Ph.D. Program Courses & Curriculum

Curriculum

The curriculum consists of 15 required courses (45 credits) as follows:

Statistics I & II
Research Methods I & II
Research Practicum I & II
Social Welfare Policy Analysis I & II
Organization Theory and Social Welfare Administration
Knowledge Building in Social Work: The Philosophy of Applied 
Social Research
Theories of Social Work
Seminar in Social Work Education
Teaching Practicum
Dissertation Seminar I & II
Three electives

The Research Practicum is a year-long research project conducted under the supervision of SSW faculty. An integrative paper designed to showcase students' mastery of policy, research, and theory constitutes the basis for an Oral Defense, which is administered at the beginning of the third year. The program is designed so that full-time students can complete the course work in three years. Part-time students require four years to complete the coursework. Typically, it takes another one to two years to complete and defend the dissertation.

Selected Dissertation Titles

Indigenous Identity on the Poospatuck Reservation: Implications for Culturally Grounded Social Work Practice and Policy

Reaching the Unreachable: Predictors for Successfully Linking Chronically and Episodically Homeless Adults to Services

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families in Advent of Welfare Reform: How Household Composition Impacts Participation in Public Assistance Programs

An Exploratory Study of Undocumented Immigrants in a Suburban Northeast Community

"Enduring Violence" in the Lives of Formerly Incarcerated Women: A Study in Individual Survival and Societal Indifference

Factors Associated with Condom Use and HIV Risk Perception in Heterosexual Males in Belize

Programs that Serve Homeless People with Serious Mental Illness: A Nationwide Exploration of Non-Traditional Treatment Approaches, Success, and Barriers to Transferring Care to Community Mental Health Systems

Class Schedule

Courses are given two days a week in the afternoon and in the evening. Students attend classes on those two days; part-time students attend on the one day in which two classes are given.

Financial Aid

Together with the University’s Graduate School, the School of Social Welfare offers tuition scholarships, graduate assistantships, and other forms of competitive financial aid.

Admission Requirements

All applicants must take the Graduate Record Exam. In addition to the application itself, three letters of reference, a personal statement, and a writing sample are also required. The deadline for all applications is February 1st.

For further information, please contact
Melanie Bonnette, Administrative Assistant for the Ph.D. Program 
at (631) 444-8361 [Melanie.Bonnette@stonybrook.edu] or 
Dr. Joel Blau, Director of the Ph.D. Program 
at (631) 444-3149 [joel.blau@stonybrook.edu]