Program Requirements

A prototypical student's route to the Ph.D. in Social Work generally requires the completion of between 45 and 48 academic credits. At a minimum, students must complete 30 credits within the Columbia University system, 18 credits of which must be attained within the School of Social Work. This section provides a quick reference and overview of the program curriculum. For the complete descriptions of courses and program policies, click here.

Doctoral Resource Guide
For a PDF of the 2008-09 Edition, click here.

Course Work

Doctoral Proseminar in Social Work Research
0 credits.
Required of all degree candidates, the proseminar introduces incoming doctoral students to the research process and a range of research studies as well as the faculty conducting them at Columbia.

History and Philosophy of Social Welfare (T8801)
3 credits.
Required of all degree candidates. Taken in the first semester at CUSSW, this course provides a historical and philosophical perspective on social welfare institutions, concepts, issues and trends.

2-3 courses in a social work method
6 to 9 credits.
These courses form the framework of the student's introduction to and mastery of a social work method: Advanced Practice, Social Policy & Policy Analysis, or Social Policy & Administration.

Advanced Practice students take three of these core courses at CUSSW. Social Policy & Policy Analysis students take two courses at CUSSW and Social Policy & Administration students take two of these courses at CUSSW.

7 courses in research methodology and statistics
21 credits.
Students must take three courses in research methods, three courses in statistics, and a seventh course which may be taken in either area.

To satisfy the research methods requirement, all students (unless granted a course waiver) are required to take the introductory Research Methods in Social Work course (T8502). In subsequent semesters, students may choose to take advanced courses covering various historical, qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Often the advanced courses are taken in other departments of the University. Students who waive out of T8502 must still complete at least 9 credits in the research methods area. Students in the policy concentration may count one of their microeconomics courses toward the research methods requirement.

All statistics courses are taken in other departments of the University. Students in the practice concentration usually take their first course in the department of biostatistics at the School of Public Health. Students in the policy and administration concentrations usually take their first course at the School of International and Public Affairs. Advanced course topics include measurement, applied regression analysis, structural equation modeling, and advanced analytic topics suitable for diverse research designs and data types. Such courses are available at a number of departments in the university. Students who waive out of introductory level statistics courses are still required to take at least 9 credits in the statistics area.

3 courses in social or behavioral sciences
9 credits.
These courses may be taken in economics, public health, sociology, psychology, political science, anthropology, social history, and other specialized areas. In general, students should take all of their social or behavioral science courses within the same discipline (with exceptions requiring justification). The choice of social science area should be particularly relevant to each student's dissertation themes and career objectives.

Note: Students in the policy concentration may count one of their microeconomics courses toward this requirement. Students who enroll in the Advanced Seminar in Child and Family Policy (T8405) may count the course toward either the social / behavioral science or the field of practice requirement.

Examinations and Other Milestones

A 360-hour research practicum
(not taken for course credit)
The purpose of the research practicum is to link classroom learning to the dissertation process by providing students with an applied research internship in conjunction with a current faculty research project. The practicum, typically taken during the student's second through fourth semesters, involves 8-12 hours of work per week for 30-45 weeks. The practicum is designed with concrete objectives in mind and may lead to the development of a publishable paper.

1 field of practice tutorial & exam/paper
3 credits.
Each doctoral student is required to demonstrate expertise in a field of practice related to their substantive interests and career goals. Students complete a field of practice tutorial (course T8003) with a social work faculty member during their third semester. Previous T8003 fields of practice tutorials have included topics ranging from family and child policy, social work in the workplace, mental health services, comparative social policy and HIV/AIDS. Students receive a letter grade for this course, and may not take it for R credit.

After completing the field of practice tutorial, students take a three-hour written examination in their selected field of practice, usually in their third or fourth semester. As an alternative, their tutorial professor may require a research paper in lieu of the exam. They prepare for the exam or paper by synthesizing knowledge accumulated in their elective courses, guided readings, tutorials, and practice experience. They must demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the research and scholarly literature in their field and assess the implications of that research for social work practice and policy.

Note: Students who complete their field of practice tutorial via the Advanced Seminar in Child and Family Policy (T8405) take their examination at the conclusion of the course.

Comprehensive examinations
When a student has completed all required course work as well as the field of practice examination, they may sit for the comprehensive examinations in their social work method. Most students take these exams in their fourth semester, a month after the field of practice exam. The comprehensive exams, which aim to help students synthesize and integrate their three social work methods courses, are taken in two stages: a written examination and an oral follow-up examination conducted by a faculty panel.

A social/behavioral science qualifying paper
Note: Students who entered in Fall 2006 or later are not required to complete the qualifying paper. The purpose of the qualifying paper is to encourage students to explore and master both conceptual formulation and an empirical base in the social / behavioral sciences areas and apply these to relevant social work concerns. Ideally, the qualifying paper will contribute meaningfully to an initial draft of theory and literature review sections in a student's dissertation. Students typically approach the qualifying paper by taking a social work or social welfare issue as a point of departure and focusing on how a social/behavioral science theory and empirical findings offer explanation or insight. Alternatively, they investigate a social/behavioral science theory or framework, its research trends and knowledge gaps, and its implications for social work practice or social policy. The qualifying paper is 20-35 pages in length, conforms, in form and standard, to literature reviews in major professional and disciplinary journals.

The Dissertation
The successful defense of the dissertation is the final eligibility criterion for the Ph.D. degree.

Dissertation planning begins early in the course of studies, but becomes more focused after the three social work method courses and field of practice tutorial have been completed. Students take a required Dissertation Seminar course with their peers during the third year and receive faculty advisement through the required Dissertation Research Instruction course. In this course faculty guide the degree candidate through the processes of selecting a study topic, developing an approved proposal, implementing the research, and writing the dissertation. Students defend their dissertation proposal and the completed dissertation in front of a five-member interdisciplinary committee. They are evaluated on the basis of their potential for independent scholarship and, optimally, on the contribution of their work to the social work discipline.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences permits students a maximum of 7 years to complete all requirements for the Ph.D. However, with timely and proficient progress through the doctoral program's curriculum, most students can finish their degree in 3-5 years.

Credit Requirements
In the process of earning the Ph.D., most doctoral students will accumulate 45 - 48 credits. Nonetheless, students should note the following stipulations when they are planning their academic schedule:

• At least 30 credits taken toward the Ph.D. must be earned within the Columbia University system.


• At least 18 of these 30 credits must be taken within the School of Social Work.