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Program mission

The VCU School of Social Work Ph.D. program prepares researchers and educators to generate, implement and communicate knowledge to advance social justice, improve human well-being and enhance the profession’s impact on pressing social problems.

Program goals

The principal goal of the Ph.D. in Social Work program is to prepare a diverse student body whose research, teaching and scholarship will position them for leadership in advancing professional practice, social policy and social work education. To achieve this goal, the program prepares students to:

• Conduct and disseminate high-quality research that furthers the knowledge base of the profession
• Develop cutting-edge knowledge and skills for social work teaching and learning
• Promote social welfare and social justice in and with local, national and global communities

Student learning outcomes

Upon completion of the required curriculum, students will demonstrate the ability to:

• Understand and critique the history of social work as a profession and academic discipline and draw implications for its current and future directions
• Use rigorous methods and analytic strategies to conduct and disseminate high-quality research that contributes to the knowledge base of social work and related disciplines
• Identify and critique the main social and behavioral science theories that inform knowledge development in their selected substantive area and in social work education
• Articulate expertise in a selected substantive area relevant to social work and contextualize this expertise in a broader interdisciplinary frame of reference
• Critically analyze the substance, function and contexts for formulation, implementation and evaluation of key social policies and draw implications for advocacy and social justice
• Demonstrate proficiency in the knowledge, skills and values required for excellence as a social work educator