Social Work

Degree Offered

PhD

Program Description

The School of Social Work’s Doctor of Philosophy program is designed to prepare graduates to conduct interdisciplinary research and become exemplary social work scholars and educators.

Program Features

• Highly competitive, nationally renowned program
• Small class sizes
• Individualized, one-on-one advising from dissertation chairs
• Rigorous curriculum
• Educational environment conducive to academic success
• Integrative approach to research applications
• All full-time students are supported with graduate research assistantships that provide a stipend, tuition remission, and health insurance
• Numerous campus resources and amenities

Program Admission

General application requirements for admission are outlined in the Admissions section of this catalog. To be considered for admission to the PhD Program in Social Work, applicants must have or be in the process of completing an MSW or equivalent degree.

The PhD Program in Social Work maintains a strict language requirement for non-native speakers of English. All applicants to the PhD program whose native language and/or language of the home is not English are required to submit results from the Test of English as a Foreign Language or the International English Language Testing System exam. This guideline includes international students/non-native speakers of English who have completed a Master of Social Work or similar degree from a U.S. college or university.

Degree Requirements

The 53-credit curriculum begins with 23 credits of core courses: research seminar (2 credits); quantitative and qualitative research design and methods (9 credits); data analysis and statistics (6 credits); and research practicum (6 credits). Additional required courses include intervention research (3 credits), theory and philosophy of teaching (3 credits), an integrative seminar (3 credits), an advanced research or data analysis course in the student's area of interest (3 credits), and a theory course in the student's area of interest (3 credits). Students also take an elective (3 credits) and complete at least 12 credits of dissertation research.

After completing the required courses, students complete a comprehensive examination and defend a dissertation proposal. The final phase of the program is completion of the doctoral dissertation.

Learning Outcomes

• Develop the skills and experience required to conduct high-quality research, individually and as part of a research team.
• Gain a thorough understanding of research design, data collection strategies, and analysis methods appropriate to multiple types of research questions, social problems, and populations of interest.
• Apply theoretical models to research studies and critique existing theory in a particular content area.
• Critically evaluate the state of the knowledge base in a content area of the student’s choice.
• Develop a research agenda in a content area of the student’s choice.
• Gain knowledge and experience in teaching and apply the best available evidence regarding adult learning to the classroom.
• Disseminate findings through peer-reviewed publications and/or presentations.

Required Courses