Online Doctorate in Social Work (DSW)

Program Overview

Simmons University's online Doctorate of Social Work (DSW) program empowers professionals to become leaders in social work thought, education, and practice. Through live, online classes, students develop advanced clinical skills, inclusive leadership abilities, and teaching expertise. The program culminates in a capstone project that showcases students' research and expertise in a specific area of interest. Graduates emerge as scholar-practitioners who seamlessly apply doctoral-level knowledge to their work in the field.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The online Doctorate of Social Work (DSW) program at Simmons University is designed for professionals who aspire to be leaders in social work thought, education, and practice. It is a clinically focused program that emphasizes social justice values and is delivered by expert faculty-practitioners. The program empowers students to advance the field through three areas of focus: inclusive leadership, advanced clinical practice, and teaching and education.

Objectives:

• To provide the highest level of clinical training to professionals in social work.
• To prepare students to be leaders in social work thought, education, and practice.
• To empower students to advance the field of social work through three areas of focus: inclusive leadership, advanced clinical practice, and teaching and education.

Program Description:

• The program is delivered through live, online classes in a cohort-based model that encourages students and faculty to form strong connections.
• Cohorts begin in September, January, and May, and applications are accepted throughout the year.
• Students can complete the program full time in less than two years or part time in less than three years.
• The program is designed to welcome clinical social workers with varied work commitments, educational goals, and learning styles.
• The program curriculum is built by doctorally prepared clinical social workers, for clinical social workers.
• The DSW curriculum explores a range of advanced social work competencies while keeping clinical practice at the forefront.
• The program is committed to the National Association of Social Workers’ core values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence.

Teaching:

• The program is delivered through live, online classes.
• Students can interact face-to-face with classmates and the expert faculty who designed the program.
• The online platform is built to support socializing and collaboration outside of class sessions, featuring intuitive tools for group work, providing and receiving feedback, and gaining support.
• Students will also complete coursework in the online platform through interactive and multimedia tools.
• Students will attend capstone-specific classes with a small group of peers as they explore their topics and produce their projects.
• Students will receive support and feedback from faculty during capstone seminars.
• Students will have one-on-one faculty meetings to discuss their topics, talk through their progress, and receive feedback.

Careers:

• Clinically enhanced private social work practice
• Positions in social work academia
• Inclusive and visionary leadership
• Social work consulting and training
• Advising as a social work subject matter expert

Other:

• The program culminates with a capstone project that provides the opportunity for students to explore a real-world topic or problem in the field, further establish their identities as advanced social work professionals, and assert their expertise within a specific area of interest.
• The capstone project can apply to any or all of the three curricular focus areas and will challenge students to synthesize what they have learned throughout the program.
• Students have the liberty to be creative with the medium and delivery of their project.
• The program is a terminal degree that prepares professionals in the field with advanced knowledge and research opportunities.
• The DSW prepares students to apply what they learn and research to their practice in the field.
• Graduates of Simmons’ DSW program will emerge as scholar-practitioners who seamlessly apply doctoral-level knowledge and practices to their work in the field.