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Welcome from the PhD Program Director

Welcome to the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW) Ph.D. Program

The Ph.D. program at the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work offers students the opportunity to contribute to scholarship and to advance the knowledge base of social work. Each student develops his or her own research area to enable them to become part of the next generation of social work scholars and leaders. Students are prepared to become faculty members in schools of social work or hold high level positions in research or administration.

Doctoral course work consists of 39 credit hours and 9 credit hours of dissertation. The program is designed so that full time students can complete all of their course work in two years. The doctoral program can also be done on a part-time basis. Part-time students are expected to enroll for 6 credit hours of course work each fall and spring semester. The part-time program is designed so that students can complete all of their course work in three years. Work on the dissertation takes place after students have passed their comprehensive examinations and have successfully defended their dissertation proposal. We also offer a dual MSW/PhD degree for students who are interested in doing both degrees simultaneously.

The Graduate College of Social Work provides the kind of personal attention that enables students to succeed in their doctoral education. We offer small classes, faculty research seminars, individualized studies with faculty members, doctoral colloquia and a doctoral publication run by students. Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States with many diverse multicultural populations. The Texas Medical Center, located in the heart of Houston, is one of the largest medical complexes in the world. As such, it offers doctoral students unlimited opportunities for research activities. Through their teaching and advisement, the GCSW faculty shares both their knowledge and their social work values with students. By emphasizing scholarship and research, the GCSW faculty helps students' experience critical thinking and intellectual discovery.We welcome your interest in our doctoral program.

Sincerely,

Maxine Weinman Epstein, LMSW-ACP, Dr. PH.
Professor and Doctoral Program Director