Program Overview
The Ph.D. in Social Welfare at the University of Mississippi prepares students to become leaders in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations through advanced research and practice. The program emphasizes a broad knowledge base in social work, expertise in a specialized field, and proficiency in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research. Graduates are equipped to contribute to the development and dissemination of knowledge and provide leadership in the field of social welfare.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
Ph.D. in Social Welfare
The Ph.D. in Social Welfare program at the University of Mississippi trains students to become competent scholars and applied practitioners who advance knowledge and provide leadership in addressing issues pertinent to at-risk and vulnerable populations.
Objectives:
- To become leaders in examining and addressing the needs of diverse, vulnerable, and at-risk populations.
- To contribute to the development and dissemination of knowledge about social work interventions.
- To demonstrate mastery of a broad knowledge base in social work and develop expertise in a specialized field of study germane to each student's research interests.
- To be able to design and effectively carry out quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed methods research investigations.
Program Description:
The Ph.D. in Social Welfare program requires 54 post-MSW credit hours, consisting of:
- 21 hours in a substantive core area of social work
- 15 hours of research methods and statistics
- 18 hours of dissertation research
Outline:
Social Work Core Courses:
- SW 701: Colloquium I (3 hours)
- SW 703: Topics with At-Risk Populations (3 hours)
- SW 704: Theories and Research in Neuro and Behavioral Science (3 hours)
- SW 706: History of Social Welfare (3 hours)
- SW 708: Colloquium II (3 hours)
- SW 709: Policy Analysis (3 hours)
- SW 713: Special Topics (Substantive Elective) (3 hours)
Research Methods and Statistics:
- SW 702: Research Design in Social Work (3 hours)
- SW 705: Applied and Inferential Statistics (3 hours)
- SW 710: Issues and Research Problems in Social Work Interventions (OR Intermediate Statistics) (3 hours)
- SW 711: Qualitative Methods in Social Work Research (3 hours)
- SW 712: Advanced Statistics (3 hours)
