Student membership

STUDENT MEMBERSHIP


How Does Student Membership Enhance Your Social Work Education?

As a student member of NASW-NY, you don’t just join a professional organization — you gain a platform to learn, lead, and create change.

Member Benefits

  • Access all Continuing Education trainings for FREE
  • Attend racial justice events at no cost — and bring them into your classroom
  • Enjoy full member privileges at a student rate
  • Develop real-world advocacy skills through hands-on opportunities
  • Apply for division, state, and national awards
  • Become eligible for scholarships and grants
  • Complete independent study through NASW-NY

Gain Experience and Use Your Voice at NASW-NY

Ready to go beyond the classroom? Here’s how you can take action and grow your impact:

  • Serve on the NASW-NY Board of Directors — shape the future of the profession in New York
  • Join or lead a committee aligned with your interests and build your resume
  • Host a Chapter Chat to share insights on topics you're passionate about
  • Participate in or start a Special Interest Group (SIG) to network with social workers across the state
  • Advocate for lasting support systems within NASW-NY for students and early-career professionals
  • Co-host NASW-NY events at your school and bring your peers into the conversation
The NASW Foundation is committed to enriching the social work profession and empowering social workers to be leaders in social policy and practice. At the heart of this commitment are national educational, research, and awards programs, which provide: doctoral fellowships, graduate school scholarships, chapter research grants, national recognition awards, lectures, symposiums, and special projects. Some of these programs have been in existence for more than 20 years.
  • Review presenter credentials and program content to ensure compliance with NYSED CE guidelines.
  • Provide the Partnership Partner with an invoice within 10 business days after the signing of this agreement by both parties.
  • Maintain all post-program records, including sign-in sheets, evaluations, CE certificates, as required by NYSED.
  • Disseminate CE certificates to eligible attendees within 10 business days of receiving required post-program documentation from Partnership Partner.
Starting with the right sources is key to the success of any research project. Every day, social work students turn to search engines to scour for sources that meet their research needs. Now, the Encyclopedia of Social Work provides an authoritative starting place when beginning your paper or project. A single click allows you to explore the breadth of social work articles, each that has been vetted with precision by an expert editorial board, and all of whom have experience in clinical and academic social work. This ensures that you are accessing articles are of the highest quality, with evident practical application.

The Annual Survive and Thrive Student Conference was developed to support BSW, MSW, and Doctoral students through a full day of innovative, and student informed virtual programming. This conference is designed to strengthen students foundation in their present educational experience and broaden prospects as they prepare to enter the social work field. This conference provides tangible training for students as they prepare to transition to the workforce, or graduate school, and unite the powerful NYS social work student body.

Meet your social work peers, potential employers, and comrades in the fight for social justice. Our 10 Division host a variety in-person and online networking events, steering committee meetings, and continuing education programs that will help connect you with like-minded social workers and employers within your own community. Through engagement with Chapter Committees, special interest groups, anti-racism initiatives, and other programming, your network will grow beyond your Division, and bolster your social work network to statewide and beyond.

The NYS Chapter offers multiple ways to embed yourself into and lead our policy and advocacy initiatives. The incorporation of student voices and perspectives is crucial to the development of our legislative agenda, and your Chapter is committed to cultivating individual change agents as well as mobilizing the collective power that we possess within the NYS social work student body. Students are invited to participate and lead on our Advocacy and Government Relations (AGR) Committee and Political Action for Candidate Election (PACE) Committee. Nourish your advocacy skill set from agenda inception, to research, policy and position writing, to grassroots campaign development, direct advocacy at the Capitol, and more.

NYS Chapter members get 50% off our licensing test prep courses. Our eight hour licensing courses are delivered as live webinars and a recorded selfstudy, allowing you to take them at your convenience whether at home or on the go. Not a member? You can join the Chapter and purchase the test prep at the member rate for less than the cost of the purchasing at the non member rate!

The NYS Chapter advocates for the expansion of and increased funding for the NYS Social Worker Loan Forgiveness Program and has successfully advocated for additional funding to the program – bringing the total up $1.72 million. NASW advocates for loan forgiveness for social workers as part of our ongoing work to improve working conditions and salaries, to support social work professionals and to ensure that consumers have continued access to qualified professionals.

NASW has partnered with Savi, one of the highest rated student loan technology companies out there, to provide our members with access to resources and expertise to better understand, manage, and repay student loans. The Savi Student Loan Tool analyzes repayment and forgiveness programs to help borrowers make better decisions, with an average savings of $2,064 a year, and hours in paperwork and anxiety. Our members can use a free account to explore options at no cost, and choose a member-discounted premium account to get help enrolling and submitting application paperwork directly to loan servicers, and access one-on-one support with student loan experts.

As a student member, you have access to the reduced Transitional Member rate after graduation. BSW student members who maintain continuous NASW membership are eligible for the discounted transitional rate for BSWs for up to two years after graduation. MSW student members who maintain continuous NASW membership are eligible for the discounted transitional rate for MSWs for up to three years after graduation.

NASW-NY Member Benefits: Awards & Scholarships

As a NASW-NY member, you're eligible for Division, State, and National Awards that celebrate leaders embodying social work values and ethics. Our past recipients have achieved remarkable things!

You can also apply for Division Scholarships where they've been established. No scholarship in your Division? Help start one for future social work students!

National Scholarship Opportunities

Discover these opportunities for Master's and Doctoral candidates:

  • Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarship:

    • Who: Master's degree candidates committed to working with American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic/Latino populations.
    • Award: Up to 10 scholarships, each up to $4,000 annually.
  • Verne LaMarr Lyons Memorial Scholarship:

    • Who: Master's degree candidates with health/mental health practice experience and a commitment to working in African American communities.
    • Award: Four students receive $4,333 annually ($333 for NASW National Conference registration).
  • Eileen Blackey Doctoral Fellowship:

    • Who: Social work doctoral candidates with a dissertation focus on welfare policy and practice.
    • Award: Varies from $4,000 to $6,500 (based on fund earnings and contributions).
  • Jane Baerwald Aron Doctoral Fellowship:

    • Who: Social work doctoral candidates with a dissertation focus on health policy and practice.
    • Award: Up to $6,000 (based on fund earnings and contributions).

Not Ready for Membership? Join Our Students Only Email List!

Can’t make that leap to membership quite yet? Sign up for our student-only email list, and we will only contact you about student-specific programming. Get to know us first — we’re committed to proving ourselves as a valuable investment during your social work education and beyond.

  • LEAD & Capitol Action Day
  • Survive & Thrive Student Conference
  • Student Leadership Events
  • New & Emerging Workforce Events
  • Test Prep, LMSW & LCSW
  • Racial Justice Initiatives
  • & Only Other Student Related Activities