Curriculum Overview

The DSW program is 42 credit hours and includes our Core Plus sequence, which focuses on advanced social work theory, practice, and program evaluation. After completing the core curriculum, students select one of five concentrations: Administrative Leadership, Clinical Social Work, Social Work Education, Military Behavioral Health, or Sport Social Work.

The first semester of the DSW program orients students to the rigor and expectations of doctoral work and sets the stage for the core foundation courses applicable to all advanced social work practice. In the final year, students begin their concentration, allowing for greater specificity in professional practice. The concentration year begins in the summer semester with a colloquium course designed to orient students to the scholarship products essential to completing the program.

The final year of the DSW allows students to apply their knowledge and demonstrate skills through the assignments and expected course outcomes. In contrast to the core foundation year(s), concentration year outcome products are expected to be disseminated as scholarly products.

Year 1

Summer I Virtual Residency

SW 852: Intro to Doctoral StudiesSW 853: Contemporary Social Work Concepts
Fall 1Spring 1
SW 855: Supervision, Ethics & Professional Practice SW 860: Program Evaluation Methods
SW 856: The Science of Social WorkSW 864: Advanced Policy for Social Work Practice
SW 859: Statistics for Social WorkersSW 865: Foundational Theory

Year 2

Summer II Virtual Residency

SW 893: Justice Informed Social Work PracticeSW 892: Colloquium I
Fall 2Spring 2
Concentration Course 1Concentration Course 3
Concentration Course 2SW 894: Colloquium II