The PhD in Social Work at Boston University aims to prepare the next generation of social work and social welfare scholars and leaders to address the complex social challenges of the 21st century. Building upon the School of Social Work\u2019s robust commitment to social justice and empowerment of historically marginalized and vulnerable populations, the program provides rigorous training in the theory, research methods, and values of the social work profession necessary to solve urgent human and societal problems. Graduates are exceptionally well trained in multiple methods and interdisciplinary linkages to other social and behavioral sciences. Through a curriculum that encompasses research, clinical and policy practice knowledge, and teaching pedagogy and practice, the program offers a rich educational foundation for future social work leaders in the academy, as well as the practice and policy arenas.<\/p>\n
The PhD program is a full-time course of study. The program welcomes one cohort of students per year, beginning in September. Students must meet all requirements set forth in the PhD Handbook (available to enrolled students via Blackboard), including a minimum of 16 courses for the post-master\u2019s PhD (as indicated below), and complete a minimum of 63 units.<\/p>\n
Students will take two courses in advanced research methods relevant to the individual conduct of research in an area of specialization.<\/p>\n
Guidelines for the Teaching Practicum<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Students must complete a teaching practicum with an instructor of record for a traditional in-person MSW classroom course. The Teaching Practicum is graded as Pass\/Fail, with grades submitted by the faculty mentor at the end of the grading period.<\/p>\n Students identify an interdisciplinary specialization organized around a population (i.e., children, immigrants and refugees, older adults) and\/or a social problem\/issue (i.e., poverty, housing, trauma, health disparities) and complete 12 unit hours of study in their chosen area of specialization. Four units of the specialization must be taken in a theory course. Students have considerable flexibility with respect to electives; however, it is expected that all electives include content and assignments appropriate for doctoral study.<\/p>\n The specialization is developed by the student in collaboration with their faculty advisor and approved by the associate dean for doctoral education.<\/p>\n Students will teach as the Instructor of Record in a traditional classroom setting on-campus and also as an Online Facilitator or Instructor. These teaching requirements must be completed during the third, fourth, and fifth years in the program, and students must serve on campus as Instructor of Record in a traditional classroom setting.<\/p>\n Students will be eligible to take the qualifying exam within six months of their fourth terms of coursework. The qualifying examination is a take-home exam intended to assess students\u2019 ability to conduct independent social work research and thus begin work on the dissertation. Accordingly, the exam focuses on core social work knowledge and theory, social justice and ethics, research methods, and a student\u2019s area of specialization. The written examination is graded Honors, High Pass, Pass, and Fail.<\/p>\n Upon successful completion of the qualifying examination, a student is accepted to PhD candidacy. The maximum period allowable between matriculation and acceptance to PhD candidacy will be four years. Once in PhD candidacy, a student will have three years to complete the dissertation requirements successfully; this period can be extended only if approved by the doctoral committee, associate dean for doctoral education, and dean of the School of Social Work.<\/p>\n Doctoral candidates will demonstrate their abilities to conduct independent and original research through the dissertation project. The dissertation may take the form of a traditional monograph or a three-paper format (see PhD Handbook). Upon completion of coursework and all other pre-dissertation requirements, a student will develop a prospectus in which the dissertation research is described. Students will work with advisors and the associate dean for doctoral education to identify an interdisciplinary committee of five faculty members, at least two of whom (first reader and chair of the dissertation committee) must be SSW tenure-line faculty, with additional readers from the student\u2019s area of specialization.\u00a0Approval of the dissertation proposal is obtained through a prospectus defense before the full committee.<\/p>\n Candidates, upon completion of the dissertation, present themselves for a final oral examination before the full committee.<\/p>\n Students are expected to complete a minimum of four consecutive regular terms of full-time graduate study at Boston University. Full-time study in this context is full-time commitment to the discipline as determined by the department. Doctoral students holding appointments as graduate teaching fellows or graduate research assistants are considered full-time students for purposes of the residency requirement, provided that the time beyond that required by their appointments is devoted fully to their graduate program. In order to graduate, students must be registered part- or full-time in the term or summer term in which they complete degree requirements, as well as in the preceding term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The PhD in Social Work at Boston University aims to prepare the next generation of social work and social welfare scholars and leaders to address the complex social challenges of the 21st century. Building upon the School of Social Work\u2019s robust commitment to social justice and empowerment of historically marginalized and vulnerable populations, the program […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4502,"featured_media":0,"parent":274,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/60756"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4502"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60756"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/60756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102144,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/60756\/revisions\/102144"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/academics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Interdisciplinary Specialization (12 units)<\/h3>\n
Teaching Requirements<\/h3>\n
Qualifying Examinations<\/h3>\n
PhD Candidacy<\/h3>\n
Dissertation<\/h3>\n
Residency Requirement<\/h3>\n