Social Work Methods

Upon matriculation to the Doctoral Program, each incoming student selects a social work method concentration. Students enter the program in one of three social work method tracks: 1) Advanced Practice, 2) Social Policy & Policy Analysis, or 3) Social Policy & Administration. The method chosen should be commensurate with the student's scholarly interests and future career plans. Prospective students who have not yet decided upon a method in which to specialize may seek assistance from a faculty member in each of the methods they are considering. (See Contact Info)

Students’ choice of a method affects a Doctoral Program experience in at least two respects. First, all students complete a sequence of courses that is unique to their selected method. And, the method a student chooses will typically influence which faculty members they will have more contact with — through coursework, advising, and assistantships.

Advanced Practice (AP)
This method is advised for students who are preparing for careers as practice teachers, practice researchers, or social service administrators who wish to remain involved in practice and programming. The relationship between research and its application to practice in the field is a major theme throughout the advanced practice courses.

The three–course AP sequence includes: The Changing Contexts of Social Work Practice (T8201), Seminar in Advanced Social Work Practice (T8203), and The Ecosystems Perspective on Practice (T8202). The sequence explores a broad range of issues, including the following:

• Contemporary issues in social work practice: theories, current ideological debates, comparison of practice approaches, etc.
   
• Learning how practitioners think about their practice: patterns of knowledge utilization, utilities and limits of traditional outcome research for practitioners, alternative research paradigms.
   
• Integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches.
   
• Making research more relevant to practitioners.

Social Policy & Policy Analysis (SP/PA)
This method is appropriate for students preparing to teach and/or conduct research in the formulation of social policy or policy analysis. The two courses in the sequence are U.S. Social Policy (T8404) and Seminar in Social Policy Analysis (T8407). Some of the major tenets of the policy track include:

• Developing a background in U.S. social policy: development, expenditures, impacts, major
  sectors, trends and issues, the policy debate, analytical paradigms, major research studies.
   
• Learning about different types of policy analysis and their relation to specific social problems, including cost-benefit analysis, cost effectiveness analysis, and micro-simulation.
   
• Experience with and debates about the uses of policy analysis in government at different levels and in different fields.

Students who select SP/PA must also complete a minimum of two courses in microeconomics. These courses may count toward an advanced research and/or social/behavioral science course requirement.

Social Policy & Administration (SP/A)
This method is recommended for students who, in addition to preparing to teach and/or carry out research in social policy, wish to specialize in management of social programs. The two courses in this sequence are U.S. Social Policy (T8404) and Social Administration / Management (T8403). In addition to the development of a background in U.S. social policy, the sequence also involves:

• Researching the roles of managers and organizations in the policy implementation process.
   
• Understanding management tasks in human service organizations.