Admission Requirements

Candidates are expected to have the Master of Social Work degree from an accredited school of social work, at least two years of successful professional experience following the award of the master’s degree, and demonstrated capacity to engage in advanced study. A minimum of three strong letters of reference, an academic average of 3.5 or higher from the MSW program, and a well-formulated statement of professional development and scholarly interests are required, along with GRE (the General Examination: verbal, quantitative, analytical) scores no older than five years, a sample of scholarly writing, TOEFL score if applicable of 550 or better, and a personal interview with members of the doctoral faculty. Applicants with MSW grade point averages between 3.0 and 3.4 may be considered on an individual basis if credentials are otherwise exceptionally strong.

Criteria employed in determining admission include evidence of achievement in previous academic programs, increasing competency in professional performance, knowledge of critical issues associated with applicant’s area of professional interest and potential for contributing to the knowledge of the profession through research, scholarly writing, and professional education. GRE scores are carefully evaluated in concert with other application elements but specific cut-points for GRE scores are not applied. The undergraduate GPA is also weighed, particularly grades from upper division courses, but a specific cut-point for the undergraduate GPA is not applied.

Admission decisions are based on majority vote of the Doctoral Committee.

Cohorts of up to 12 students are admitted every three years, with a busy summer of orientation preceding fall matriculation. A new cohort is admitted as the previous group moves into independent dissertation research.