social work phd rutgers

Rutgers University

School of social work.

The Doctorate in Social Work Program at Rutgers University prepares clinical leaders who advance and disseminate practice knowledge through journal articles, book reviews, and online publications including multimedia projects. Using case study methodology, students develop into practice scholars who reconnect knowledge production with practice by exploring and addressing the growing and troubling distance between theory and practice, the complex relationships between our values and our practice, and how we engage with what matters most to people.

• Where: New Brunswick, New Jersey
• Type: Public
• Degree Offered: Doctorate in Social Work (DSW)
• Program Type: Partially Online, Partially In Person
• Students: Full-time Enrollment Only
• Average Enrolled Students Yearly: 12 Students or More
• GRE Requirement: No
• TOEFL Requirement: Yes, with a cut-off score
• MSW Requirement: Yes, MSW required
• Two Years Post-MSW Experience Required: Yes

Substantive Research Areas of Faculty

• Adolescent and Youth Development
• Child Welfare
• Children & Families
• International Social Work & Global Development
• LGBT Issues & Services
• Mental Health
• Social Work Practice

For more information visit Rutgers University .

To update your program's profile, please complete the  GADE Program Directory Update Form .

DOCTORATE IN CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK

Become an advanced social work practitioner and educator without interrupting your career.

The Doctorate in Clinical Social Work (DSW) Program allows ambitious, MSW-prepared social workers to advance their education in just three years—without putting their careers on hold. Become a clinical expert, inspired educator, and real-world scholar through a convenient blend of online evening classes and on-campus immersion experiences.

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Director’s Welcome

Thank you for your interest in the Doctorate in Social Work program at the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. The Penn DSW curriculum offers working professionals an Ivy League experience wherever they are. Our graduates are sought after social work doctors—highly trained and respected experts, educators, researchers, and leaders who engage in fulfilling, rewarding work and make important contributions to the profession. Many of our DSW graduates are combining social work practice and teaching with some taking full-time teaching positions.

Courses in the DSW program are taught through a combination of synchronous (real-time) online interactive video instruction and periodic on-campus immersion. Classes are taught by Penn faculty and renowned visiting faculty and clinician experts from across the country. Students are in class with the same cohort for the first two years of the program; in the third year, students participate in a Dissertation Seminar Series that provides support and structure as they complete the last stages of the dissertation. The dissertation provides an opportunity to gain deep knowledge and become a content expert in a particular area, as well as contribute to the social work knowledge base.

I have been an MSW for 30 years and a licensed clinician and social work scholar for over 25 years. After having written 18 books and over a hundred articles and book chapters and mentoring and teaching MSW and doctoral students, I am excited to assist DSW students in deepening their understanding of the field, improving their practice, and furthering the field through leadership positions. Now, more than ever, social worker leaders are needed in the movement towards social justice.

Jacqueline Corcoran, PhD Director, Doctorate in Clinical Social Work Program

“ The dissertation provides an opportunity to gain deep knowledge and become a content expert in a particular area, as well as contribute to the social work knowledge base.”

The SP2 Difference

The nation’s first social work doctorate focused exclusively on practice

A hybrid format designed for busy working professionals

Renowned faculty from around the world leading cutting-edge courses on clinical practice, research, and teaching

INVISIBLE – leave blank

The opportunity to conduct dissertation research on a pressing clinical social work issue under guidance from world-class faculty

A diverse global alumni network

Flexible Hybrid Format

The Penn DSW curriculum offers working professionals an Ivy League experience wherever they are. Courses are taught through a combination of synchronous (real-time) online interactive video instruction and periodic on-campus immersion. The DSW degree can be earned in as little as two years but typically takes three years to complete.

The Campus Experience

Students begin the program with a five-day immersion experience on Penn’s Philadelphia campus at the start of their first semester (late August/early September). During this residency period, students attend their first classes and participate in a variety of activities that immerse them in the Penn experience and prepare them for what’s to come. During the fall of year two, students return to campus for an additional four-day residency. Students able to visit campus more frequently are invited to use our library, meet with faculty, and take advantage of Penn’s other campus resources and activities.

The Classroom Experience

Classes meet online two evenings per week for two hours. Students and faculty log in on their personal computers or devices from wherever they are. Real-time video conferencing allows everyone to be seen and heard at all times, closely approximating a physical classroom experience. Students are in class for the first two years of the program; in the third year, students participate in a Dissertation Seminar Series that provides support and structure as they complete the last stages of the dissertation.

The DSW curriculum bridges theory, practice, and research, and prepares students to teach. Students actively engage in learning about and critiquing the recent developments, discoveries, and best practices in evidence-based social work practice and teaching. Classes are taught by Penn faculty and renowned visiting faculty and clinician experts from across the country. The dissertation provides an opportunity to gain deep knowledge and become a content expert in a particular area, as well as contribute to the social work knowledge base.

World-Class Faculty

DSW program faculty are here to help you shape your specific area of expertise, drawing on their own decades of scholarship, teaching, and experience in areas as diverse as mental health, health care services in vulnerable populations , trauma and abuse, and child well-being .

The Penn DSW curriculum is designed to engage students in high-level learning that challenges them to think methodically, critically, and creatively about social work theory, practice, pedagogy, and research.

Students are required to complete 12 course units, a first-year on-campus immersion, a second-year on-campus immersion, a dissertation, and a dissertation defense.

DSW Academic Calendar >

The program begins with a two-semester foundation that spans clinical theory and research and ends with a core course on trauma-informed interventions. Concurrent with their coursework, students complete a dissertation workshop that guides them through the first stages of their dissertation. Near the end of the year, students are matched with a dissertation chair who shepherds them through the remainder of the dissertation process.

Fall Semester

• SWRK 8040: Methods of Inquiry: Quantitative Research Methods (1CU)
• SWRK 8120: Clinical Theory I (1CU)
• SWRK 8150: Dissertation Seminar I (1CU)

Spring Semester

• SWRK 8050: Methods of Inquiry: Qualitative Research Methods (1CU)
• SWRK 8130: Clinical Theory II (1CU)
• Supervision (1CU)

Second Year

Year 2 curriculum continues with specialized, applied courses that cover clinical content and teaching preparation. This second and final year of coursework culminates in two electives selected by the student cohort completed as a group. Students also continue their dissertation work under the direction of their dissertation committee.

• SWRK 8140: Applied Statistics (1CU)
• SWRK 9040: Teaching (1CU)
• SWRK 9020: Trauma (1CU)
• Family Based Interventions (1CU)
• SWRK 9060: Race, Culture and Identity (0.5CU)
• Leadership (0.5CU)
• SWRK 9110: Social Construction and Social Work Practice: Transforming Dialogues (0.5CU)
• XXX Topic 1 (0.25CU)
• XXX Topic 2 (0.25CU)

During the third and final year of the program, students complete, defend, and deposit their dissertation. There is no formal coursework during this year, but students participate in a dissertation seminar that provides structure and support and keeps them moving steadily toward their defense. Note that some students are able to complete the dissertation in as little as two years.

FEATURED ALUMNI

Danna bodenheimer, dsw’10.

“I entered the DSW Program the first year it was offered. The second I got the brochure, I knew it was a fit for me. There was no question that I wanted to sharpen both my clinical skills and my understanding of theory overall, and to feel equipped for leadership in the field. Penn gave me all of that, I was surrounded by mentors and leaders who were diverse in their styles and thought patterns.”

Dissertation

The Process

In collaboration with dissertation mentors and later, with the dissertation committee, students begin developing a dissertation topic during their first semester of the program. Through close mentoring and a tightly structured process, students complete an original work of scholarship that contributes to the clinical social work literature and knowledge base. The dissertation engages students in deep study and positions them as knowledge experts in their content area.

Students have a variety of options for deciding how to answer their research question. These include systematic/scoping reviews, quantitative designs (including intervention studies and surveys), qualitative studies, and data-driven development of treatment manuals. Please see the DSW Handbook for additional detail.

The Finished Product

The final product may be in the form of a traditional chapter-style dissertation or two publishable articles. All DSW dissertations are published on Scholarly Commons , the University of Pennsylvania’s open-access repository for scholarly work. This ensures that knowledge produced by our students is readily available and accessible for front-line social work practitioners and others who are seeking information on a particular topic.

The Doctorate in Clinical Social Work (DSW) Program is offered by the University of Pennsylvania, an institution of higher education authorized to confer degrees and certificates conferring academic credit under applicable laws of the United States. Students who are interested in participating in the program from countries other than the United States are advised that each jurisdiction may have its own laws and regulations governing online educational programs, and some jurisdictions may not recognize course credit or an online degree awarded by the University as satisfying local requirements for professional licensure, employment qualification, or other purposes. Before enrolling in this program, prospective students should investigate their jurisdiction’s treatment of foreign online programs to ensure that participation in this program will meet their objectives.

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Related news.

Student Life

SP2 and National Education Equity Lab launch high school course in social work and social policy

This spring, underserved high school students engaged in the National Education Equity Lab will have the opportunity to learn about career paths in social work and social policy from experts at SP2.

ALUMNI Q&A | Kerry Doyle, DSW ’22

SP2 alumna Kerry Doyle, DSW, MSSW, is an associate professor of practicum education at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. She is a licensed independent clinical social worker interested in trauma sensitive mindfulness interventions in the school setting, compassion fatigue among educators, and trauma responsive interventions.

SP2’s Doctorate in Clinical Social Work Program highlighted by National Association of Social Workers

The Doctorate in Clinical Social Work (DSW) Program at SP2 is highlighted in the June/July issue of Social Work Advocates magazine. The SP2 program is the nation’s first social work doctorate focused exclusively on practice.

Jeff Johnson-Curry

Administrative Coordinator, DSW Program 

215 573 7133

dswcoord@sp2.upenn.edu

Related Links

FINANCIAL AID >

TUITION & FEES >

DSW ADMISSIONS >

DSW RESOURCES >

DSW STUDENT HANDBOOK >

Doctorate Human Sciences, 2008, Université de Rennes II, Rennes, France Ph.D., Criminal Justice, 2007, Rutgers University, New Jersey M.A., Criminal Justice, 2003, Rutgers University, New Jersey M.A., Psychology, 2000, Université de Rennes II, Rennes, France B.A., Psychology, 1999, Université Catholique de l’Ouest, Angers, France

Melanie-Angela Neuilly, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. Prior to joining the department in 2011, Dr. Neuilly taught for five years at the University of Idaho. She received a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University in 2007, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the Université de Rennes in France in 2008. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on criminological theory, criminal justice study abroad, homicide and violent crime, and research methods.

Generally speaking, Dr. Neuilly conducts comparative research on violence and violent death. More specifically, she is interested in issues surrounding measurement and data collection processes, particularly as they pertain to medico-legal practices of classifying death.

Dr. Neuilly is currently spending most of her research time focusing on the analysis of the data collected during her long-term comparative field research on medico-legal practices in France and in the United States. This project was partially funded by a WSU Seed Grant and an International Travel Research Grant from the WSU Office of International Programs. Over the course of ten years, Dr. Neuilly collected qualitative and quantitative information on investigations and post-mortem examinations of over 700 deaths at four sites: one large medical examiner’s office on the East Coast of the United States, one mid-sized coroner’s office in the American Intermountain West, one mid-sized medico-legal institute in the Western region of France, and one large medico-legal institute in the Southern region of France. Based on these data, Dr. Neuilly has identified the major differences between the medico-legal systems, as well as established influences pertaining to individual medico-legal practitioners’ characteristics.

Dr. Neuilly’s research helped inform SSB 5256 “The Confidentiality of Certain Autopsy and Postmortem Reports and Records,” which was passed during the 2013 Washington State Legislative session .

Aside from her main research focus, Dr. Neuilly also examines how research methodologies influence research findings in criminology, for example when it comes to establishing recidivism risk, or how qualitative methods open up new avenues for criminological research. In addition, Dr. Neuilly is also interested in general theoretical questions as well as feminist theorizations of crime.

Dr. Neuilly is also deeply engaged within her community, whether at the university level or in Moscow, Idaho, where she lives. Aside from fulfilling her departmental obligations, she has served as Chair of the WSU President’s Commission on the Status of Women, Chair of the WSU Task Force on Paid Parental Leave, as an At-Large representative for the WSU Faculty Senate, and most recently, was the Interim Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development. In the community, Dr. Neuilly has served as Executive Board member at Moscow Day School, a parent-led daycare cooperative, and is a Moscow City Commissioner on the Fair and Affordable Housing Commission. In all these roles, she strives to promote social justice, gender equity, and anti-racism.

Courses Taught

Criminological Theory, Crime Control Policy, Research Methods, Qualitative Methods, Homicide, Comparative Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Study Abroad.

Research Interests

Lethal violence; public health; medico-legal practices; mortality statistics; comparative criminal justice; qualitative methods.

Research Projects

Projects pertaining to the analysis of comparative data on medico-legal practices:

Death and taxes: The pervasiveness of inequities beyond life . This monograph is the culmination of Dr. Neuilly’s research on medico-legal practices, and her main sabbatical project. It will be directed toward a general audience, while maintaining the rigor expected of academic press publications.

Deaths Stories: A Text Mining Analysis of Autopsy Narratives . Both public health and criminological research heavily rest on the use of mortality statistics. Most often though, it is the numbers that are the focus of such scientific interest, reducing the depth of information present in autopsy files to continuous or dichotomized variables. In the present study, we provide criminologists and public health scientists with a different perspective on mortality data. Drawing from a sample of 720 autopsy reports collected from a coroner’s office and a medical examiner’s office, we present a qualitative content analysis of homicides, suicides, accidents, and natural deaths reports, offering a typology of themes present in each type of deaths. Such a typology provides the basis for further understanding how the death certification process influences the compilation of mortality statistics, which in turn are used in criminological and public health research. As such, we propose that a better understanding of the death certification process can lead to increasing the quality of mortality statistics, and thus the validity of research findings based on those data.

The representation of death as entertainment: Medical examiners as heroes. An important part of leisure implies an intellectual activity centered on the external stimulation of the imagination. Through this activity, individuals can escape everyday life with heroes living extraordinary lives, doing extraordinary deeds, thanks to extraordinary qualities… or they can identify with realistic characters dealing with situations similar to theirs in much the same way they would because they are alike. Who those heroes are and how they position themselves on the fantasy to reality continuum is not without social significance. In this realm of intellectual leisure, death has always had a role of central importance. Heroes, who always have to face death and battle it in order to right social wrongs, have evolved and reflect the times that sprung them. Investigators, attorneys, and medical examiners have replaced kings and knights in shining armors. As professionals of death, medical examiners’ battle is ex post facto, making death and the dead a central feature of the imaginative entertainment. The author proposes to examine the emergence of medical examiners as a new set of popular culture heroes in television programs from “Quincy” to “CSI” & co, “Bones” and “Crossing Jordan.”

Select Publications

Mothering from the Field . This edited volume published by Rutgers University Press surveys the experiences of women who have to conduct field research while parenting. The book’s main foci are policy recommendations and practical tips for aspiring field researchers in quest of work-life balance.

How Do Victims of Sexual Violence Benefit from Mutual Disclosure? An Exploratory Study of Women in South Korea , Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 2018.

Comprehensive Statue Analysis of Death Certification-Related Matters across all Fifty U.S. States , Journal of Forensic Sciences , 2018. Selected as 2018 Noteworthy Article by Journal Editors.

From doldrums to progressing knowledge: Identifying stifling issues in criminological theory building and testing , International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory , 2017.

Exploring the Characteristics of Violent Death Reports for Children in the United States , Child Abuse and Neglect, 2017.

Within and Inter-Institutional Difference Between Death Certifiers on Autopsy Conclusions , Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2016.

The Art of Conferencing , Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 2016.

The Reality of Field Research with a Family: Turning a Nightmare into Memories , The Criminologist – Criminology Around the World Feature, 2015.

Isolating Modeling Effects in Offender Risk Assessment , Springer Science , 2015

Violent Roots: Lethal Violence in Two Counties in Early Statehood Washington , Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 2014

Putting the Public Back in Public Health: An Argument for the Articulation of Fatality Reviews and Coroners’ Inquests , Homicide Studies , 2013

Predicting Recidivism in Homicide Offenders Using Classification Tree Analysis , Homicide Studies , 2011

Using a Comparative Framework to Understand Violence as a Social Construct , Victims and Offenders, A Journal of Evidence-Based Policies and Practices , July 2011

When Murder is Not Enough: Toward a New Definition of Community Violence , Aggression and Violent Behavior , 2007

Dr. Neuilly’s Book:

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