Joan Robertson, Program Director
(608) 263-6336 phone
JfRobert@facstaff.wisc.edu web
(608) 263-3836 fax

For application materials contact:
Debbie O'Conell
(608) 263-3660 phone
dhoconne@facstaff.wisc.edu web
(608) 263-3836 fax

The doctoral program is interdisciplinary and includes basic and applied research. Students are encouraged to develop an individualized program of research that fosters a mentor relationship between the student and faculty. Course work is focused on a field of study such as a social problem area, social policy, social context where behavioral and social development proceeds, program evaluation, or research related to clinical practice. Program emphases include aging, children and families including child welfare, mental health including serious and persistent mental illness, developmental disabilities, poverty, and social policy. Emphases in other areas are also possible.

The program has four special features. First, an emphasis is give into diverse programmatic approaches that seek to prevent the development of social problems and/or to promote optimal functioning in individuals or groups across the life span. Second, a view that stresses that problems and prospects in social welfare areas are best understood in intra-individual, interpersonal, family, school, community, economic, and social-organizational contexts; their effects should be investigated in interaction with these contexts. Third, social action is a major objective of the program. Research should strive to enhance functioning for individuals, groups, families, organizations, and community contexts in behalf of social work clientele. Finally, the program emphasizes methodological and statistical training and their applications to social problems and processes. Advances in measurement, research design, and program/policy evaluation are strongly encouraged as graduates are expected to assume leadership positions in research, policy analysis, administration, and teaching and will use their scholarly abilities to improve services, programs, and policies.

Research is viewed as the interaction of three major dimensions: social problems and issues, developmental phase across life span, and social-environmental context. This perspective emphasizes an ecological systems approach to research, scholarship, and service. The social problems/issues dimensions include the substantive areas of research of faculty at the school. These include: aging, children and families (including child welfare), developmental disabilities, health, mental health (including serious and persistent mental illness), and poverty. These areas of inquiry interact with policies, programs, and services across various phases of the life span and social-environmental contexts on influence (intra-and inter-individual, family or group, community, organizations, and sociocultural).

The School of Social Work faculty come from diverse backgrounds, and bring a strong commitment to research and the profession. Many are connected to interdisciplinary institutes on campus such as the Institute for Aging and Adult life, The Center for Demography and Ecology, The Institute for Research on Poverty, The Wisconsin Center fro Educational Research, the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute, the Women's Studies Research Center, and the Waisman Center on Mental Retardation and Human Development.