PhD Curriculum
36 credit hours of PhD-level social work core courses
Our PhD Program is designed for students to obtain their degree in three to five academic years of full-time study, and consists of two stages. The first stage consists of core classes and elective hours. The second stage begins with the successful completion of a written Qualifying Examination and advancement to candidacy, which consists of the dissertation process and requires a minimum of 14 dissertation research hours. Nine credit hours for both fall and spring is considered a full-time campus schedule and part-time students must be registered for a minimum of one credit each semester(a minimum of 3 credits are required all for international students). Students are not expected to register for summer term. Students must, however, be registered during summer term if they are completing qualifying examinations or defending proposals or theses/dissertations.
First Year Fall Semester
| Course | Credits | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SW7111 Quantitative Research | 3 | Description |
| SW7211 Statistics I | 3 | Description |
| SW7130 Epistemology/Theory | 3 | Description |
| SW7121 Scholarly Writing Workshop 1 | 1 |
First Year Spring Semester
| Course | Credits | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SW7512 Qualitative Research | 3 | Description |
| SW7221 Statistics II | 3 | Description |
| SW7140 Teaching and Pedagogy | 3 | |
| SW7122 Scholarly Writing Workshop II | 1 |
Second Year Fall Semester *
| Course | Credits | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SW7113 Systematic Reviews | 3 | Description |
| SW7123 Scholarly Writing Workshop III |
1 | Description |
| SW7530 Statistics III | 3 | Description |
| Elective - Substantive Area / Research | 2-3 |
*2nd year Plan of Study to be pre-approved
Second Year Spring Semester *
| Course | Credits | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SW7520 Advanced Research and Grantwriting | 3 | Description |
| SW7231 Secondary Data Analysis | 3 | Description |
| Elective - Substantive Area / Research |
3 |
*Begin forming QE committee, QE questions
Teaching in Higher Education:
Students are strongly encouraged to gain teaching experience, and may prepare for teaching in higher education through a 3-step, experientially-based approach. For students with no prior teaching experience, the first step is to apply for a Teaching Assistantship at either the BSW or MSW level. The second step is to apply for a Co-Instructor position at the MSW/BSW level for those who enter the doctoral program with some prior teaching experience, or those who have successfully completed step one. Successful completion of steps one and two, or Program Director-approved prior teaching experience allows a student to apply to teach courses autonomously at the discretion of the relevant program Director.
Timeline
| First Year | Required coursework; RA with faculty, research involvement. |
|---|---|
| Second Year | Required and elective coursework; continue research involvement; begin forming QE
committee. Spring Semester: students begin formulating possible areas/questions and get QE Committee approved by Ph.D. Program Committee. |
| Summer after Second Year: May through September | QE development, get questions approved by QE Committee by September 15th, at the beginning of third year in the program. |
| Third Year: September though January | Students has 3 months to independently complete the examination. |
| Third Year: January and into Spring Semester | Submit written QE, complete revisions, oral defense of QE. Seek approval for Dissertation Committee. |
| Spring of Third Year | Defend Dissertation proposal.The dissertation proposal presents prospective research and is scheduled a minimum of two months after the successful completion of the Qualifying Exam. Please plan accordingly. |
| Fourth Year | Complete Dissertation and defense. The oral defense of the dissertation is scheduled a minimum of 4 calendar months after the committee approval of the dissertation proposal. Please plan accordingly. |