THE COMBINED MSW/PH.D. PROGRAM
The School of Social
Welfare offers a combined MSW/Ph.D. program for persons who possess
a strong interest in and exceptional capacity for research and scholarly
work and who wish to pursue a continuous program of graduate study leading
to the MSW and the Ph.D. degrees.
In addition to the
requirements for the Ph.D., combined students complete required course
work and field work in one of the regular MSW program specializations:
children and families, gerontology, health, mental health, or management
planning. Students normally substitute Ph.D. statistics and research
courses for the MSW research sequence, and may use units from Ph.D.
courses and tutorials as part of the 29 academic units required for
the MSW.
The combined MSW/Ph.D.
program subcommittee can exempt combined program students from certain
MSW requirements. You may also be exempted from the MSW course SW 200
by passing a competency exam, administered at the beginning of the fall
semester. The subcommittee chair serves as your second faculty adviser
through completion of MSW degree requirements and committee members
are available to assist you in planning a program which will ensure
that your work for the MSW degree represents sound professional education
while meeting the goals of Ph.D. study.
Field work placements
are coordinated by the MSW field work coordinator; information on specific
placements is available from the MSW Field Work Assistant in 118 Haviland.
The Doctoral Assistant acts as the graduate assistant for students in
the combined MSW/Ph.D. program, and you are encouraged to discuss with
her any questions you may have.
Because MSW required
courses and field work add substantially to the work load, and because
time conflicts may arise between Ph.D. program courses and MSW field
work, a minimum of three years of full-time course work and one
additional year to complete the dissertation will be required for both
degrees. Most students will require more than four years. The MSW degree
is normally awarded at the end of two years of study.
You are expected
to complete your qualifying exam for the Ph.D. degree by the end of
your eighth semester in the School (and must do so to be eligible for
the Dean's Normative Time Fellowship). This means you must apply for
the examination no later than your seventh semester. If you fail to
meet these expectations, you will be asked to submit a written request
to the chair of the doctoral program explaining your need for an extension
of the normal period of preparation and outlining your progress to date.
General Requirements
for the MSW Degree. The general course of study includes at least
29 units of upper division and graduate courses plus 19 field work units,
and a choice of one of the following plans to satisfy the research requirement:
Plan I, an individual master's thesis, or Plan II, a year-long
research methods course. The Ph.D. research sequence satisfies Plan
II. Each MSW sequence requires specific courses. Information and a planning
worksheet are included in your MSW orientation packet.
You enroll in at
least 12 units (including field work) a semester for four semesters
to fulfill MSW full-time enrollment requirements. No more than one-third
of the 29 academic units required for the MSW should be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory
(S/U) basis. You are responsible for completing requirements and maintaining
the minimum 3.0 (B) grade point average required for all graduate students.
Your faculty adviser will assist you in selecting courses which fulfill
requirements for the MSW and Ph.D. degrees and mesh with your scholarly
and professional interests.
MSW/Ph.D. Progress
Review. The progress review of the students in the combined program
is at the end of their second year (with the combined program subcommittee
and your faculty adviser) or at the end of their third year (with the
first year review doctoral subcommittee and your faculty adviser).
For this review,
you submit two papers that you have written, one of which must be
from your work in the doctoral program. Therefore, you may wish
to include a course or seminar in your fall schedule in which a scholarly
paper is a requirement. Students may submit the paper prepared for SW
279. Please submit papers which best indicate your substantive interests
and your ability to deal with these interests abstractly and analytically.
You must also tentatively identify your three fields of study and submit
a brief statement describing your educational objectives and career
plans. Discuss any questions you have with your faculty adviser.
Withdrawal and
Readmission. Combined students sometimes choose to leave the School
after completing the MSW degree and before being advanced to candidacy
for the Ph.D. If you
leave the School before being advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree
and want to resume your studies at some future time, you are not automatically
readmitted. You must file a standard application
for admission to the Ph.D. program by the December application deadline
for the following fall semester, and you will be considered for admission
to the doctoral program in competition with other applicants in accord
with all application requirements and procedures.
If extenuating circumstances
necessitate your withdrawing for one or two semesters only, you should
discuss the possibility of requesting an exception to this policy with
your faculty adviser. If your adviser concurs, provide the Doctoral
Assistant with a memo addressed to the Chair of the Doctoral Committee
requesting an approved leave of absence. The chair will review your
request and may waive the requirement that your application for readmission
be evaluated and approved by the doctoral admissions committee before
you are allowed to return.
CSWE Post-MSW
Practice Requirement. If you plan to apply for an academic position
after completing the doctorate, you should be aware that most Schools
of Social Welfare require faculty to have an MSW degree and at least
two years post-MSW practice experience. In addition, the Council on
Social Work Education (CSWE: the professional organization that accredits
MSW programs) requires that faculty who teach required practice courses
or direct the field practicum must hold a credential that includes
a master's degree in social work from an accredited program and have
the equivalent of two years or more of full-time post-masters degree
experience in professional social work practice” (Standard 4.2, italics
are added). Note that this requirement does not apply to the teaching
of elective methods courses, research courses, policy courses, or HBSE
courses, nor does it prevent service as a field practicum faculty member.
See Attachment
IX for guidelines for obtaining post-MSW practice
experience.
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