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    • Degree Programs
    • Online Exploration
    • Continuing Education
    • Practicum Education
    • The Silver Community
    • Our Campuses
    • Social Justice, Inclusion & Belonging
    • Global Opportunities
    • Career Design & Social Work Readiness
    • The Future of Social Work
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Overview
Program Requirements
Program Schedule
About the Director
Continuing Education Contact Hours
Application
Fees & Refund Policy

Spirituality and Social Work

Overview

Quilt of Spiritual Diversity and Connection composed by 2022-23 Spirituality and Social Work Certificate Program students, a grid of 12 hand drawn images, photos, and collages

With Dr. Anthony Nicotera

Online Post-Master's Certificate Program

Apply Now!

This nationally recognized Post-Master’s certificate program explores contemporary issues in spirituality and social work. It examines the importance of spirituality and its diverse religious and nonreligious expressions for clients and their communities. It provides an ethically appropriate, spiritually sensitive, and culturally humble approach to clinical practice, human service administration, and community work.  Specific spiritually sensitive methods and practices will be highlighted. Spirituality will be viewed as a valuable dimension in holistic bio-psycho-social-spiritual assessment and the treatment planning process. The program utilizes didactic and experiential components, which will include role playing, narratives, storytelling, and other pragmatic methods. The program is co-taught by highly experienced and award-winning social work educators. It was named #7 in the Top 25 Social Work Certificate Courses Online for 2021. Participants from across the country and around the world are welcome. Continuing education credits are available in both the United States and Canada.

Program Highlights

  • Intersection of spirituality, mysticism, and religion
  • Relational spirituality, community wellbeing, and ecojustice
  • The intersection of mind and body in holistic, integrative, and artistically creative helping practices
  • Spiritual approaches to promoting wholeness and transformation of self
  • The intersection between spirituality, religion, and culture
  • Spirituality in human development across the life cycle
  • The contribution of spirituality to social change and social policy
  • Spiritual assessment and transformative practices, such as meditation, mindfulness, ritual, forgiveness, and community reconciliation
  • Applications of spiritually sensitive practice in various fields, such as mental health, health, youth and families, and gerontology
  • Linkage of local, national, and global contexts for spiritually sensitive practice
  • Emphasis on strengths, resilience, empowerment, and restorative justice
  • Case studies
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Program Requirements

This certificate requires the completion of 18 two-hour online sessions over the course of two semesters. Assignments include weekly readings and journals, several small projects, and a final learning assessment in the form of a brief course presentation.

Pre-requisites:

  • Master’s degree in social work or an allied helping profession, such as psychological counseling, nursing, pastoral counseling, or education.
  • Affirmation of a code of professional ethics associated with social work or an allied helping profession.
  • Proficiency in English for graduate level reading, writing, and speaking.
  • It is also recommended that applicants have at least one-year post-master’s level supervised practice experience.

 

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Program Schedule

Fall 2025

  • September 9, 16
  • October 7, 14, 21
  • November 4, 18
  • December 2, 9

Spring 2026

  • January 20
  • February 3, 10, 17, 24
  • March 3, 10, 17, 31
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About the Director

Dr. Anthony Nicotera

Anthony Nicotera, JD, DSW, LCSW

Dr. Nicotera serves as the course director and primary instructor. He has his law and social work degrees and has over 30 years of spiritual and clinical counseling and teaching experience, as well as nonprofit leadership and management experience. He serves as Assistant Professor of Social Work at Seton Hall University and Adjunct Assistant Professor at NYU’s Silver School of Social Work. For the past 20 years, he has been teaching courses in social justice, nonviolent peacemaking, spirituality, and multi-faith leadership as part of NYU’s Silver School of Social Work and Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life. He recently published a chapter on the history of spirituality, religion, and social work in the text Spirituality and Mental Health Practice: A Narrative Casebook (Routledge, 2020).

Read Dr. Nicotera's Full Bio
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Continuing Education Contact Hours

36 NYSED and ASWB/ACE Continuing Education Contact Hours will be awarded for this program.

New York University Silver School of Social Work is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers {#SW-0012}.

New York University Silver School of Social Work is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors {#MHC-0083}.

For Mental Health Practitioners: Please check with your state, if you are not licensed in New York, to determine if these credits will be accepted for licensing renewal.

NYU Silver School of Social Work is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0126.

NYU Silver School of Social Work is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts #P-0066.

55 jurisdictions accept ACE-approved provider CE contact hours. ACE is not an approved Continuing Education provider in the states of New York (though NYU Silver is NYSED CE approved in NYS) and West Virginia, unless the event is outside of West VA. ACE only approves individual courses in New Jersey, though NYU Silver is CSWE-accredited and therefore accepted for licensed NJ professionals. Here is a full list of statutes related to social work CE.

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Application

Access the Post-Master's Certificate application here.

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Fees & Refund Policy

The cost of this certificate program is $2,130, which includes registration and application fees and the cost of an online compendium of readings.

Available discounts include:

  • 25% discount for NYU Silver School of Social Work MSW/DSW/PhD alumni
  • 25% discount for practicum instructors currently working with NYU Silver School of Social Work graduate students.
  • 15% discount for applicants who have already completed one NYU Silver certificate program.
  • 50% discount for veterans.

Please note: discounts may not be combined.

Payment Policy: Upon acceptance into the program, a $250 non-refundable deposit is required to secure your place. This deposit is applied to the total cost of tuition. Tuition payments may be broken up by semester. The total cost of each semester is due before the start of each semester. 

The $250.00 program deposit is non-refundable. Students that withdraw before the first class will be refunded 100% of their fees (minus the deposit). Students that withdraw after up to and including two (2) sessions will be refunded 70% of their fees (minus the deposit). Students who withdraw after up to and including four (4) sessions will be refunded 55% of their fees (minus the deposit). Students who withdraw after four (4) sessions will receive no refund.

Please note: although the tuition payments are broken down into deposit, fall, and spring installments (a practice meant to create smaller, easier payments for students), the term 'sessions' refers to the entire program. Students who withdraw after four sessions, even if they have not begun the spring semester, are still required to pay their spring semester bills.

Withdrawal Session

Refund Rate

Before the first session

100% (minus deposit)

Up to/including two sessions

70% (minus deposit)

Up to/including four sessions

55% (minus deposit)

After four sessions

0%

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