A Silver Education

Providing a Lifeline for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence

As the CEO of Womankind, a nonprofit with deep community roots that provides multilingual and culturally-responsive services and advocacy for survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking, Yasmeen Hamza is fulfilling her passion for working with marginalized survivors of gender-based violence.

Yasmeen Hamza headshot
Yasmeen Hamza
MSW ’05
CEO, Womankind

By being part of the Silver Affinity Collective, I learned how to look out for my peers, hold space for each other’s experiences, and to come together and learn from each other.

Natalie Asalgado, MSW ’20

The NYU Silver Classroom Experience

What is it like to earn your MSW at NYU Silver? Recent graduates describe the classroom experience in their own words.

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Sharing Global Experiences and Opportunities

NYU Silver's Office of Inclusive Engagement and Student Life and Office of Global and Lifelong Learning recently collaborated on “Where in the World?” a pop-up event in our Washington Square lobby to raise awareness of our global learning opportunities and celebrate the diverse geographic backgrounds of our student body. Students used colorful flags on a world map to indicate where they are from as well as where they have traveled to while learning about our study away courses.

Four students lean over a table covered with a world map pointing to different places they have been.

Some Journeys Take Surprising Turns

A conversation with a homeless neighbor changed the course of Adina Lichtman’s career

Humanizing Homelessness One Sock at a Time

My Work
I lead a nonprofit that encourages companies, campuses, and communities to host sock drives for their homeless neighbors, and then offers them the opportunity to host a dinner as well with the aim of breaking stigmas while breaking bread.

My Journey
During my Sophomore year as the Community Service Chair for Hillel, I was giving out sandwiches to people experiencing homelessness. One of the men said what he and other homeless people could really use are socks. I got a pair from my dorm room and then knocked on every door on my floor to get 40 more pairs. From there, Knock Knock Give a Sock was born.

Adina Lichtman
Adina Lichtman
BS ’16/MSW ’17
Founder, Knock Knock Give A Sock

At Silver, I’ve been pushed to reconsider the world I’ve always lived in but have only just begun to learn about through the lens of social justice and service. My social work education continues to be a challenging and invigorating process that I’m grateful for daily.

Malcolm Variano, BS ’21

From Victim of Mass Incarceration to Criminal Justice Reformer

My Work
After three years as Community Affairs Liaison for The Doe Fund, I am continuing to advocate for criminal justice reform full-time through my leadership of Social Justice Network, as well as my teaching, speaking, writing, and producing.

My Journey
I started my academic career earning my GED at Marion Correctional Institution. With the support of a social worker at The Doe Fund, I graduated from Bronx Community College. I went on to earn my BS and MSW from NYU Silver, where I received the Excellence in Leadership Award and NASW-NYC’s Student of the Year Award.

Terrence Coffie stands on a step surrounded by four of his students
Terrence Coffie
BS ’16/MSW ’17
Founder/Executive Director of the Social Justice Network and NYU Silver Adjunct Assitant Professor

A Close, Supportive Community

The classes and the career skills I gained helped to fuel my passion, while the people I interacted with helped enrich my academic experience. At NYU, I did not feel like a number but a significant person that can actively contribute to society.

Morghann Sims, MSW/MPH ’18

Vibrant campuses in NYC, Rockland, Westchester, and Shanghai

At all of our locations, you'll find supportive academic communities grounded in the values of service, compassion, inclusion, and social justice

How We Support You

Earning your social work degree is an intensive endeavor. NYU Silver provides you with a wide range of supports while you are in school and throughout your journey.

  • Self and Community Care
  • Student Ombuds Support & Advocacy
  • Career and Professional Development
  • Student Wellness Services
  • Student Organizations
  • Inclusive Leadership Development
  • Social Justice Programming
  • Connection to a Vibrant Alumni Network
  • Continuing Education Seminars & Events
Student paying attention in class
BS

This course draws on classic examples from literature and film to highlight and understand aspects of mental health in ways that are more vivid and visceral than any text book can illustrate. Materials are chosen from novels, poems, and films to illustrate various mental health issues, including post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia.

Student in Classroom
BS

This course explores how deviance and social taboos are defined, determined, and socially constructed; how they function in society; the causes of such behavior; how those who are considered deviant manage their behavior and identities; how social, economic, and political power dictate who and what is deviant or taboo; and how some behaviors that were considered deviant and taboo historically have changed over time.

MSW

The course examines the history, values, and ethics of the profession; the societal and organizational context of practice; and the impact of racism and oppression. Skills taught include systems assessment, engagement, interviewing, and the practice principles of both crisis and extended intervention. A social work laboratory component provides experiential learning.

MSW

This course centers on expanding the student's understanding of the meaning of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and culture, as well as the concepts of prejudice, discrimination, oppression, stigma, and stereotyping. 

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DSW

Differences over epistemology are integral to debates over clinical theory and research methodology. This course consides selected topics and controversies in philosophy of science and their application to debates over the nature of clinical theory and research. 

DSW

This course covers the history of social work in the U.S. and social policies that affect it. It also covers the emergence of the institutions, organizations, and systems of care that address mental illness, developmental disabilities, and substance use/abuse.

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PhD

This seminar introduces students to selected literature on teaching and learning in higher education, including theories of adult learning, the social work education literature, the range of roles and responsibilities of faculty members, and current issues in social work education. 

 

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PhD

This course prepares students to assess intervention research studies that address psychosocial needs, problems, and conditions. It focuses on essential conceptual, methodological and practical issues involved in planning and carrying out such interevention research.

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Post-Master's

This course begins with the foundations of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approaches and quickly progresses to application of these techniques to issues commonly seen in clinical practice. "Third wave" CBT approaches are weaved into many of the sessions to enhance standard CBT practices.