Admissions, Doctorate in Social Welfare

• official transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate courses taken for credit
• a copy of your most recent resume or vitae
•  three letters of recommendation, including at least one from a faculty member
• a written personal statement (3-5 pages) that describes and evaluates your professional development, including your career goals and how doctoral education is relevant to them and your area of research interest within the social work profession
• one example (not exceeding 25 pages) of a recent, single or co-authored work of scholarly writing that provides evidence of your capacity to think analytically and critically about a social welfare issue. The following are examples of appropriate submissions: published article, book chapter, or book; unpublished research report; term paper written in a graduate level course; grant application.

All the above supplemental application materials should be sent to:

MSASS Doctoral Program
11235 Bellflower Road
Cleveland, Ohio  44106-7164

In response to the different needs and interests of potential PhD students, MSASS offers two formats for professionals electing to pursue a PhD degree in social welfare: the full-time and the part-time format. Requirements in both formats include taking required coursework, passing a qualifying exam, 18 hours of dissertation credits and completing a dissertation.

The part-time format accommodates social work professionals who must maintain their employment commitments but wish to pursue PhD study, through the completion of a minimum of three courses per year. Part-time students receive half tuition waivers for courses. The full-time program permits students to complete required coursework and paid research fellowships over three academic years. It provides individualized fellowship training in social work research methods with a faculty member. Currently, full-time students are guaranteed two years of research fellowship funding and full tuition waivers from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School; faculty research grants typically fund subsequent years in the program.

Both formats are structured to maximize interaction among students, as well as between students and faculty.  Course content includes philosophy of science and theory building, theories of human behavior, advanced research design, statistics, measurement and data analysis, qualitative research models and methods, social welfare policy, theory and evidence base of social work practice, and social work education. (Please refer to our web site for current course offerings.)

To be admitted to the Doctoral Program, candidates should have a master’s degree from an accredited school of social work or a master’s degree in a related field and demonstrate a superior record in undergraduate and graduate studies. Practical experience in social welfare is required. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE), taken within the past five years, is required for application to the PhD program. Competency in written and spoken English is required. Students from non-English speaking countries must submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).