Full Time or Part Time Options and Enrollment Requirements
Full Time or Part Time Options: Students may pursue the program full
time or part time, subject to residency requirement. Required classes are
arranged so that students can schedule them on one or two consecutive days,
depending on number of courses taken. All coursework can be completed in two
years of full time study (i.e., 9 hours (3 courses) per semester or six
hours (2 courses) per semester plus electives in summers). The Qualifying
papers and Oral Comprehensive Exam process and the Doctoral Dissertation may
be completed on a full time or part time basis. The entire program can be
completed within four years of full time study.
Academic Credits
Required: The Ph.D.. program requires 54 semester credit hours, including
eight 3-hour required courses, four 3-hour electives, plus research and
dissertation hours.
Residency Requirements: Two semesters of full-time coursework (9
credit hours each), which may include one summer session (6 credit hours),
or a combination of coursework and appointment as a teaching or research
assistant.
Distance Learning Availability: No required doctoral courses are
offered via distance learning. All required courses are on the Lawrence
campus. Much work for Readings and Investigations elective courses,
Comprehensive Exam Qualifying Papers, and Dissertation research can be
carried out from a distance as long as ongoing contact with relevant faculty
is maintained.
Elective Requirements and Interdisciplinary Study: Students must take
four 3-semester hour electives in their area of specialization. Some of
these are usually outside of social work. If a student does not choose to
develop mastery in a non-English language, one of these will be a research
methods course (quantitative or qualitative) taken outside of social work.
An Efficient Route to Complete the Doctoral Program
The following figure illustrates one example of a way to proceed through
the doctoral program. Each course is worth 3 credit hours. Some electives
can be taken in summers to lighten load in fall or spring. A slower pace and
part-time options are also possible as long as the university residency
requirement is met. The KU Graduate School requires that doctoral students
complete their programs within 8 years of initial enrollment.
Please note that this plan for completion is reasonable for a student who
has a half time (50%) assistantship. If a student has no work commitments
beyond study, it is possible (but demanding) to complete in three years.
Year 1
|
Fall Semester
Qualitative Research (SW 979)
Proseminar 1 (SW 980)
Policy Analysis (SW 982) |
Spring Semester
Quantitative Research I (SW 981)
Proseminar 2 (SW 985)
Adv. Practice (SW 984) |
Summer
(Begin planning for Qualifying Papers/Comprehensive Exam Process) |
Year 2
|
Fall Semester
Quantitative Research 2 (SW 983)
Elective
Elective
(Continue Qualifying Papers Process) |
Spring Semester
Research Practicum (SW 986)
Research Skills Elective
Graduate Research Hours (1-6hrs.)
(Continue Qualifying Papers Process) |
Summer
(Continue Qualifying Papers Process) |
Year 3
|
Fall Semester
Graduate Research Hours (1-6 hrs.)
(Complete Qualifying Papers and Oral Comprehensive Exam) |
Spring Semester
Dissertation Hours (6-9 hrs.) *
(Complete Dissertation Proposal) |
Summer
Dissertation Hours (3-6hrs.)
(Continue Dissertation Research) |
Year 4
|
Fall Semester
Dissertation Hours (6-9 hrs.)
(Continue Dissertation Research) |
Spring Semester
Dissertation Hours (1-9 hrs.)
(Complete Dissertation Defense) |
*See dissertation hours enrollment policy in doctoral program handbook
