The Rutgers doctorate in social work (D.S.W.) program transforms social work clinicians into scholars by
challenging students to contextualize their practice using theories and
research drawn from multiple disciplines. Because multidisciplinary knowledge
and social justice intertwine at the heart of social work scholarship, we
challenge students to grow beyond loyalties to one modality or perspective. The
D.S.W. builds on seasoned clinicians' practice experience by cultivating their
ability to present, publish, and create multimedia projects to
disseminate their practice-relevant scholarship. The successful student
tolerates ambiguity, engages with scholarly critique, thinks critically and
creatively about clinical practice, and shares their insights in a professional
manner.
Weekend Residencies for Working Practitioners
Each year consists of nine on-site residencies and two online
residencies The on-site residency sessions will include lectures, seminars,
writing workshops, case presentations, meetings with faculty and advisers, and
participation in research interest groups. Each day of a residency consists of
two three-hour modules--one morning and one afternoon. Our modular approach
provides the flexibility for students to learn from a multitude of faculty with a
broad array of expertise and allows our faculty (drawn from across the
disciplines, institutions, and nations) to focus instruction on what they do and know best. Our
instructors are deep thinkers from a variety of fields who have
attained considerable influence in their areas, and thus serve
as aspirational role models for experienced practitioner doctoral
education.
Coursework is grounded in three integrated sequences: foundation
(training in theory development and research skills); clinical practice (use
and critique of clinical theories); and engaged scholarship (writing, clinical,
and research proseminars). Graduation requires successful completion of 54
credits and is completed in three years. The program builds on
students' initial case studies, which are completed in the first year. Formulating
the case study helps students to develop critical thinking skills needed to
draw on the scholarly literature and to understand case material in a new way.
This becomes the foundation for developing qualitative inquiry skills and
enhancing writing skills in the second year of the program. The final year culminates in a multimedia project that allows
students to disseminate their work while also engaging with the greater
scholarly community. These three projects make up a portfolio that is required
for graduation in lieu of a traditional dissertation. Through the curriculum
and assignments, the D.S.W. doctoral degree prepares graduates to address complex
practice issues using critical perspectives and nuance, and enables
them to become more sophisticated practitioners, teachers, and consumers
and creators of scholarship.
A Focus on Writing
We have designed an innovative writing-intensive curriculum that
offers our students the unique
opportunity to engage in guided writing and revision with experienced writing
professors. Students will learn strategies for writing
publishable material as they progress in the program, and professionalize
and distinguish themselves through their writing. Additionally, students will
create and maintain their own professional website to be interlinked
with the D.S.W. website, as both a digital home for continued scholarship and a
venue for conversation among peers, and they will get an opportunity to practice establishing a web
presence, while learning critical digital literacy skills.
Please visit the program's webpage at http://dsw.socialwork.rutgers.edu.
For
admission information to the D.S.W. program, please go to http://dsw.socialwork.rutgers.edu/prospective-students.