Ph.D. in Social Work The University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice

Students in the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice doctoral program are among a select group of outstanding students and scholars who advance an interdisciplinary approach to social work and social welfare scholarship. The program is designed to deepen students' mastery of both social science theory and research methods so that they are prepared to contribute to scholarly knowledge in innovative ways. The Ph.D. in social work opens doors to university-level research and teaching positions and high-level policy research. In the doctoral program, students have the flexibility of designing their own course of study in tandem with related disciplines across the University of Chicago. What makes Crown Family School different is that our students receive the theoretical training needed to become applied social scientists.

The Doctoral Program at the Crown Family School is a Ph.D. program for people who want to have a career in research and teaching. We do not offer a DSW or provide specific clinical training for practitioners beyond the master's level.

Research Centers

The University of Chicago is a magnet for the world's leading scholars in the social sciences. As a doctoral student, you can participate in original research alongside faculty advisors in any of our University-affiliated research centers and programs, including:

• Center for Gender Studies
• Center for Health Administration Studies
• Center for Human Potential and Public Policy
• Center for the Study of Race, Politics & Culture
• Chicago Center for Youth Violence Prevention
• Human Rights Program
• Urban Health Initiative

Doctoral Curriculum

The diverse theoretical and methodological training of Crown Family School's faculty makes the doctoral program uniquely positioned to support a wide array of student interests. Current doctoral students study topics such as child welfare, urban education, health care, youth violence, poverty and inequality, urban politics, criminal justice, low-paid employment, immigration, child and family policy, and substance use and abuse. They research public policies, human service organizations, and social programs affecting diverse populations in the United States and globally: immigrants and refugees, racial/ethnic and sexual minorities, low-income workers, parents, children, and adolescents, and individuals with health and mental health challenges and special needs.

The Doctoral Program is flexibly structured so that students can pursue a curriculum matched to their individual interests. It is at the forefront of schools of social work that emphasize the role of social science theory and rigorous empirical methods in guiding the investigation of social problems and interventions. In consultation with a faculty advisor, each student develops a program of study that includes two years of coursework, a qualifying examination, a publishable pre-dissertation research project, and a dissertation thesis. Doctoral students also have the opportunity to collaborate with faculty in their research and to serve as teaching assistants or instructors.

Students in the program are encouraged to design a course of study that harnesses the strengths of Crown Family School and the wider University. Students take Crown Family School courses that explore the theoretical underpinnings of social work and social welfare scholarship from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and levels of analysis. Students also take courses across the university in such departments as Anthropology, Economics, History, Human Development, Political Science, Public Health Sciences, and Sociology, and in the professional schools of Business, Law, Medicine, and Public Policy. The Traveling Scholar Program enables doctoral-level students to take advantage of educational opportunities at other Big Ten Academic Alliance universities (btaa.org) without a change in registration or increase in tuition.

Crown Family School's Doctoral Program enjoys full access to a rich network of scholars, libraries, institutes, and centers that only a research university such as the University of Chicago can offer. Many of our students work with scholars at Chapin Hall, the Center for Health Administration Studies, the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, the Consortium on School Research, and the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, to name a few.

The Doctoral Program at Crown Family School is a Ph.D. program for people who want to have a career in research and teaching. We do not offer a DSW or provide specific clinical training for practitioners beyond the master's level.

Degree Requirements

Students attend the Doctoral Program full-time. They are required to take a minimum of fifteen courses: one on the history of the social work profession, five on statistics and research methods offered at Crown Family School and across the University, and nine additional substantive courses, at least three of which are in other departments or professional schools at the University of Chicago. It is expected that these three courses be in a single discipline or substantive area.

Students are expected to complete a pre-dissertation research project during their first two years of study. This project should be an empirical report, a critical analysis of the literature, or a theoretical piece, written while a doctoral student and submitted for publication in a journal or book.

Students must pass a qualifying examination that assesses their understanding of the historical foundations of social work as well as their understanding of core literature in two of eight conceptual domains informing their area of scholarship. The examination process includes a take-home, open-book examination completed during a one-week period at the end of the summer following the second year.

Finally, students are required to successfully complete a dissertation project. As the culmination of the Doctoral Program, the dissertation thesis reflects the student's ability to use theoretical knowledge and analytic tools to advance knowledge in a particular area of concern to social work and social welfare scholarship.

Timeline

Because the time needed to complete the dissertation varies widely, the time required for completion of the Ph.D. program also varies. In general, students take from four to five years to complete all requirements. The following outlines a suggested plan for progress in the program.