Core courses are required of all students. Four core courses are focused on theory development, four on the mastery of research and statistical approaches, one on teaching, and two professional seminars expose the students to the social welfare policy and practice-related research activities of social work and associated faculty.

CORE CURRICULUM (41 credit hours)

Advanced Research Design & Analysis I (ARDA I, 6 hrs)
Advanced Research Design & Analysis II (ARDA II, 6)
Advanced Research Design & Analysis III (ARDA III, 3)
Teaching in Social Work (3)
Theory I: Social Work Change Theories (3)
Theory II: Theory Development (3)
Theory III: Analysis of Social Work Problems (3)
Advanced Qualitative Research (3)
Advanced Measurement in Social Work Research (3)
Ethics, Social Work & Society (3)
Research Practicum (3)
Professional Seminar I (1)
Professional Seminar II (1)

766-01 Doctoral Preparation (3, Pass/Fail, these hours do not apply to the Ph.D.) taken in the summer before beginning doctoral level studies in the fall semester

The first half of the class is a refresher of basic research concepts: research and sampling designs, units of analysis, independent and dependent variables, and basic analytic procedures. The second half is a refresher in using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

769-01 Advanced Research & Design Analysis I (ARDA I) (6), taken in the first semester of the first year in the doctoral program

The integration of statistics, and quantitative research methods demonstrates how theoretical perspectives drive research questions, measurement concepts, sampling and research designs, and how to determine appropriate statistical procedure.

770-01 Advanced Research & Design Analysis II (ARDA II) (6), taken in the second semester of the first year in the doctoral program

Doctoral students demonstrate that they can initiate research using the conceptual, methodological, statistical, and both quantitative and qualitative research methods studied in ARDA I as needed in Social Work.

771-01 Advanced Research & Design Analysis III (ARDA III) (3), taken in the first semester of the second year in the doctoral program

Students work one-on-one with professors in (a) guided research, (b) developing detailed research agendas, or (c) in-depth study of particular analytic procedures to be used in their subsequent dissertations.

772-01 Advanced Qualitative Research

Students learn and practice the basic elements of organizing, conducting, and disseminating qualitative research, with special attention focused upon grounded theory, ethnographies, and action research.

773-01 Advanced Measurement in Social Work Research

The concepts, principles, and models of measurement include designing, testing and refining measurements, and factor analysis, reliability and validity, measurement error, classical measurement theory, item response theory and generalizability theory.

764-01 Teaching in Social Work (3)

This course engages students in the philosophy of education with emphasis on professional education, curriculum theory and social work curriculum standards, and instructional theory, methods and technology. Each student will create a social work course from initially surveying a body of relevant literature, choosing content and conceptualizing it, developing lectures, and inventing tasks and assignments.

759-01 Theory I: Social Work Change Theories (3)

This course provides a critical analysis of theories which seek to explain human behavior and serve as foundations for current clinical change interventions. It includes an examination of the empirical support for and efficacy of major treatment modalities used in social work practice.

755-75 Theory II: Theory Development (3)

This course explores the nature of knowledge and how it is generated and acquired. Explanatory and practice theory, current models related to practice, and the relationship of theory and data to social work will be examined. Strategies for building knowledge will be discussed. Students will analyze theories into their components, construct mini-theories, and propose how they can be tested in social work practice.

757-01 Theory III: Advanced Analysis of Social Work Problems (3)

This course provides students with theoretical and conceptual frameworks for understanding social problems and their implications for macro social work practice. Critical perspectives related to social science theory will be identified, assumptions assessed, values examined, and empirical evidence analyzed. Theories covered will be drawn from sociological, socio-cultural, political, economic, historical, and other perspectives. Students will be expected to develop their abilities to analyze and critique social problems and macro social work practice.

760-01 Ethics, Social Work and Society (3)

This course identifies and articulates the philosophical formulations of relevant ethical traditions and their implications for social work. Students examine approaches to ethical analysis as well as major ethical problems facing contemporary social work. The course emphasizes the development of advanced ethical reasoning and decision-making skills.

762-01 Research Practicum (3)

Students work directly with faculty who are engaged in research to gain hands-on experience in the conception and implementation of a project or data collection and analysis.

756-01 & 758-01 Professional Seminars (I & II, total of 2 credits)

These are one credit hour seminars offered during the fall and spring semesters in the first year for a total of two credits. Their purpose is to (a) introduce doctoral students to the research interests of the faculty and their current research activities, particularly research that is in the early stages of conceptual development, and (b) introduce students to life in the academy of higher education.