Phd Program in Social WelfarePhd Program in Social WelfareBack to Program Manual Table of Contents
During the first 2 years in the program students work to develop the knowledge and skills that will enable them to advance to the standing of candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Welfare. In the second year, students move toward this goal by selecting a Supervisory Committee, engaging in advanced work on the the Program of Study (POS), which includes advanced coursework and preparing for the General Examination.
In preparing for the General Examination, a student works under the guidance of a Supervisory Committee composed of at least four faculty persons, three of whom must be members of the Graduate School Faculty. The chair and at least one other member of the committee must also be members of the Social Welfare Faculty. One member, the Graduate School Representative (GSR), must be external to the Social Work Faculty and is recruited by the Supervisory Committee Chair and student. The Chair and GSR must have Graduate School status of authorization to chair committees.
During the first year, the student should become acquainted with those Social Welfare Faculty members whose work is related to her/his training goals so that appropriate committee members can be identified. The student discusses the selection of a chair and other members with her/his first-year advisor and other faculty. The first-year spring seminar focuses on preparation for the first-year comprehensive examinations and selection of a Supervisory Chair. Usually, the chair is identified and approached first. Once she/he has agreed to serve, the student confers with the chair about other potential committee members. By early in the second year, at least three members (including the chair) are chosen.
When all members have been chosen and have agreed to serve, the student submits his/her Supervisory Committee to the Program Director. This is done by filling out the Supervisory Committee form (Request to Establish Supervisory Committee). For students entering autumn 2005 or later, the form must be submitted with an initial outline for the Qualifying Scholarly Paper, which is written in partial fulfillment of the General Examination requirement.
The decision regarding acceptance of the Supervisory Committee membership rests with the Social Welfare Faculty and is authorized by the Director as the Social Welfare Faculty representative. On occasion, the request will be taken to the broader PhD Steering Committee for input.
The committee members oversee the student’s research, development, and writing of the Qualifying Scholarly Paper. Soon after the selection of the Supervisory Committee, the chair should convene the committee. Typically this first meeting with the student involves a review of the student's program to that point, a discussion of the areas to be covered in the Qualifying Paper. The committee develops agreements regarding the structure and format of the Qualifying Paper, potential journals to which it could be submitted, and expectations for the paper presentation, which serves as the Oral General Examination. A timeline for completion of all parts of the General Examination should be created. This discussion is facilitated if the student has submitted a curriculum vitae and a statement outlining training goals for each of the three areas in advance of the meeting. Ways in which required social science and advanced research courses are related to the student's program of study should be part of this discussion. Faculty may also find it useful to agree at this time on some rough division of labor regarding the formulation and evaluation of the Qualifying Paper.
Students are expected to confer with each member of the committee regarding the development and writing of Qualifying Paper. These consultations may take the form of formal reading courses or simply ongoing discussions, although input on student written drafts of the paper is strongly encouraged. In some instances students may wish to take or audit classes taught by one or more of the instructors who serve on the committee or others whose content area is relevant.
After completion of all components of the General Examination, the student and chair of the Supervisory Committee review the composition of the committee to determine whether any changes are indicated to provide appropriate supervision for the dissertation. Changes in the composition of the committee are made by submitting a formal request to the Director of the Doctoral Program; this request includes a clearly detailed rationale for the change and signature of the Chair and the student (Change of Committee request form of School website [Revised 8/7/86]). Committee changes based on changing availability (e.g., a faculty member going on leave) or shifts between exam and dissertation topics are not uncommon.
The next step is Supervisory Committee approval of the Dissertation Prospectus. At this point the student identifies at least three Supervisory Committee members (excluding the GSR) who will comprise the Dissertation Reading Committee. This is the group that must serve as primary mentors during the dissertation research and writing and who approve the final Dissertation.