School of Social Work - Doctor of Philosophy Program

Social work doctoral education prepares people for leadership roles in social work research, social work education, social policy, planning, and administration. The goal of the doctoral program of the School of Social Work is to provide students with advanced research and policy analysis skills based on a foundation of social science theory and social welfare. The doctoral program is committed to the school's mission to address human dignity, social justice, and social equity for diverse populations. Program graduates will be able to conduct research that addresses social welfare and policy problems and to disseminate knowledge to researchers, social work practitioners, and policy makers.

The University of Pittsburgh has one of the oldest social work doctoral programs in the United States, awarding its first DSW degrees in 1949. In 1963, the program's degree was changed to a PhD. Information regarding the Doctor of Philosophy Program is available online at http://www.pitt.edu/~pittssw/.

In addition to the description of the PhD in Social Work given below, doctoral students should consult the Regulations Pertaining to Doctoral Degrees.

Admission to Doctoral Program

The doctoral program is open to:

1. Applicants having the intellectual capacity and professional motivation to achieve the goals of the PhD program in social work.
2. People who hold the Master of Social Work degree; at least two years of post-MSW practice experience is strongly preferred.
3. Qualified people whose master's degrees are in a related discipline or profession (e.g. sociology, social psychology, political science, economics, public health, public administration) and have at least two years of post-master's experience relevant to the field of social work.

The following information will be required to process the application:

1. Completion of the Application for Study form.
2. Copies (official) of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts.
3. A general statement of the applicant's learning goals and future career goals. This statement should relate past and current experience to the applicant's educational and career objectives for the future.
4. A short discussion of a social policy issue that the applicant views as important for the social welfare arena. This social problem analysis should focus on an issue that has current and future implications for the human services field. The discussion should be limited to three double-spaced pages.
5. Five letters of reference. These should be from five professionals who can evaluate the applicant's prior academic and/or professional activities and competence. The applicant should include some academic references from social work educators whenever possible and exclude references from persons who know the applicant only in a personal capacity.
6. Application fee of $40.

The following factors are considered in reviewing applications:

1. Academic achievement in undergraduate and graduate work commensurate with the demands of doctoral study.
2. Motivation for doctoral education and leadership roles in social work as demonstrated in the application narrative, in educational goals and policy statements, and in work and life experiences.
3. Knowledge of social work perspectives and activities.
4. Career goals that are relevant to, and may be enhanced by, doctoral education in social work. This assumes that the applicant's career goals relate to the goals of the program.
5. Interest and/or prior experience in social policy analysis and research.
6. Academic background in complementary knowledge areas.
7. Recommendations by academic and professional references.

Applications are available from:

Office of Admissions

School of Social Work

Room 2104 Cathedral of Learning

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Phone: (412) 624-6302

Web site: http://www.pitt.edu/~pittssw/

Applications should be received no later than March 1 of each year. Admission to the program is for the Fall Term only. The doctoral program is strongly committed to a policy of equal educational opportunity for people of all races, creeds, and ethnic origins.

Program Transfer Credits

Students who have earned graduate-level credits at the University of Pittsburgh or at another accredited institution within seven years preceding entry to the doctoral program may be eligible for advanced standing. Advanced standing consists of awarding academic credit toward the degree for post-master's work completed when such work is evaluated as entirely comparable. Official transcripts certifying graduate course work completed in a degree-granting graduate program should be submitted at the time of application. The maximum number of credits that can be transferred and accepted for advanced standing is 12.

See Allowable Credits in the General Academic Regulations section of this bulletin, for more details on requirements for transfer credits.

Financial Assistance for Doctoral Students

The doctoral program in the School of Social Work makes every effort to assist full-time students who are U.S. citizens or have permanent resident status both through funds awarded by the school and with information about funds awarded elsewhere. Most funding covers two semesters (one academic year). There are a number of types of funding available, including teaching assistantships, graduate student assistantships, research assistantships, fellowships, and other special awards. Students applying for loans from outside sources apply at the Student Aid Office, 2nd floor Bruce Hall; the phone number is (412) 624-7488. (See Financial Aid for more information.)

Students are admitted to the doctoral program on the basis of their merits as doctoral students. Funding is awarded on the basis of need, which is verified by a form entitled "Application for Student Aid." This is available only for full-time students who are U.S. citizens or have permanent resident status. This form is obtained from the Office of Admissions, completed and returned to the office, and then reviewed by the doctoral program director, dean, and associate dean for allocation of funds as available.

Doctoral Curriculum Objectives

The curriculum that has been developed for the doctoral program strongly emphasizes social problem areas as coordinating themes in theory, research methodology, and social policy courses. The overall goal is to integrate the acquisition of basic knowledge, methods of empirical testing, and application to real-world situations. Course materials draw heavily on several priority areas of social work concern, including mental illness, income maintenance, women's issues, family policy, and issues related to diverse populations.

By the time students have completed the program, they should have acquired the following:

1. Knowledge of relevant social science theory
2. Advanced skills in research methodology and statistics
3. Advanced knowledge of social welfare policy (history) and policy analysis
4. Knowledge of relevant fields of practice, theoretical and policy perspectives, and research findings
5. Exposure to an interdisciplinary frame of reference through mechanisms provided internally by the doctoral program and externally through access to other disciplines and professions in the wider University

To fulfill the program objectives, students entering the doctoral program must have passed a graduate course in introductory statistics. The first required statistics course in the program (SW3029) presumes knowledge of basic descriptive statistics, as regularly taught in departments of psychology, sociology, education, and others. Entering students who took introductory statistics more than five years ago may wish to take a refresher course before beginning the program.

Although entering students are not required to have completed course work or other experience relevant to computer literacy, possessing basic computer skills will be an asset to students beginning the program.

Doctoral Requirements

The doctoral program requires seven core courses, one policy elective, plus a minimum of six electives, which may be two-, three- or four-credit courses. Most full-time students will spend two years (that is, the Fall and Spring Terms of two sequential years) to meet their course requirements. (Full-time is defined as nine or more credit hours per semester.) A rough timetable of the general flow of full-time students through the program is as follows:*

1. Core curriculum plus electives taken during the Fall and Spring Terms of the first and second years
2. Comprehensive Examination taken after completion of all courses
3. Identification of dissertation topic and committee and approval by doctoral director after completion of comprehensive examination
4. Defense of a Dissertation Overview with committee review (which allows admission to doctoral candidacy)
5. Dissertation Defense usually one year or more following admission to doctoral candidacy

*Students who are able to take courses in other departments/schools and/or work on dissertations during the Spring and Summer Terms can sometimes shorten this timetable.

Grades in Course Work

It is required that students will maintain an average grade of 3.00 or better in all course work. If a student receives a grade lower than B- in a required course, the course will have to be repeated. Whether the courses are required or elected, more than one grade of C+ or lower will be the basis for a formal Academic Review.

Program Flexibility and Individualization

An individual student's program should reflect the student's career goals and personal interest. This program, therefore, maintains as much flexibility and individualization as possible. This individualization is built upon the core curriculum through planning with the student's academic advisor for elective course work and enrichment experiences, including teaching and research assistantships.

Core Doctoral Curriculum

During the first two terms in the program, full-time students are usually primarily involved in taking the required courses in the four essential areas of study: social welfare, social science theory, research methods, and social policy. Part-time students are required to select among these areas in the first year of course work. These core courses are provided by the doctoral program. A brief description of each area of study follows with a listing of credits awarded and sequencing or options. Where Roman numerals are attached to course names, this indicates that courses must be taken in sequence. The core doctoral curriculum totals 28 of the required 40-46 minimum credits.

Interdisciplinary Components of Doctoral Curriculum

The core requirement of the program involves 28 of the 40-46 minimum credits. The student is then usually able to use the six elective course selections to pursue more specialized interests. Certain options available in the program, especially the Joint Public Health Master's/Social Work PhD option and the graduate certificate in Women's Studies, offer particular advantages but tend to restrict the number of electives open to students. Students are encouraged to take graduate-level course work in other schools and departments of the University insofar as this is feasible within their program requirements. Many social welfare-related fields are open: sociology, economics, women's studies, social psychology, political science, law, urban affairs, public health, and others. The student can choose his or her courses from all graduate programs in the University. The student may take no more than two MSW courses as electives.

Specialization in Mental Health Services Research

This specialization is designed to prepare students for conducting research on mental health services topics, especially in areas addressed by our NIMH Center for Mental Health Services Research: access to services, adherence to treatment, and effectiveness. In addition to standard doctoral course requirements, this track specifies three more required courses (which can be counted toward the six general elective courses that all students take), three additional elective courses tailored to the mental health service focus, and participation in research-related activities. Required courses are: SW 3041 Mental Health Services Research, SW 2040 Grant Proposal Writing, and SW 3024 Directed Studies in Research. For the doctoral policy elective, students should take SWWEL 3057 Mental Health and Public Policy. Students should take other electives that support their research agenda. Psychiatric Epidemiology and Health Economics in the Graduate School of Public Health are strongly recommended. In addition, each student should take an elective in advanced statistics or research methodology. Students are also expected to attend Center Research Initiatives Seminars. Students will complete dissertation research that addresses the services themes listed above.

CSWE Requirements for School of Social Work Faculty Positions

Students interested in a faculty position in a School of Social Work after completing their PhD should be advised that the Council on Social Work Education, the accrediting body for social work undergraduate and master's programs, requires that social work practice courses be taught by faculty with the MSW plus two years of full-time post-MSW experience. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that any MSW graduates entering the doctoral program without such experience plan to obtain it before completing their PhD, and that any non-MSW graduate who desires an academic position in a School of Social Work should consider the option of the school's dual MSW-PhD program and plan to accumulate two years of full-time social work practice experience before seeking an academic position in social work.

Comprehensive Examination

Admission to PhD candidacy is accomplished through the successful completion of a comprehensive examination. This examination is required and will be taken at a time when all required and elective course requirements are completed. The comprehensive examination is designed to assess student's mastery of the field of social work with particular emphasis on the core curriculum areas within the doctoral program and their interrelationships. The examination is written and focuses on the four core curricular areas, namely, social welfare, social policy, research, and social science theory as they related to a social problem area selected by the student as an area of specialization. The exam is given twice a year — late August and early January.

Doctoral Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation should represent a creative effort to build knowledge and theory in the field of social welfare. The first step in the dissertation effort is the preparation and submission of a brief proposal to the chairperson and the doctoral program director. Once this brief proposal is approved, the student begins preparation for the overview by forming a committee of faculty willing to assist and advise in the process of completing the dissertation. This committee must be composed of a minimum of four faculty persons, three of whom must be School of Social Work faculty and one of whom must be a faculty member from outside the school. The majority of the committee, including the chair, must be full or adjunct members of the graduate faculty. Additional persons may be appointed as suitable. Meetings of the doctoral candidate and his/her dissertation committee must occur at least annually to discuss objectives for the following year. The student then works with his or her committee, especially the chairperson, to prepare a dissertation overview, which consists of all the chapters of the dissertation up through methodology and plans for analysis of data. This overview must be defended orally in a meeting of the full dissertation committee. After acceptance of the overview by the dissertation committee, the candidate may proceed to the final stage of data collection, analysis, and interpretation. A second oral defense is held at the completion of a full dissertation. For a complete description of the dissertation proposal and approval process, see Regulations Pertaining to Doctoral Degrees.

PhD COURSES

*Courses marked with an asterisk are required/core courses. (Students must choose a third policy course to complete their core requirements.)