privilege. Today’s social workers have to put in real work to get their education. These aren’t people whose parents are cashing in some T-bills to cut a tuition check every semester. Every penny counts.

But an MSW is a must-have to become a licensed social worker in New York, so you need to find one that matches your budget.

You’ll find it here on this list of affordable MSW degrees in New York.

How We Find and Present the Most Affordable MSW Degrees in New York

We find the total cost of each MSW program the exact same way:

Total number of credits 

X

In-state cost per-credit 

_____________________________

Total estimated tuition cost.

With different schools sometimes showing semester rates or annual tuition, sticking with this simple formula ensures we’re always using a common data point (per-credit cost) for our comparisons.

The estimated total we show is for the traditional two-year MSW (approximately 60 semester credits). For schools that offer one-year advanced-standing options for BSW-holders (approximately 30 credits), we show that total too.

One of the first things you will notice is that we have separated out public and private universities. When you’re looking at affordability, that’s a must. The two types of schools have very different revenue and spending structures, so they are tough to compare head-to-head on a cost basis.

A private university can be completely worth what it costs, but it will always be more than a public school. So we have taken the average total cost of tuition and fees for every private university MSW in the state, and then listed the programs that come in below that number. The average cost of a full two-year MSW offered through private universities in New York State is $71,894.

Taking a look at the public university side of the list reveals something interesting—and impressive—in New York: the total cost comes out almost exactly the same for each of them. 

That’s by virtue of the fact that they are all parts of the legendary CUNY/SUNY systems, organized and supported by the state and city of New York. They’ve done such a good job of keeping those costs in line that we simply list every single one of them as affordable.

The average cost of a full two-year MSW offered through a public university in New York State is $29,553. While we still note the programs that fall below that, the actual differences are so minor you’ll be getting great value from any of them.

Specialty Accreditation Keeps the Value Equation Positive Even in Affordable MSW Programs

Value is a question that goes to quality. The cheapest program in the world is no good if the education is lacking.

We’ve assured the quality of every single one of these programs by only considering schools accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). CSWE sets the standard for professional education in social work, so much so that you would have a tough time getting licensed as a social worker in New York without a degree from their list.

That means graduating from any of these universities hits the high bar required to become an LMSW or LCSW in New York. All the required field experience, coursework, and top-notch instructors and support you need are built right into one low-cost package.

Considering All the Intangibles That Make a Master of Social Work the Right Fit

No matter how much of a concern cost is, almost no one makes their pick of MSW programs on the basis of pricing alone. You’re making an investment in a career, and counting on learning what you need to match your vision of helping the less fortunate. There are many paths you can take and so there are many different degrees that can make sense to different people.