PhD in Social Work
A Doctoral Degree for Social Change Agents
The Graduate School of Social Work is home to one of the nation’s oldest social work PhD programs, but nothing about it is old-fashioned. We see ourselves as more than social work researchers; we're social justice scholars, educators and policy experts whose work responds to today's most pressing community needs.
There’s never been a better time to embark on a PhD in social work. Social work job opportunities in academia are plentiful, and given the social challenges of the 21st century — challenges such as the growing wealth and achievement gap in the U.S. and the impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations worldwide — the need for social work research and scholarship is greater than ever.
6 Cohort size
4-5 Years to complete the program
14% Projected job growth for postsecondary social work educators
Financial Aid
Most students are admitted to our PhD program with a competitive funding package that typically provides four years of financial support.
Years 1 & 2
In the first two years, PhD students receive a graduate assistantship, which includes a living stipend, 100 percent tuition waiver and a health care subsidy. PhD students will also receive a Graduate Assistantship which includes a 9-month base salary in exchange for work with a GSSW faculty member on research activities.
Year 3
Students receive a pre-dissertation fellowship, which includes a living stipend. (A tuition waiver is no longer necessary because all classes are completed during the first two years of the program.)
Year 4
Students receive a dissertation fellowship, which includes a living stipend. We also support students in seeking adjunct teaching roles, research assistant roles on funded faculty projects, and external fellowships.
Offered on our campus in Denver, Colorado, the PhD program is geared toward those who already have an MSW or a master’s degree in a related field and who want to work as a faculty member or researcher in an academic setting. From team-based mentorship to an emphasis on training excellent teachers, several features make our program stand apart:
An Emphasis on Teaching
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Excellent Mentorship
One of the best predictors of success in doctoral programs is the strength of the relationship between students and their faculty mentors. The GSSW faculty is passionate about doctoral education, works collaboratively with students to help them succeed in their job search, has strong national networks within the discipline, and supports students in becoming excellent social work scholars.
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Emphasis on Collaboration
Whether it is partnerships between faculty and doctoral students, among doctoral students, or with community partners, most GSSW research involves collaboration. When students share common research interests, they work with faculty as teams that support incoming students with multiple mentors, provide opportunities for more advanced students to mentor, and enhance the productivity of doctoral students and faculty.
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Foundation in Theory
Although most programs provide a solid foundation in research methodology and statistics, the focus on theory and the philosophy of science can vary significantly. Because we are committed to developing scholars who are solidly grounded in theory, students are required to take a philosophy of science course along with courses in social work theory and theory in their substantive area.
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Commitment to Social Justice
Across our academic programs, you’ll find a deep commitment to scholarship that is centered in issues of social justice. We educate students to understand practice, teaching and research in the context of social justice.
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Community-Based Research
Most of our faculty members are involved in community-based research, and we have an extensive network of community-based partners — from large health care systems to social service providers to schools and community organizers — that co-create much of our research.
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Emphasis on Producing Excellent Teachers
Not all doctoral programs emphasize producing graduates who are excellent teachers, as well as excellent researchers. We require a course on pedagogy and a teaching practicum. GSSW also has a number of faculty members who conduct research on evidence-based teaching and pedagogy.
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Training in Varied Research Methodologies
Unlike most doctoral programs, we provide training in a broad array of research methodologies. You will learn and practice quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research designs as well as analytic techniques. This variety will allow you to select the best research methods for the questions you’re pursuing in your independent research.
Important Links
Recent Doctoral Student Research
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Students
Improving End-of-Life Care
University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work PhD graduate Pilar Ingle is working to address root causes of homelessness and health inequities. -
Students
Serving the Community
University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work PhD grad Miguel Trujillo, a doctorate was a way to help his community by creating systemic change. -
Students
Moral Injury in Social Work
University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work PhD graduate Pari (Shah) Thibodeau has redefined moral injury among health care social workers.
GSSW researchers are doing a world of good. Want to know more?
Featured Courses
Advanced Social Welfare Policy Analysis
Applies analytical techniques to development of social welfare policy stressing the ability to formulate a policy hypothesis (i.e., a statement, in testable form, of a basic premise undergirding a policy position) and to reach conclusions based on analysis of empirical evidence related to the policy hypothesis. This course is for SOWK PhD students only.
Seminar in Professional Social Work Issues
Examines the dilemmas and challenges confronting the social work profession and social work education. Examines the nature of professional education, the nature of the profession itself and the forces internal and external to the profession that have an impact upon practice and education. Required.
Jennifer Greenfield
Associate Professor & Associate Dean for Doctoral Education
Passionate about educating future social work researchers, Greenfield mentors all doctoral students when they first begin the program and throughout their time at GSSW. Her student-focused approach places students’ individual goals at the center of their learning plans and gradually moves them from learning specific tasks to becoming independent scholars. “At GSSW, our scholars-in-training identify how their strengths can align with programs of scholarship that will maximize their impact in the world,” she says.
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Career Opportunities
Do you want to train the next generation of social workers and create solutions to pressing social problems? Unlike most other disciplines, the job outlook for social work faculty positions is robust. As the demand for master’s-level social workers continues to increase, so does the demand for new educators to train them at a time when nearly 25 percent of U.S. social work faculty members are nearing retirement.
Most of our PhD graduates pursue careers as social work faculty members or researchers in university settings. Approximately 25 percent of our graduates work in other settings, such as nonprofit organizations and policy think tanks where they can put their research training to work.
Where our PhD Graduates Work
The GSSW PhD program prepared our graduates for teaching positions at Universities across the U.S.
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- Amber McDonald: University of Colorado Anschutz (Denver)
- Amy Lopez: University of Colorado Anschutz (Denver)
- Angela Lavery: West Chester University (West Chester, PA)
- Ann Obermann: Metropolitan State University (Denver)
- Antonia Alvarez: Portland State University
- Ashley Daftery (Hanna): University of Nevada at Reno
- Ashley O'Connor: University of Alaska at Anchorage
- Brittanie Atteberry-Ash: University of Texas at Arlington
- Ceema Samimi: University of Minnesota (Minneapolis)
- Chris Knoepke: University of Colorado Anschutz (Denver)
- Christopher Veeh: University of Iowa (Iowa City)
- Darren Whitfield: University of Maryland
- Dawn Matera: Metropolitan State University (Denver)
- Erin Boyce: Metropolitan State University (Denver)
- Heather Kennedy: Colorado School of Public Health (Denver)
- Jamie Yoder: Colorado State University (Ft. Collins)
- Jennifer Boeckel: Walden University (Minneapolis)
- Jennifer Dickman Portz: Ohio State University (Columbus)
- Jennifer Middleton: University of Louisville
- Jessica Sparks: Tufts University (Boston)
- Jessica Yang: Winthrop University (Rock Hill, SC)
- Jon Phillips: University of Connecticut (Storrs Center, CT)
- Jonah DeChants: Colorado State University (Ft. Collins)
- Jordan Farrar: Boston College
- Katie Massey Combs: University of Colorado at Boulder
- Kristie Seelman: Georgia State University (Atlanta)
- Laurie Walker: University of Montana (Missoula)
- Lin Jiang: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (Edinburg, TX)
- Lisa Langenderfer-Magruder: Florida State University (Tallahassee)
- Mark Plassmeyer: University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR)
- Samantha Brown: Colorado State University (Ft. Collins)
- Sarah Nickels: Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (Denver)
- Shandra Forrest-Bank: University of Tennessee (Knoxville)
- Shanna Kattari: University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
- Shelby McDonald: Rutgers (Newark)
- Stephanie Begun: University of Toronto
- Stephanie Lechuga Peña: Arizona State University (Phoenix)
- Susanne Klawetter: Portland State University
Living at GSSW
An Inclusive Environment
Ours is an environment where every voice matters and a culture that welcomes and embraces the rich diversity of our extended community. We stand in solidarity with immigrants, religious groups, people of color, indigenous communities, people with disabilities, survivors of sexual violence, members of the LGBTQIA community, and all other communities whose civil rights have been threatened and/or violated. As a school dedicated to the development of future social workers who will embody and represent the values and ethics of social justice, we commit ourselves to understanding our place in the larger context of institutional injustice.
The Denver Difference
The University of Denver campus is just a short train or bus ride from downtown Denver (all University of Denver students get a free pass!), a city that U.S. News & World Report has named one of the nation’s best places to live. Craft beer, food trucks and art crawls are plentiful, as are urban and mountain parks and recreation opportunities. Denver also is home to a thriving, engaged community of social justice activists. And as one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities with several major universities nearby, Denver has no shortage of job opportunities.
Recent Stories
Addressing Health Inequities
Assistant Professor Tyrone Hamler studies health inequities, chronic illness, aging, and the intersection of mental and physical health, including health equity in kidney disease for older Black Americans.
Social Work & Racial Justice
GSSW faculty and alumni coauthored chapters in a new book, “Social Work, White Supremacy, and Racial Justice,” which challenges readers to forge new practices, policies and pedagogies for an anti-racist future.
Supporting Marginalized Community Members
2024 MSW@Denver online MSW graduate Araceli Esparza aims to put her degree to work helping not only victims, but offenders.
