The University of Texas' Ph.D. in social work program provides students with the opportunity to teach in the field and expand their research interests. Students complete 46 credit hours in courses like Theories and Social Work, Data Analysis and Computers and Colloquium on Social Work Education and Research. Full-time students can complete the coursework and comprehensive exam in two years. The comprehensive exam tests students' mastery of the subject area in which they will complete their dissertation research. It consists of both oral and written components. Once the comprehensive exam is complete, students then compose their dissertation proposal, write the dissertation and defend it.
University of Texas
School of Social Work
1925 San Jacinto Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78712
512-471-5457
utexas.edu
Students at the University of Maryland’s Ph.D. in social work program have the opportunity to study with faculty with a range of research interests, including child welfare, aging and victim services. Students take courses like Comparative Social Policy, Theory and Practice of Social Work Teaching and Structure and Content of Social Work Education. Courses are available on campus on Thursdays and Fridays. To prepare them for their dissertation, students take two, three-credit research practicums in which they choose a broad research topic, conduct a literature review, design a study and analyze results.
University of Maryland
School of Social Work
525 West Redwood St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-706-7960
ssw.umaryland.edu
University of Denver's Ph.D. students complete 75 quarter-hour credits, including 43 core credits, 25 elective credits and seven dissertation credits. Core courses include Social Work and Theory, Correlation and Regression and Social Welfare Policy Analysis and Development. Students also complete a comprehensive exam where they write a paper on a problem of importance for social work and then complete an oral exam about the paper. At the end of the program, students write and defend their dissertations.
University of Denver
Graduate School of Social Work
Craig Hall, 2148 South High Street
Denver, CO 80208-7100
303-871-2886
du.edu