Does anyone have an opinion on the MSW programs at SUNY Albany vs. SUNY Binghamton?
I don’t know much about social work programs but overall I think Binghamton has better rankings. However, they are both great schools and none of the above are bad choices so choose the one you think is the best fit for you.
Binghamton does not have a good social work program. I know this because I’ve researched heavily into all the SUNY MSW programs and Binghamton is the least robust. What I mean by that is the program is only 10 years old so they haven’t established much of their reputation or ranking. Second, Albany just acquired a faculty member from Binghamton who just left. Third, SUNY Albany is the most research heavy, Albany is ranked #25 for research among social works schools, Buffalo, Bing or Stony don’t even come close to that. Don’t be fooled by US News & World Report as those rankings are reviewed by deans at schools on a ranking of 1-5. So take those with a grain of salt. That don’t actually assess anything about the programs and social work education is for the most part identical wherever you go.
Albany is the second oldest SUNY school of social work, Buffalo is the first.
Albany tends to have better graduate programs then Binghamton
Also social work is all about location, location, location Binghamton is in the middle of nowhere if you want desirable field internships you should look at NYC, Albany or Buffalo.
Binghamton is strictly advanced generalist practice, no clinical courses, no macro level courses. Albany is the most selective out of al the SUNYs. Binghamton prepares you the list in my opinion for other types of social work.
The only MSW programs you should be concerned with are Buffalo, Albany, Lehman and Hunter. Avoid any of the other ones, Columbia and NYU included.
I am attending Albany in the fall, please PM me if you have any other questions.
Avoid any of the other ones, Columbia and NYU and other private schools in general… they are merely cash cows with high acceptance rates (buyer beware). Where you get your degree doesn’t matter, its the work and field experience you have, unless your going into academia (which I am).
If you don’t wanna end up in Binghamton don’t go to school their, you should go to school where you want to end up.
I know Albany always gets hate for not apparently being on the same caliber of Bing, Stony, Buffalo but I want to make sure you make the right decision on the program and don’t regret it later on! (Transferring to a different MSW program is very difficult and often delays graduation).
But if you want to do AGP (Advanced generalist practice/programming) then Binghamton is probably your better option and the campus resources and facilities are better in my opinion then Albany’s.
Binghamton doesn’t require you to concentrate your second year either.
I wanted to take macro level work and Albany is known for this. But both schools ostracize their students onto their downtown campuses so their is that.
You could also look into Buffalo’s program also or Hunter’s. Hunter is the most selective of the CUNY’s and Albany is the most selective of the SUNY’s.