CUNY CSI MSW Program: Social Work Master’s Handbook Guide 2026

CSI MSW Program Overview and Mission

The College of Staten Island (CSI), a senior college within The City University of New York (CUNY) system, offers a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree designed to prepare advanced-level practitioners for urban social work environments. The CSI MSW program stands apart from other graduate social work programs in the New York metropolitan area through its deliberate focus on a critical disabilities perspective, centering transformative social work practices with people with disabilities throughout every aspect of the curriculum.

Located on Staten Island, the largest campus in New York City at 204 acres, CSI provides a unique setting for social work education. The campus sits near the historic Willowbrook State School site, a landmark in the disability rights movement whose exposure in the 1970s transformed how society approaches institutional care. This geographic and historical connection infuses the program with a tangible commitment to disability justice that few MSW programs can replicate. Students benefit from ongoing relationships with Staten Island disability communities, human service agencies, and advocacy organizations that serve as both learning laboratories and future employment partners.

The departmental mission emphasizes social and economic justice, diversity, human rights, and the dismantling of oppression — principles woven into coursework, field placements, and professional development. Unlike programs that treat disability as a single elective topic, CSI integrates this perspective across foundation and advanced courses, producing graduates uniquely prepared to serve one of the most underrepresented populations in social work practice. For students exploring other social work programs in the CUNY system, our overview of the CSI MSW curriculum provides additional context on how this program compares to peer institutions.

CSWE Accreditation and Licensure Pathways

The CSI MSW program received full initial accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) in February 2017, confirming that the program meets the rigorous national educational standards required for professional social work practice. CSWE accreditation is not merely a credential — it is the gateway to professional licensure in every U.S. state, making it a non-negotiable requirement for any serious MSW candidate.

Beyond CSWE accreditation, the program holds specific approvals from the New York State Department of Education that directly impact graduates’ career trajectories. The clinical track is approved as a clinical social work program, meaning graduates satisfy the clinical content requirement for Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) certification. New York requires 12 hours of clinical coursework for LCSW eligibility, and the CSI clinical track incorporates this content directly into its required sequence.

Graduates of the clinical track are immediately eligible to sit for the Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) examination upon degree completion. The LMSW opens doors to supervised clinical positions across healthcare, mental health, school, and community settings throughout New York State. With additional supervised clinical hours post-graduation, LMSW holders can pursue the LCSW — the highest clinical credential, authorizing independent private practice. The institutional accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education further strengthens the credential’s national portability, ensuring CSI graduates are recognized by licensing boards across the country.

MSW Curriculum Structure and Specializations

The CSI MSW curriculum follows the traditional two-year model with a foundation year and an advanced year, structured around the nine CSWE core competencies that define professional social work education. The foundation year establishes essential knowledge in human behavior, social welfare policy, research methods, and generalist practice skills. Students build competency in ethical decision-making guided by the NASW Code of Ethics, critical thinking, diversity and difference in practice, and engagement across micro, mezzo, and macro systems.

The advanced year is where CSI’s distinctive identity emerges. The clinical track — the program’s primary concentration — provides intensive preparation in advanced individual and group practice, clinical assessment, evidence-based intervention techniques, and specialized work with diverse populations. Every advanced course weaves the critical disabilities perspective into clinical content, ensuring graduates understand how disability intersects with race, gender, socioeconomic status, and other dimensions of identity.

The program also developed a macro track focused on community organizing, policy advocacy, and organizational leadership. While this track is currently on hiatus, it reflects the department’s commitment to training social workers across the full spectrum of practice. Students in the clinical track gain exposure to macro-level thinking through policy courses and community-engaged assignments that encourage systemic analysis alongside individual intervention skills. If you are weighing program options across different practice areas, our CUNY CSI social work program guide offers a complementary perspective on specialization choices.

CSI MSW Admission Requirements

Admission to the CSI MSW program requires a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. The program does not restrict applicants to social science or social work undergraduate majors, welcoming candidates from diverse academic backgrounds who demonstrate aptitude for graduate-level social work study.

Applicants must submit a comprehensive application package that includes a personal statement articulating their commitment to social work and alignment with the program’s mission, a current resume documenting relevant professional or volunteer experience, a completed internship application form, and three letters of recommendation from instructors or employers. Each recommender must include their highest degree on the letter or form. A completed statistics course is a prerequisite that must be fulfilled prior to enrollment in the fall term.

International applicants whose degrees are from non-English-speaking universities must demonstrate English proficiency through the TOEFL examination, achieving a minimum score of 600 on the paper-based test or 100 on the computer-based test. The admissions committee — composed of at least two full-time social work faculty members — reviews each application holistically, and interviews may be required for borderline or exceptional cases. Offers are extended via email and postal mail, and admitted students must submit a deposit and attend new student orientation to secure their place.

Advanced Standing and Transfer Credit Policies

The CSI MSW program offers an Advanced Standing pathway for applicants who hold a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) or Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSSW) from a CSWE-accredited program completed within the past five years. Advanced Standing students may have foundation-year MSW courses waived if they earned a grade of B or better in the undergraduate equivalent, significantly accelerating their path to the MSW degree.

Advanced Standing students are credited with 480 internship hours from their undergraduate program and must complete 720 internship hours while at CSI. A mandatory summer bridge course is required for all Advanced Standing students before entering the advanced-year sequence. For Advanced Standing applicants, one of the three required letters of recommendation must come from the undergraduate internship supervisor, providing direct evidence of field readiness.

Transfer credit policies are structured to accommodate students from other MSW programs while maintaining academic rigor. Regular MSW students may transfer up to 12 credits from another CSWE-accredited program, and up to 480 internship hours (equivalent to the foundation-year internship) may be recognized. Advanced Standing transfer students may transfer up to 9 credits (6 elective credits plus 3 advanced individual/group practice credits). No transfer credit is accepted for courses with grades below B, ensuring that only strong academic performance carries forward.

Field Education and Internship Placements

Field education is the centerpiece of professional social work training, and CSI dedicates significant institutional resources to ensuring high-quality internship experiences. The program maintains a dedicated Director of Internship Education, Kari Meyer, MSW, LMSW, whose expertise in macro practice informs placement coordination across a range of agency settings. Supporting the field education infrastructure, the Manager of Professional Student Services and Assistant Director of Internship Education, Constance Stafford, MSW, LCSW, coordinates placement logistics, student services, and licensing preparation.

Field placements connect students with Staten Island and Greater New York City human service agencies, hospitals, mental health centers, schools, disability organizations, child welfare agencies, and community development organizations. The program’s location on Staten Island provides access to a concentrated network of disability-serving agencies that align with the program’s critical disabilities perspective, while proximity to Manhattan, Brooklyn, and other boroughs expands placement options across the full spectrum of social work practice settings.

Internship supervision follows CSWE standards, with students receiving regular supervision from licensed field instructors at their placement sites as well as faculty-led seminar courses that integrate field experiences with classroom learning. Process recording requirements (detailed in the program’s appendices) ensure systematic reflection on practice encounters, building the habit of evidence-informed self-assessment that defines competent clinical practitioners. For a broader understanding of field placement structures across social work programs, explore our Fresno Pacific MSW program guide for comparative insight.

Faculty Expertise and Research Strengths

The CSI Department of Social Work faculty brings a diverse range of research expertise and clinical experience that directly enriches the MSW curriculum. Department Chair Christine Flynn Saulnier, MSW, PhD, LICSW, holds professorial rank and specializes in feminist theory, alcohol and drug problems, and LGBT issues — bringing critical theoretical frameworks that challenge conventional practice approaches.

MSW Program Director Paul Archibald, DrPH, MSW, LCSW-C, is an associate professor whose research focuses on stress-related health disparities, depression, and substance use disorder treatment. His public health doctorate adds an epidemiological lens to clinical social work education, helping students understand how population-level health patterns shape individual client experiences. Associate Professor Vandana Chaudhry, MSW, PhD, brings deep expertise in disability theory and practice — the scholarly anchor of the program’s critical disabilities perspective.

The faculty roster includes clinical specialists such as Sonia Brown, MSW, MA, DSW, LCSW, and Gwendolyn Robinson, MSW, DSW, LMSW (eating disorders and substance use disorders), alongside Esther Son, MSW, PhD (developmental disability and health disparities) and Professor Barbra Teater, MSW, PhD (aging, social work education and research). This breadth ensures students receive mentorship across clinical practice areas, research methodologies, and professional development pathways. With a student-to-faculty ratio that enables meaningful individual attention, the department delivers personalized academic advisement and research mentorship that larger programs struggle to provide.

Student Support Services and Academic Resources

CSI invests in a comprehensive support infrastructure for MSW students that extends well beyond classroom instruction. Each student is assigned a full-time social work faculty member or professional staff advisor and is required to meet with their advisor every semester prior to registration. This mandatory advising structure ensures students remain on track academically while receiving guidance on field placement selection, licensure planning, and career development.

The Manager of Professional Student Services coordinates a range of critical supports including licensing examination preparation, child abuse reporting certification (required for many social work positions in New York), new student orientation, and commencement activities. This single point of coordination means students spend less time navigating bureaucracy and more time focusing on professional development.

An in-house writing tutor is available two to three days per week, with hours scheduled to accommodate both day and evening students — a resource particularly valuable for graduate students producing research papers, case analyses, and process recordings. The Center for Student Accessibility (CSA) facilitates reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities, reinforcing the program’s commitment to disability inclusion from enrollment through graduation. The Office of Diversity and Compliance addresses discrimination concerns and affirmative action issues, with the director reporting directly to the College President.

Career Outcomes and Professional Development

Graduates of the CSI MSW clinical track enter a profession with strong employment demand and growing earning potential. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, social work employment is projected to grow 7 percent through 2032, faster than the average for all occupations. In the New York metropolitan area, licensed social workers command median salaries significantly above national averages, reflecting the region’s high demand for qualified clinicians in healthcare, mental health, and school settings.

The LMSW credential obtained upon graduation opens immediate pathways in clinical settings under supervision, while the program’s clinical content positions graduates to pursue LCSW certification after accumulating the required supervised clinical hours. LCSW holders gain the authority to practice independently, open private practices, and supervise other social workers — representing the profession’s highest earning and autonomy tier.

The program’s disability focus creates a competitive advantage in an underserved niche. Disability-competent social workers are in persistent demand across developmental disability agencies, rehabilitation centers, special education settings, veterans’ services, and aging services organizations. CSI’s community partnerships on Staten Island and across the CUNY network provide built-in networking channels that frequently translate into employment offers for graduating students. The Manager of Professional Student Services actively coordinates licensing exam preparation and professional development resources, ensuring graduates are career-ready from day one.

Academic Standards and Professional Conduct

The CSI MSW program maintains rigorous academic and professional standards that reflect the gravity of social work practice. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 (B) or better is required for graduation, ensuring all MSW recipients have demonstrated consistent academic excellence. Students whose GPA falls between 2.7 and 3.0 are placed on academic probation and must raise their standing to 3.0 within the following semester. Those with GPAs below 2.7 are not normally permitted to continue without successful Academic Review Committee approval.

Professional conduct expectations align with the NASW Code of Ethics and are formalized through a Behavioral Contract signed at orientation. Faculty serve as professional gatekeepers, monitoring not only academic performance but also professional behaviors, ethical decision-making, and interpersonal skills throughout the program. The Professional Dispositions Inventory (maintained in each student’s file) tracks development across dimensions critical to competent social work practice. Violations of professional expectations can result in grade reductions, course failure, or dismissal from the program. The grade appeal process provides due process protection, requiring students to initiate appeals within 60 school days following the semester’s end, with a structured resolution pathway involving the department chair, instructor, and Department Committee on Grade Appeals.