Academics Ph.D. - KU School of Social Welfare

Twente Hall

The Goal of The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare doctoral program is to prepare students to become leaders nationally and internationally in advancing social work practice and policy through research and scholarship. Our students graduate from the program with the critical knowledge and skills they need to become innovators as researchers, scholars, and educators.

Our Faculty:

Our doctoral faculty have national reputations in their fields, with expertise in aging, child welfare, child mental health, adult mental health, corrections, juvenile justice, school social work, and poverty.

The KU School of Social Welfare faculty has consistently been ranked highly in published program comparisons based on criteria strongly related to our doctoral program faculty and students. For example, a study reported in the Journal of Social Work Education in Fall, 2012, ranked our faculty in the top 15 nationally in terms of publications in six major social work journals.

Current students report that faculty accessibility and interest in doctoral students is very high. In a survey of our recent graduates, a high percentage reported great satisfaction with the preparation they received in the KU School of Social Welfare doctoral program. They particularly commented on the quality of the faculty-student relationship.

"KU is a place where a
student can do independent thinking within an environment where faculty and students see one another as part of a community."

(Recent doctoral graduate)

Our Students

Students who make the best fit for our program have professional aspirations that match our overall goal. Our students come from diverse backgrounds, interests, parts of the country, and regions of the world (including Japan, Costa Rica, Korea, and China).. At any one time, there are about 30-40 students at various stages of the program, and class sizes are usually in the 6-10 range An active student organization provides peer mentoring and support, and students are well represented on curriculum committees. Students are encouraged to publish articles and present papers at national and international conferences.

Financial Aid

If enrolled in full-time study, the KUSSW will guarantee 4 years of financial support, as long as student remains in good standing in the program. In most cases, this will consist of a 50% appointment as a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA), Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA), or a combination of the two. Occasionally, funding may include a higher percentage appointment and/or a fellowship. Many of the GRAs receive funding through one of our three research offices:

Office of Aging and Long Term Care
Office of Adult Mental Health
Office of Child Welfare and Child Mental Health

Other research and funding opportunities are often available through individual faculty research projects in many areas. Applicants are asked to name their fields of interest to help match student interest with available funding opportunities.

"KU SSW offers varied research training opportunities with talented researchers backed by solid financial support."

(Recent doctoral graduate)

In addition, many of our students take advantage of opportunities to teach as GTAs. These students are carefully mentored to strengthen their teaching approaches and skills.

New First Year Fellowships

The KU School of Social Welfare guarantees four years of funding assistance to doctoral students in good standing. To help us with this guarantee, the KU School of Social Welfare is pleased to announce the availability of two new University of Kansas Graduate Studies Fellowships for the Fall 2013 semester.

One first-year fellowship for a first-year doctoral student
One first-year fellowship for a first-year underrepresented doctoral student

These two fellowships include a 9 month, $18,000 stipend and Fall/Spring tuition for up to nine credit hours. The School also guarantees 3 additional years of funding, through a GRA, GTA, or combination of the two, contingent on satisfactory performance in the program. The PhD Admissions Committee will establish the award criteria, review applications in early February (application deadline is February 1, 2013), and inform fellowship recipients of their awards in their acceptance letters, to be mailed in mid to late February. (All those admitted will be automatically considered for the fellowships—no separate application is necessary).

(Contact the PhD Program Director for more information about financial aid opportunities)

Our School and University

KU's School of Social Welfare is consistently ranked in the top tier among graduate social work programs nationally. However, we like to think that the best evidence of our excellence comes from our graduates and from the people who hire them.

The University of Kansas is a major, public research university, with more than 100 programs of study and more than 40 nationally ranked programs.
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