Our highest level of preparation will put all of your experience to the test - you will put the rewards of leadership, teaching, and planning to work in the world with a Ph. D. in social work.

Fordham's doctoral program in social work seeks, through a balance of theoretical learning, scholarly research opportunities and mentored skill development, to prepare experienced social work practitioners for careers as University professors, researchers and investigators of new theories, public and private sector agency administrators, community planners and policy makers in leadership positions.

The program's 48 credits encompass advanced theoretical course work and a dissertation. The academic phase concludes with oral and written comprehensive examinations. Candidates choose to specialize in gerontology, children and families, mental health, or another area developed with an advisor. Some students may complete an internship as part of their program. The dissertation completes the years of study and is a capstone achievement the demonstrated result of the student's mastery of a sophisticated body of theoretical knowledge and skills and the ability to plan, conduct and defend a research project that adds a new dimension to the knowledge foundation and practice of social work.

Fordham's Ph.D. program is known for flexibility, the range of research opportunities and the level of faculty support for each candidate. Full-time or part-time study is possible with classes held one day a week, and the specializations cover a spectrum of professional interests. Students may take elective classes in other Graduate programs in the Fordham community.

Students applying for admission must take the Graduate Record Examination (General - Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytic) and have the three scores forwarded to the doctoral office. At Fordham, as well as in other Ph.D. programs, performance on the GRE can give positive indication of ability to succeed in doctoral education. There are no specific score requirements, but rather students GRE scores will be considered in terms of their total applications.

Foreign students who received undergraduate degrees from colleges in which English was not the primary language must take the TOEFEL examination as an indicator of ability to read and write English. Students should make arrangements to have the scores forwarded to the doctoral program as an additional part of their applications.

Opportunities are provided to work as assistants in one of Fordham's numerous research or demonstration projects, learning scholarly research methods under the guidance of experienced investigators before beginning the dissertation. At every step, faculty support is provided through advisors and mentors. Graduates of Fordham's Ph.D. program have taken leadership positions in Universities throughout the United States, in national professional organizations, in government and community institutions, and in the rarefied atmosphere of advanced professional research.

Meredith Hanson, DSW, is the Director of the Ph.D. in Social Work Program. You may contact his office for further information about the program including admission requirements. Telephone: (212) 636-6627 or 6628 E-mail: mhanson@fordham.edu

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