Graduate School Bulletin

Degree Requirements

 

Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree in Social Welfare

A) One year in residence

B) Satisfactory completion of all required and elective courses (54 credits)

C) Satisfactory completion of research and teaching practicum

D) Satisfactory performance on the comprehensive qualifying exams

E) Advancement to candidacy by vote of the doctoral committee upon successful completion of all course work and the comprehensive exam

F) Completion of a dissertation

G) Successful defense of the dissertation

A program summary booklet is available describing the Ph.D. program in detail, its curriculum and requirements for admission. To receive a copy of this booklet , contact the School of Social Welfare’s Ph.D. program office at (631) 444-3142.

Program Structure and Content

The structure of this program consists of 14 required courses (42 credits) as follows:

Statistics I and II (HWC 600 & HWC 601)

Research Methods I and II  (HWC 602 & HWC 603)

Research Practicum I and II (HWC 606 & HWC 607)

Social Welfare Policy Analysis I and II (HWC 608 & 609)

Organizational Theory and Social Welfare Administration (HWC 610)

Theories of Social Work Intervention (HWC 612)

Seminar in Social Work Education (HWC 613)

Teaching Practicum (HWC 614)

Dissertation Seminar I and II (HWC 615 & HWC 616)

Also required are four electives (12 credits), a comprehensive exam and the production and defense of a scholarly dissertation. Fifty four credits are required for graduation. In the first three years, students take three courses each semester. The full-time program is designed to be completed in a minimum of four years.

Once all coursework and the comprehensive exam have been completed successfully, students select a preliminary dissertation chair and committee and develop an approved dissertation proposal. The student is then advanced to candidacy and begins dissertation research. The fourth year is spent on completion of the dissertation and defense.