Social Work, PhD

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The PhD in Social Work with emphasis on advanced social work practice will be an online program requiring completion of 54 semester credit hours. Twelve students will be admitted each fall semester and expected to complete all degree requirements within three years. Students will enroll in courses for nine consecutive semesters. They will complete two three-semester-credit hour courses each 15 - week semester. Fall and spring courses will feature a combination of synchronous and asynchronous class sessions. Summer courses held at the beginning of years one, two, and three and will include a one-week face-to-face classroom environment at OLLU in San Antonio. Although it is anticipated that most students will complete coursework within three years, they will be required to complete all coursework and graduate within a maximum of five years.

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Program Mission and Goals

Program Mission: The mission of the proposed PhD program is to prepare professionally trained social workers and social work educators for advanced social work practice that fosters commitment to culturally competent practice with diverse populations, with a focus on specialized clinical intervention, research, and teaching.

Program Goals: The goals of the proposed PhD program are:

To provide a rigorous program of work that challenges students to think critically about social work practice, research, and teaching with diverse populations;
To provide mentoring and other support to students that enable them to strengthen their professional skills and serve others with competence and respect; and
To contribute to the social work profession through the development and transference of practice and evidence-based knowledge and service.