The School of Social Work embraces the profession’s commitment to the dignity and worth of all people, with particular attention to those who are vulnerable. We view social and personal problems as resulting from complex interactions between people and the structures of society itself, and we work to address those problems at the level of public policy, community organizations, families, groups, and individuals.
In November 2024, Syracuse University announced that as part of a plan to reshape its human dynamics programs, as of July 2025, the School of Social Work would be housed within the School of Education. This announcement came after four months of assessment and cross disciplinary collaboration by members of the Human Dynamics Task Force, co-chaired by Rachel Razza, Associate Dean for Human Dynamics, and Peter Vanable, Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School.
This transition allows for closer collaboration between two programs that share historical commitments to inclusive pedagogy and practice and reciprocal community partnerships across Central New York. It also positions the University’s education and counseling programs to leverage the School of Social Work’s expertise in online teaching and its dedication to veterans and military-connected families.
School of Social Work
244 White Hall, Second Floor
Syracuse, NY 13244
The mission of the School of Social Work is to prepare competent, compassionate, and socially responsible professionals who address human need and promote social, economic, and environmental justice in a rapidly changing world through the strengthening of services, interventions, and policies.
Our collaborative and interdisciplinary approach fosters learning across disciplines, recognizing the interconnectedness of social issues. Social workers share a fundamental commitment to social and economic justice through practice that increases the wellness of vulnerable people.
Job opportunities for social workers are expected to increase much faster than the national average, making a social work education more valuable than ever.
Social work education prepares graduates to work in a wide range of professional settings, including mental health care, hospitals, schools, child welfare, substance abuse treatment, services for older adults, supportive housing, and federal, state and local government.
Social workers also lead not-for-profit organizations, guide service users through complex health care systems, lead labor and other community organizations, assess the strengths and needs of communities and individuals, engage in social research, serve in public office, facilitate adoption, and provide psychotherapy to individuals, families, and groups.
The School of Social Work Bachelor of Social Work (BSSW) program prepares undergraduates to work at a generalist level across the scope of our field. And our innovative Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) program offers two license-eligible tracks of graduate study:
1930
Through the 1930s, Syracuse University students are offered undergraduate courses in social work through the Department of Sociology and College of Home Economics. Courses are taught by executives of local social service agencies.
1945
Syracuse University’s adult education unit begins offering graduate social work courses through a cooperative agreement with the University of Buffalo. Early courses included case work, child welfare, and community organization. Syracuse offers first year courses with the remainder taken at Buffalo.
1955
Syracuse University inaugurates the School of Social Work, funded by a grant from the Rosamond Gifford Charitable Corporation. The School formally opens in 1956, with 28 full-time and 40 part-time students.
The School’s first headquarters is 400 Comstock Ave., the former property of Mrs. Huntington B. Crouse, Class of 1899, which she donates to the University. Howard Gundy is the first Dean. Under his direction, field work becomes the foundation of the School’s program of study.
1958
The School is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, the first accreditation at a New York private institution outside of New York City and the 61st in the country.
1958
A Ford Foundation grant establishes a Youth Development Center, the nation’s largest university-community venture of its kind, concerned with the welfare of children and the training of future social workers. The Center builds on Syracuse University strengths in nursing, clinical psychology, special education, and public administration.
1962
The Madison Area Project is active in the city of Syracuse at this time, with resources focused on improving the lives and learning of “culturally disadvantaged” students in Syracuse’s Croton Elementary, Washington Irving Elementary, Madison Junior High, and Central Technical High School (now the Syracuse STEAM School). The project involves the Youth Development Center, and it becomes a teacher placement opportunity for the School of Education, offering experience for “urban trained teachers.”
1963
The School of Social Work, the Youth Development Center, and the Social Work Library move to 926 South Crouse Ave.
1964
With John Hartnett as Acting Dean, the School of Social Work becomes the only school in the nation to run its own social services agency—Central Village Services—serving 500 low-income families and providing adult job training.
1966
An authority on aging, Dean Walter Beattie is named Dean. Under his leadership, the School admits its first undergraduate class, one of the first bachelor of social work programs in the US.
1972
An accelerated master’s degree program is introduced for advanced standing students.
1972
The all-University Gerontology Center is established, allowing students across the University to pursue a concentration in aging studies.
1974
The School moves to Brockway Hall, connected to the Brewster-Boland residence hall.
1988
Social Work students Suzanne Miazga and Kesha Weedon are killed in the Pan Am 103 terrorist attack over Lockerbie, Scotland.
1992
The School receives the first installment of a five-year grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau to establish a master’s degree curriculum addressing child welfare.
1994
The School moves to Sims Hall. A re-accreditation report from this year notes that the School has graduated nearly 600 undergraduates and 3,000 graduate students.
1994
Board of Visitors Chair Martin Yenawine, along with his wife Linda, gifts $400,000 to establish the Yenawine Institute for Corporate/Community Partnerships, “to bring together business leaders and social service providers to find practical solutions to … today’s pressing social concerns.” The largest gift to the School since 1956, it also creates a graduate fellowship program and lecture series.
1996
The Zurenda Fund Initiative begins with a donation by School of Social Work alumnus G.P. Zurenda, to improve knowledge and skills regarding alcohol and drug addiction.
1997
The Zeta Gamma Chapter of national social work honor society Phi Alpha, is established.
1997
Professor Nancy Mudrick receives a grant to evaluate the federal enforcement of disability civil rights.
1999
The Rosamond Gifford Community Exchange Forum begins a new collaboration between the School of Social Work and the Rosamond Gifford Foundation. Its goals include developing innovative solutions to community challenges, such as community building and social services delivery.
2000
Professor Eric Kingson implements the first social workers’ Legislative Policy Day in Onondaga County, sponsored by alumnus James Stone G’64.
2001
The School of Social Work and College of Nursing, along with two departments in the College for Human Development, form the multi-disciplinary College of Human Services and Health Professions, with William Pollard as founding Dean and Bruce Lagay as Social Work’s first Director.
2002
Professor Nancy Mudrick becomes the School of Social Work’s first female director.
2002
The School’s graduate and undergraduate student organizations merge to form Social Workers United.
2007
The College of Human Services and Health Professions is renamed the College of Human Ecology.
2011
The College of Human Ecology becomes the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. Social Work alumna Diane Lyden Murphy ’67, G’76, G’78, G’83, is named founding Dean.
2011
Developed from the all-University Gerontology Center, the University Aging Studies Institute is opened, a joint partnership between Falk College and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
2014
The School of Social Work moves to White Hall.
2015
Under the leadership of Director Carrie Smith, Master of Social Work concentrations in Advanced Clinical Practice and Advanced Integrated Practice are offered.
2017
As part of the School’s 60th anniversary (2016-2017), Onondaga County Executive Joanne Mahoney declares April 21 “Syracuse University School of Social Work Day.”
2021
Under Director Keith Alford, the School begins admitting students into the online Master of Social Work program.
2025
Under Director Yvonne Smith, the School of Social Work integrates with the School of Education, recognizing the academic synergies of these two units.
2026
The largest scholarship investment ever made to the School, an anonymous donor gives $1 million to support students through the Genovese Social Work Scholars Program, named for Professor Jennifer Genovese, G’83, G’13. A further Syracuse Promise match of $500,000, as well as $300,000 in University current use funds, bring the total amount to $1.8 million. This donation builds on a pilot Genovese Scholars gift of $300,000, made in 2025