PhD Program Admission

Admission to the PhD program requires a master's degree in social work or social welfare or comparable preparation in a closely related field. However, applicants who are planning an academic career should be aware that virtually all U.S. schools of social work or social welfare now require faculty to hold the MSW as well as the PhD degree. Applicants without the MSW may wish to consider applying to the combined MSW/PhD program.

Applicants must possess the intellectual qualifications essential to successful performance in the program. Applicants are evaluated on the basis of transcripts; personal statements; letters of recommendation; verbal, quantitative, and analytic scores on the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination; and samples of scholarly written work. The School also seeks to determine whether the applicant's particular objectives can be met in the PhD program at Berkeley.

The deadline to apply for Fall 2009 is December 1, 2008.