Ph.D. Curriculum

Building upon the earned Master of Social Work degree, the doctoral program requires an additional forty-five semester hours of coursework. The program curriculum is composed of fifteen required courses, including two electives, plus a comprehensive examination process, and the capstone is the dissertation.

  1. The Coursework

    1. Required courses cover the history and philosophy of the profession, the theory and policy undergirding social work, and advanced research methods and statistics. Within the framework of each required course, papers and assignments are tailored to each student's desired focus on a chosen field, method, or other specific content. The two elective courses provide the opportunity to deepen knowledge of these individualized interests. The course work culminates in an integrative seminar.
    2. History and Philosophy: All students take SSS 940, The History and Philosophy of Social Work. This course grounds the overall curriculum within twentieth century movements for social justice and change, the fundamental components of a profession, and the epistemologies for knowledge development within the social work profession.
    3. Theory and Policy: Courses in theory include those of classical and contemporary descriptive and explanatory theories that are derived from other disciplines and reformulated and integrated into the knowledge base of social work (SSS 930: Sociological Theories, SSS 932: Psychological Theories, and SSS 946: Theories of Social Justice). The value base of the profession is explored in Theoretical Frame for Ethical Decision Making and Knowledge Development (SSS 944 or 740D). Knowledge and analysis of the policies that empower and constrain the profession are presented in Advanced Policy Analysis (SSS 890). Students select an additional theory course that fits their area of interest.
    4. Research Methods and Statistics: Doctoral level social workers are both consumers and producers of research. Students take two semesters of statistical methods for analysis of quantitative data (SSS 947 and 948, Multivariate Statistics and Design I and II). The fundamentals of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies are presented over two semesters in SSS 950 and 953. These courses are followed by advanced courses in the epistemological background of and the gathering and appropriate analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data (SSS 955 and 956, Advanced Qualitative Methodology and Advanced Quantitative Methodology).
    5. Electives: Students complete their doctoral coursework with 6 credit hours of individually chosen electives. These may focus on a field of practice, population, problem, or other such area that will provide a foundation for the dissertation. Examples include health, mental health, child welfare, child and family, community development, spirituality, ethics, aging, international development, social work education, or poverty. These courses may be taken at NCSSS, elsewhere at CUA, in the Washington Consortium of Universities, or in another accredited university graduate program. Of these two, only one may be an independent study; the other must be a formal course.
    6. Integrative Seminar: The curriculum culminates in an integrative seminar (SSS 913 Integration of Knowledge for Social Work). In this course, students will integrate knowledge of existing theoretical and empirical literature regarding the explanation of or intervention with a particular issue or problem. The course will enable students to think deeply, critically, and creatively about the complexity of their chosen issue or problem and be prepared to begin their dissertation proposal process in SSS 998 (Doctoral Comprehensive Preparation & Examination).

  2. The Comprehensive Examination Process

    1. In order to be admitted to doctoral candidacy, an NCSSS doctoral student must successfully pass all parts of the comprehensive examination process. Students must formally register with the university for SSS 998 Doctoral Comprehensive Preparation & Examination. To be eligible for this next step, the student must have completed their 45 hours of coursework. The purpose of the comprehensive examination process is to assess the student's ability to organize and integrate knowledge through clear and comprehensively formulated answers. The comprehensive examination process is composed of three parts: (1) the integrative paper from SSS 913, (2) a written research plan that serves as a draft of the dissertation proposal from SSS 998, and (3) an oral examination on both theory and research applications.  All components of the comprehensive examination process are designed to reflect the individualized interest of the student while, integration of knowledge across the curriculum, and an ethical and sound social work research plan.

  3. Dissertation Proposal and Completion

    1. For admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree, the student must have successfully completed 45 or more credit hours of coursework, and have passed the comprehensive examination process (SSS 998). Upon completion of these requirements, the student is officially admitted to candidacy on the first day of the following semester.