NYU Silver School of Social Work

A group of smiling students seated around a long table with drinks and snacks in front of a tv screen with autumn themed graphics and the text Fall Welcome Mixer

Meet new friends, explore student organizations, build community and more.

Josephine Gonzalez, Associate Director, Inclusive Engagement and Student Life
Students talking in front of a row of brick townhouses with white concrete columns

My NYU education has helped me secure jobs that reward my skills and provide opportunities for growth.

Sally Martir, MSW ’20
Dean Lindsey stands in and suit and tie with his arms crossed in front of the entrance to Silver's building at 1 Washington Square North

I am very proud to be a social worker. When we show up, things get better because we know how to work with individuals, families and systems .

Dr. Michael A. Lindsey, Dean and Paulette Goddard Professor
Dean Lindsey at a table with two students explaining something in a book

Every single professor has been willing to put the extra time into helping me. The support here is amazing.

Daniel Baslock, PhD Student
Crowded city street with blurred faces of people walking in different directions

In New York City, every block is an opportunity for learning.

Kirk Cooper-Johnson, BS ’17
Row of people holding umbrellas and signs that say Black Lives Matter and No Justice No Peace

Silver's demonstrated commitment to pursuing social justice aligns directly with my experience and efforts.

Solimar Santiago-Warner, DSW ’22
Smiling students seated around a white table in a conference room

We remain committed to providing a world-class education that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

Taking His Work With Fellow Veterans Personally

A disappointing experience with a civilian VA social worker when he was just out of the U.S. Marine Corps motivated Mohamed Hassan to pursue his MSW and serve fellow veterans himself. Now he’s a social worker at one of the country’s largest VA medical centers where he helps homeless and housing insecure veterans find and keep permanent housing.

Mohamed Hassan headshot
Mohamed Hassan
MSW ’22
Social Worker, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Facts & Figures

#16
U.S. News & World Report ranking for Best Grad Schools for Social Work
600+
Placement agencies in our network
6
Faculty inducted into the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare
93%
MSW grads employed or continuing education six months post-graduation
650K
Hours of service our students provide to vulnerable individuals and families each year
4
Campuses in the U.S. and China
8
Full- and part-time pathways to the MSW
20K+
Alums who have elevated lives

Finding Her Path in Social Work and Fulfilling Her Professional Dream

Cristina Favaro always had a passion for working with children, especially during their early years, but her path to doing so was anything but linear. Fortunately, she found her calling in social work. Now, as an NYU Silver MSW graduate, she is in the inaugural cohort of The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services’ Social Work Residency, where she works with babies, toddlers, and young children with behavioral, developmental, and emotional difficulties.

Cristina Favaro stands in front of a red brick wall and white paned window wearing a black mortarboard with a purple tassel and a purple academic gown with a gold master’s hood.
Cristina Favaro
MSW ’23
Social Work Resident, Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services

Advancing Social Justice

While earning his degree at Silver, Michael Sanders (front row center), MSW ’19—father, army veteran, and entrepreneur—was the vice president of the NYU Military Alliance, an NYU Social Sector Leadership Diversity Fellow, a Silver Student Leadership Council Fellow, a member of the Students of Color Collective, and one of two students on the School’s Social Justice Praxis Committee. Michael, who is now a Social Service Advocate at the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Boston, observed, “Being a social worker means fighting for social justice and never forgetting our responsibility to our clients, to ourselves, and to society as a whole.”

Pioneering Research & Evidence-Based Solutions

The Silver School Faculty is Examining Society’s Pressing Problems.

Developing Culturally Specific Interventions to Assist Youth of Color in Crisis

Researchers at NYU Silver were among the first to identify an alarming rise in suicide deaths, attempts and thoughts among Black and Brown young people. Now they are partnering with colleagues across NYU and beyond to unravel the mystery of why suicide is rising among youth of color and to develop effective, culturally specific interventions.

A female presenting, Latinx-presenting youth with a look of despair on their face leans their chin against their crossed arms.

Leading a Federally Funded Partnership to Prevent Child Maltreatment

Being trauma-informed helps child welfare service providers to better address the consequences of child maltreatment, and with a 5-year, $2.6 million federal grant, NYU Silver Assistant Professor Kathrine Sullivan is spearheading a partnership with the New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services and NYU Grossman School of Medicine that will expand this expertise in NYC. In addition to funding the training of existing child welfare providers, the grant will also enable the establishment of the CHAMP Institute at NYU Silver to provide specialized training to 10 MSW students each year in trauma-informed care in order to prevent child maltreatment.

Kathrine Sullivan headshot

Harnessing Virtual Reality & AI to Prepare MSW Students for Clinical Practice

With a grant from our Constance and Martin Silver Center on Data Science and Social Equity, Drs. Nicholas Lanzieri and Anne Dempsey are partnering with colleagues from NYU Tandon School of Engineering and NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development to develop and test an AI-powered, virtual reality simulation template that is designed specifically to enable students to gain and apply social work skills.

Still image from a current virtual reality simulation on which the VR template will improved. It shows a busy Grand Street Subway station with people coming and going from a train to the left of the platform and stairs to the right. A pop up map of Lower Manhattan with a pin on the Grand Street subway stop is on the left and VR directional icons are overlaid on the bottom. Text below reads "A VR template in development will improve upon current simulation-based learning experiences, such as the one shown above."
In the Media
NYU Silver student Chelsea Trout, MSW ’25, is quoted on how parents can block school social workers’ efforts to get children additional therapy.
Chalkbeat logo featuring the word "Chalkbeat" in white against a slate gray background with a rectangle around the word that appears to be drawn with piece of teal chalk
Silver News
Through a realistic school counseling scenario, specially trained NYU Tisch acting students offered invaluable practice experience to NYU Silver Master of Social Work students.
MSW Student Brittany Murray sits across from NYU Tisch student actor Vaheed Talebian, listening intently as he speaks. Dr. Nancy Xenakis sits in the back of the room observing.
Research
NYU Silver School of Social Work’s research excellence was showcased in myriad ways during the 2024 Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference.
C+M Silver Center Symposium Presenters (left to right): Sadiq Yusuf Patel (Waymark), Deborah Layman (NYS Office of Mental Health/Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene), Aaron Rodwin, Amanda Ritchie, Dr. Nicholas Lanzieri, Dr. Anne Dempsey, Dr. Marya Gwadz, Dean Michael A. Lindsey, Dr. Michelle Munson, Nari Yoo