
The PhD Program in Social Welfare
The PhD program in Social Welfare strives to develop scholars, leaders, and social work educators who will advance knowledge about social work, social welfare policy, and intervention strategies from a behavioral and social science perspective to improve the quality of life of individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations.
Our students work with award-winning research centers and institutes, such as the Institute for Research on Poverty, Institute on Aging, Waisman Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, and more. Our students choose from a wide selection of courses in world-renowned social and behavioral science departments including; Sociology, Economics, Educational Psychology, Human Development and Family Studies, the La Follette School of Public Affairs, Psychology, Gender Studies, Population Health, Nursing, and more.
The PhD program provides an interdisciplinary plan of study in basic and applied social research. In the program, doctoral students build and integrate knowledge in:
-
a substantive or social problem area (e.g., child welfare, aging, developmental disabilities, end-of-life care, health, mental health, poverty);
-
social science theory (e.g., theories of the life course, economic theory, psychopathology, organizational theory, stress process theories);
-
research designs and statistical methodologies (e.g., program evaluation, policy analysis, longitudinal analysis).
The PhD Program in Social Welfare is an in-person, full-time program. Regardless of the program track, it typically takes four to six years to complete the program: two to three years for full-time doctoral coursework and two to three years for completion of the preliminary exam and dissertation. The actual time students take to obtain the PhD degree will vary according to their previous preparation, progress in the program, and the nature of their dissertation work.
The UW-Madison Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work is known for its:
-
National Reputation of Excellence
-
Highly Recruited Graduates
-
Strong Faculty Mentoring Model
-
Individualized Programs of Study
-
Substantial Financial Support
-
Rigorous Interdisciplinary Research Training
-
Vibrant Graduate Student Community
-
Opportunities to collaborate with world-renowned research centers and institutes
-
Options to pursue interdisciplinary PhD minors in Aging; Prevention and Intervention Science; and Women’s Studies, among others
About the School of Social Work
The School of Social Work at UW–Madison is consistently ranked among the best schools of social work in the country. Faculty prepare social work professionals at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels. Through the preparation of social work practitioners, scholars, and educators, faculty and students explore and seek to understand the nature of social problems, their impact on vulnerable populations, and ways to critically analyze and promote the achievement of a just, equitable, healthy, and productive society.
Social work faculty are noted for their scholarly work in developing a conceptual understanding of social work practice and policy, and in producing research in important social problem areas. For example, faculty took a leadership role in the development of the generalist model of practice now used by most social work programs. Faculty members have made valuable research contributions in the fields of aging, child welfare, developmental disabilities, and family and intergenerational caregiving, as well as in educational attainment and life-course decision-making, end-of-life care for older adults and palliative care, health disparities, homelessness, poverty, social policy, welfare reform, and child support. Drawing on strong faculty, excellent students, and the resources of a world-renowned university in a community rich with social and human service programs, there is much to offer prospective students: individualized, faculty-taught field education for master's students, nationally renowned faculty with a strong interdisciplinary focus, and hands-on research training in a highly individualized program of study for doctoral students.
The school offers unique opportunities for students to receive state-of-the-art professional training through its field education program. Student practice opportunities range from experiences in institutional and community-based settings to working with families and other significant caregivers, with individuals and groups, and in policy and service delivery issues.
Mission: The mission of the School of Social Work is to enhance human well-being and promote social and economic justice for people who are disadvantaged to achieve an equitable, healthy, and productive society. The school aims to:
- Create, advance, strengthen, and integrate interdisciplinary knowledge for students and the profession through research, scholarship, and practice.
- Educate students to become highly skilled, culturally competent, and ethical practitioners who will provide leadership for the profession of social work within the state of Wisconsin and nationally.
- Promote change at levels ranging from the individual client to national, including empowering communities and populations that are disadvantaged and developing humane service delivery systems.
- Create and disseminate knowledge regarding the prevention and amelioration of social problems.
The School of Social Work is one of five professional schools in the College of Letters & Science. As part of the college, the school maintains relationships with the other social studies and professional schools within the university system through interchange of faculty and students and through joint research and publication endeavors.
Admissions
Please consult the table below for key information about this degree program’s admissions requirements. The program may have more detailed admissions requirements, which can be found below the table or on the program’s website.
Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online.
Fall Deadline | December 1 |
Spring Deadline | The program does not admit in the spring. |
Summer Deadline | The program does not admit in the summer. |
GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) | Not required but may be considered if available |
English Proficiency | Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Requirements for Admission policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1241 and Social Welfare's higher requirements:
|
Other Test(s) (e.g., GMAT, MCAT) | n/a |
Letters of Recommendation Required | 3 |
School of Social Work PhD Admissions Committee requires:
- An undergraduate grade-point average of at least 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) on the equivalent of the last 60 semester hours.
- A completed statistics course and 30 semester credits of social science courses.
- Evidence of research interest and potential for scholarship in a relevant social problem area. This is demonstrated in a carefully thought-out Statement of Reasons for Graduate Study, and other application materials. See the PhD Application page for details.
Applicants must complete an online application.
Funding
Graduate School Resources
The Bursar’s Office provides information about tuition and fees associated with being a graduate student. Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.
Program Resources
Social Welfare PhD students receive a robust and competitive funding package. More details are available on our Funding page. Social Welfare PhD students are generally guaranteed* a minimum funding package consisting of a 33%, nine-month appointment for five years**.
Graduate assistantships appointed at 33% or higher provide multiple benefits:
-
monthly stipend;
-
remission* of both resident and non-resident tuition (students will still need to pay segregated fees, roughly $726/semester); and
-
eligibility for health insurance (health insurance options for a reasonable premium are among the country’s best group health insurance plans).
Support funding is available for current PhD students seeking conference, dissertation research activities (e.g., data collection costs, participant incentives, transcription), or emergency funding.
Additionally, incoming and current students are considered for PhD Scholarships and Awards.
*For students in good academic standing, making satisfactory progress in their coursework, performing acceptably in their appointed position, and remaining in residence.
**Many appointments or combinations of appointments go above the minimum guarantee of 33%, and may include summer appointments. However, the guarantee of funding is 33% for nine months for five years.
Minimum Graduate School Requirements
Review the Graduate School minimum degree requirements and policies, in addition to the program requirements listed below.
Major Requirements
Mode of Instruction
Face to Face | Evening/Weekend | Online | Hybrid | Accelerated |
---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | No | No | No | No |
Mode of Instruction Definitions
Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.
Evening/Weekend: Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules. Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.
Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.
Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats. Contact the program for more specific information.
Online: These programs are offered 100% online. Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.
Curricular Requirements
Minimum Credit Requirement | 51 credits |
Minimum Residence Credit Requirement | 32 credits |
Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement | 43 credits must be graduate-level coursework. Refer to the Graduate School: Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1244. |
Overall Graduate GPA Requirement | 3.00 GPA required. This program follows the Graduate School's policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1203. |
Other Grade Requirements | Students must pass all courses with a grade of B or better. A student must retake any required course in which a lower grade than B is received, except for the statistics sequence where a grade of BC or C may be offset by a grade of A or AB in another statistics course. |
Assessments and Examinations | Doctoral students are required to complete a comprehensive preliminary/oral examination after they have cleared their record of all Incomplete and Progress grades (other than research and thesis). Deposit of the doctoral dissertation in the Graduate School is required. |
Language Requirements | n/a |
Graduate School Breadth Requirement | Students are not required to complete a doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate. |
Required Courses
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Core | ||
SOC WORK 675 | Topics in Contemporary Social Welfare 1 | 2 |
SOC WORK 708 | The Field of Social Work 1 | 2 |
SOC WORK 711 | Human Behavior and the Environment 1 | 2 |
SOC WORK 946 | Faculty Research Seminar | 1 |
SOC WORK 947 | Student Research Seminar (taken twice for 1 credit each) | 2 |
Proseminar | ||
SOC WORK 948 | Proseminar (Quantitative Research Methods) | 3 |
SOC WORK 949 | Proseminar (Quantitative Research Methods) | 3 |
SOC WORK 950 | PhD Proseminar (Social Policy Seminar) 2 | 3 |
SOC WORK 951 | PhD Proseminar (Applied Theory Seminar) 2 | 3 |
Students must complete one of the following for a second time: | 3 | |
PhD Proseminar | ||
or SOC WORK 951 | PhD Proseminar | |
Students must complete one of the following courses at least once: 3 | 3 | |
PhD Proseminar (Applied Data Analysis) | ||
Evaluation Research | ||
Electives | ||
Social Science Theory 4 | ||
Students must complete 3 credits of Social Science Theory elective. This course must not be a Social Work (SOC WORK) course and should be taken outside of the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work. | 3 | |
Substantive 4 | ||
Students must complete 6 credits of Substantive electives, including 3 credits outside of Social Work (SOC WORK) and taken outside of the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work. | 6 | |
Statistics | 6-8 | |
Statistics/Methods 4 | 6 | |
Research | ||
Students enroll in the following course while working on their dissertation and complete sufficient credits to satisfy the minimum credit requirement. | 3 | |
Thesis-Research | ||
Total Credits | 51 |
- 1
Students entering with a BSW and/or MSW degree earned within the last ten years may use prior coursework to satisfy requirement.
- 2
Each course must be taken once.
- 3
SOC WORK 952 OR SOC WORK/ED PSYCH 945 must be taken once (1). SOC WORK 952 AND SOC WORK/ED PSYCH 945 can both be taken once, in which case, either SOC WORK 952 or SOC WORK/ED PSYCH 945 can satisfy a statistics/methods course requirement. SOC WORK 952 may be taken twice, in which case it can satisfy a statistics/methods course requirement.
- 4
With PhD Program Chair approval, students may register for an independent reading course (SOC WORK 999) with faculty to fulfill the social science theory (must be a faculty member outside of the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work) or a substantive or statistics/methods elective requirement for a maximum of 6 credits. This requires developing a proposed learning plan, identifying a faculty member with expertise in the area of interest, and requesting supervision. All plans must be approved by the PhD Program Chair before enrolling.
Graduate School Policies
The Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures serve as the official document of record for Graduate School academic and administrative policies and procedures and are updated continuously. Note some policies redirect to entries in the official UW-Madison Policy Library. Programs may set more stringent policies than the Graduate School. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.
Major-Specific Policies
Prior Coursework
Graduate Credits Earned from Other Institutions
Students may transfer up to 6 credits of social work coursework from a Masters of Social Work (MSW) program.
Undergraduate Credits Earned at Other Institutions or UW-Madison
Students may transfer up to 6 credits of social work coursework from a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program.
Credits Earned as Professional Student at UW-Madison (Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary careers)
Credits earned as a Professional student at UW-Madison are not allowed to transfer.
Credits Earned as a University Special Student at UW-Madison
Students may transfer 6 credits of social work coursework earned as a University Special student.
Probation
Refer to the Graduate School: Probation policy.
Advisor/Committee
Refer to the Graduate School: Advisor and Graduate School: Committees (Doctoral/Master’s/MFA) policies.
Credits Per Term Allowed
15 credit maximum. Refer to the Graduate School: Maximum Credit Loads and Overload Requests policy.
Time Limits
Coursework earned more than 10 years prior to admission to the PhD program may not be used to satisfy degree credit minimums.
Refer to the Graduate School: Time Limits policy.
Grievances and Appeals
These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:
- Bias or Hate Reporting
- Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
- Hostile and Intimidating Behavior Policies and Procedures
- Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
- Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
- Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
- Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
- Office Student Assistance and Support (OSAS) (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
- Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
- Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
- Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)
L&S Policy for Graduate Student Academic Appeals
Graduate students have the right to appeal an academic decision related to an L&S graduate program if the student believes that the decision is inconsistent with published policy.
Academic decisions that may be appealed include:
- Dismissal from the graduate program
- Failure to pass a qualifying or preliminary examination
- Failure to achieve satisfactory academic progress
- Academic disciplinary action related to failure to meet professional conduct standards
Issues such as the following cannot be appealed using this process:
- A faculty member declining to serve as a graduate student’s advisor.
- Decisions regarding the student’s disciplinary knowledge, evaluation of the quality of work, or similar judgements. These are the domain of the department faculty.
- Course grades. These can be appealed instead using the L&S Policy for Grade Appeal.
- Incidents of bias or hate, hostile and intimidating behavior, or discrimination (Title IX, Office of Compliance). Direct these to the linked campus offices appropriate for the incident(s).
Appeal Process for Graduate Students
A graduate student wishing to appeal an academic decision must follow the process in the order listed below. Note time limits within each step.
- The student should first seek informal resolution, if possible, by discussing the concern with their academic advisor, the department’s Director of Graduate Studies, and/or the department chair.
- If the program has an appeal policy listed in their graduate program handbook, the student should follow the policy as written, including adhering to any indicated deadlines. In the absence of a specific departmental process, the chair or designee will be the reviewer and decision maker, and the student should submit a written appeal to the chair within 15 business days of the academic decision. The chair or designee will notify the student in writing of their decision.
- If the departmental process upholds the original decision, the graduate student may next initiate an appeal to L&S. To do so, the student must submit a written appeal to the L&S Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Academic Affairs within 15 business days of notification of the department’s decision.
- To the fullest extent possible, the written appeal should include, in a single document: a clear and concise statement of the academic decision being appealed, any relevant background on what led to the decision, the specific policies involved, the relief sought, any relevant documentation related to the departmental appeal, and the names and titles of any individuals contributing to or involved in the decision.
- The Assistant Dean will work with the Academic Associate Dean of the appropriate division to consider the appeal. They may seek additional information and/or meetings related to the case.
- The Assistant Dean and Academic Associate Dean will provide a written decision within 20 business days.
- If L&S upholds the original decision, the graduate student may appeal to the Graduate School. More information can be found on their website: Grievances and Appeals (see: Graduate School Appeal Process).
Other
n/a
Professional Development
Graduate School Resources
Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career.
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate understanding of social welfare problems, theories, policies, and programs.
- Conceptualize and analyze approaches to improving social welfare problems, theories, policies, and programs.
- Apply advanced quantitative and/or qualitative methodology for social welfare scholarship.
- Develop knowledge and skills to teach and/or present social welfare-related material in professional contexts .
- Demonstrate professional and ethical conduct.
- Create research, scholarship, or programing that enhances social welfare.