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The Doctoral Program Curriculum
Overview
UK’s Ph.D. in Social Work program is designed to prepare its graduates to be
faculty members in social work programs across the country and internationally. There
is a strong emphasis on students acquiring the research competencies needed to
conduct research and publish their scholarship. At the same time, students learn how
to become top-notch educators through teaching assistantships, teaching practica, and
a course in teaching. Graduates also find that the doctoral program prepares them to
be program evaluators, administrators, policy analysts, and researchers.
All of the core curriculum courses are taught on Fridays. Students design their
individualized courses with the assistance of their advisor or the Director of the doctoral
program. Course descriptions can be found at http://www.uky.edu/Registrar/bulletinCurrent/sw.pdf
The Curriculum
The curriculum consists of three components:
A. The Core Curriculum (29 credit hours)All of the following courses in this section are required:
SW 781 Theory Development in the Social Work Profession
SW 782 Advanced Analysis of Social Welfare Problems
SW 783 Human Behavior & Change Theories in Social Work Practice
SW 784 Ethics, Social Work & Society
SW 770 Social Work Research I
SW 771 Social Work Research II
SW 795 Social Work Statistics I
SW 773 Social Work Statistics II
SW 785 Professional Seminar in Social Work (1 hr in each of 2 semesters)
SW 790 Seminar in Teaching and Learning
B. The Individualized Plan of Study (15 credit hours)
Students must complete 6 hours of practica – either 3 hrs each of SW 786 or
SW 787 or 6 hours in one of the areas. Additionally, students select 3 relevant elective
courses from the College or University or design independent studies to make up the
balance of 9 hours. The expectation is that students should develop a manuscript
suitable for publication for each independent study.
SW 786 Doctoral Research Practicum
SW 787 Doctoral Teaching Practicum
Electives/Independent Study Combinations =9 credit hrs.
C. The Dissertation
All students must write a dissertation and register for 4 hours of SW 767 (two
hours in each of two separate semesters)
College of Social Work main phone number (859) 257-6650
Site Created and maintained by Gary Trumble
Last updated 8-13-09
