Student Benefits

Maximize your Membership!

Welcome to NASW! It’s important that you feel ready to jumpstart your social work career while in school and after graduation. NASW helps you gain real-world knowledge of the profession, and the communities social workers serve that goes beyond a textbook and degree. Get the full value of your student membership by taking advantage of the numerous member benefits and resources outlined below in your first year. 

Your NASW membership includes both national and chapter memberships and enables you to experience social work at the national, state, and local levels.

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Student Event Series

NASW invites all social work students and recent graduates to our free student-focused events to prepare for your early career, enhance your skills, and connect you with colleagues from across the country.

Upcoming Sessions:

So You Want To Go Into Private Practice After Graduation

Thursday, April 17, 2025
6:00 - 7:30 pm ET

Over the past decade, an increasing number of new social workers have expressed an interest in private practice as a means of providing services to clients. This Student Series webinar will explore the challenges of starting and sustaining a private practice, developing your therapist identity, expanding your clinical network, as well as provide attendees an opportunity to ask your questions.

Presenter: Rachel Bentley, MA LPC

Register for "So You Want To Go Into Private Practice After Graduation"

See all social work student events

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Top NASW Resources for Students

NASW membership helps social work students and new professionals all year long. Members have access to resources that go beyond the classroom, with benefits that help you strengthen your skills, build connections, reduce your costs, and prepare you for professional life.

Belong To a Community of Social Workers

Chapter Membership

NASW membership includes membership in your state NASW chapter, at no additional cost. This dual membership gives you that much-needed connection to social work where you live or study, while getting the overall support and resources through national membership. This is a great opportunity to meet other students and new professionals at chapter-run events.

MyNASW

The MyNASW online member community is a fast way to connect with social workers across the country. Join or start a discussion, ask questions, find mentors, and more. Search discussions on supervision and licensing exam preparation as you transition from student to new professional. You can also connect with students like you within the Student Community.

Specialty Practice Sections

Focus your learning by joining an NASW Specialty Practice Section (SPS). SPS tailors resources, information, and education to meet the needs of social workers in 11 practice areas. As an added bonus, SPS members can participate in their corresponding MyNASW specialty practice community, at no extra charge.

Live Events

Learn as a group at conferences, march with your peers at advocacy rallies, join in town hall discussions and chats, and get to know other students at chapter meet-ups and peer support groups.

Stay Current in the Field

NASW membership prepares you for your social work career, giving you access to resources experienced social workers use every day to enhance their careers and help others in their everyday lives. Students and new professionals have access to the insights, best practices, and knowledge of established social workers. Most of these resources are free or discounted for students.

NASW Research Library

Back your thesis or support your case with evidence-based research found at NASW’s Research Library. As a member, you get unlimited access to more than 25 international databases with thousands of documents from leading research institutions, think tanks, and advocacy groups. These databases include ERIC, SocINDEX, and PubMed. You'll also find relevant resources from government agencies such as NIH, HHS, and DOJ.

Webinars, Conferences, Townhalls, and Summits

NASW regularly hosts a variety of in-person and virtual events, at the national and chapter levels, that help you advance your skills and prepare you to be the best social worker possible. Check out our events calendar to view all the events NASW has lined up. Many of these events are free or at reduced rates for NASW students.

NASW Publications

Access qualitative and quantitative data to support your own research. Your NASW membership includes a digital subscription to Social Work, the premiere scholarly journal of the social work profession, and the official journal of NASW. Your subscription also includes access to the full journal archive, which goes back to 1956. As an NASW member, you also receive member-pricing on subscriptions to NASW's Specialty Journals: Children & Schools, Health & Social Work, Social Work Research, and Social Work Abstracts.

Social Work Online CE Institute

NASW's Social Work Online CE Institute enables you to take hundreds of courses on a variety of topics—at discounted rates or free of charge. Take your learning beyond the classroom and your degree with webinars, webcasts, podcasts, and presentations on topics affecting today's social workers. After graduation, the CE Institute serves as a one-stop tool to earn Continuing Education credits that maintain your social work license.

Social Work Talks Podcast

Hear from experts and practitioners on topics social workers care about. Podcast episodes inform, educate, and inspire. Tune in to episodes on self-care and burnout, sleep health, housing insecurity, systemic racism, LGBTQIA2S+ youth, immigration, violence, trauma, parenting, PSLF, negotiating salaries, and more.

Social Work Advocates Magazine

NASW's award-winning magazine, Social Work Advocates, carries in-depth feature articles about social work trends and issues. Membership includes an e-subscription. Visit the Social Work Advocates archives to catch up on issues you missed prior to joining as a NASW member.

Prepare for a Career

NASW helps students and new professionals prepare for and establish a satisfying and successful career in social work.

NASW Career Center

Well before graduation, students across the country check in with the NASW Career Center to explore the many career paths in social work and to get job outlook information. You can find career tips and learn how to stand out among other candidates applying for the same jobs and internships.

Find a Job

When it's time to search for job openings, you can search for social work positions in NASW's JobLink database, receive job-opening alerts, and upload your resume to a candidate database for employers.

Virtual Career Fairs

NASW annually hosts a virtual career fair enabling members to connect with top employers and recruiters looking to fill social work positions nationwide and share their valuable career-building advice. Attending the event will help create meaningful connections and give you the opportunity to land your dream job in a virtual setting from the comfort of your home or office. Visit our Virtual Events Calendar to learn about upcoming opportunities. 

Manage Student Loans & Save On Costs

From tuition to personal expenses, costs can add up and take years to pay off. Your NASW membership gives you access to resources to help you pay off expenses and manage your student loan debt.

Save on Next Year’s Dues

At NASW, we understand the cost of a social work education. That's why we discount student member dues by up to 75% off regular dues. Students who maintain continuous NASW membership after graduation continue to receive discounted rates for the first 2-3 years after graduation.

• BSW students are eligible for two years of transitional membership, with annual dues of $116.
• MSW students are eligible for three years of transitional membership, with dues of $116 in years one and two, and dues of $179 in year three.

Apply for Scholarships and Fellowships

The NASW Foundation hosts scholarships and doctoral fellowships established to assist students pursuing a variety of social work specialties. Apply for fellowships in health care and welfare policy, as well as scholarships involving work with African American communities and with American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic/Latino populations. Check eligibility and apply here.

Understand and Manage Your Student Loans

NASW connects you to student loan management tools and resources. We have partnered with Savi, a student loan technology company, to provide our members with access to expertise so you can better understand, manage, and repay your student loan debt. The Savi Student Loan Tool analyzes repayment and forgiveness programs to help borrowers find solutions.

Save on Expenses

As a member of NASW, you’re entitled to exclusive discounts not available to the general public. You can save money on everyday products for your professional or personal use by taking advantage of the members-only discounts listed below. Take a look at all of our member discounts and see how you can save personally and professionally all year long.

• Student Loan Tool
• HIPAA Support
• Office Supplies
• Cyber Liability Insurance
• General Liability Insurance
• Shipping
• Hotels
• Airfare
• Car Rentals
• Entertainment
• Home Life & Auto Insurance
• Identity Theft Protection

Advocate With Impact

Attend Student Advocacy Day With Your Chapter

Visit the state capitol with your NASW chapter and hear from your state legislators. Learn about your chapter’s advocacy efforts and get insights into issues facing people in your state. Learn more about what social work advocacy consists of at NASW.

Practice and Policy Experts at National Level

Dedicated practice and policy experts at the national level advocate for your practice area and for the populations and communities served by your practice area. This work cannot be done without the support of our dues-paying members, and we thank you!

Move Social Work Legislation Through Congress

NASW National’s Legislative Action Alerts keeps members current on legislation in Washington, DC and in their own state capitols. In seconds, members can add their names to pre-written e-communications to politicians to advance legislation that supports our profession, our clients, and our communities. Sign up for Legislative Action Alerts.

Risk Management

Ethics and Legal Helpdesk

Talk privately with NASW Ethics and Legal staff about social work related ethical dilemmas and legal issues you are facing. Interested? Contact NASW Member Services at 800-742-4089, M-F, 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. ET, or email membership@socialworkers.org.

Student Liability Insurance

As you approach field practice assigned by your school of social work, make sure that you obtain the comprehensive field placement malpractice coverage offered by the NASW Risk Retention Group. Whether you are at the beginning of your social work education or are pursuing an advanced degree, individual coverage is a critical start to your professional advocacy and risk management plan. NASW Assurance Services (ASI) offers malpractice insurance (also called professional liability insurance) created for social work students. ASI has drawn on its experience in protecting members to greatly enhance its coverage and provide you with broader protection.