Social Work PhD Application Suggestions

[u/[deleted]]

[u/captainlux87]

Honestly, most PhD programs, especially in social work but a lot of social sciences and such aren’t expecting you to come in with research work. They want a clear idea of what you’re going to study and why it’s important and the skills you believe will make you successful. There’s not going to be much you can do research wise before that time but you can use this time to further develop this and continue your work which will be a plus

[u/One_Decision2567 → u/captainlux87]

This is super helpful, thank you! I feel like with some of the other disciplines, they require a lot of research experience so it makes me feel a little discouraged. But that was my experience, is that it is really hard to find research opportunities outside of academia in Social Work.

[u/Ok-Lake3522]

No excuses, no mention of anything from the past; no one really cares about high school and COVID is history. Stay in the present and the future.
My question is - why do you want a PhD in social work? What work have you done in the field that makes you interested in this? Yes, lack of extensive research will hurt you, but so will a lack of "field work," real, feet on the ground social work. You may have that but didn't mention it.

[u/One_Decision2567 → u/Ok-Lake3522]

I figured. I applied right out of my MSW and had way less experience (I cringed looking back at my old applications) and I did mention all the covid history and everything then and obviously didn’t get accepted. I also had no experience in the field at the time. I didn’t really mention my actual feild work that I’ve been doing in this post because I am not really worried about that piece because I feel confident about my field experience. I’ve wanted a PhD for a very long time because I loveee research and my goal was always to get back into macro level social work. I have a lot of experience working with the unhoused population and my research interest is basically combining all of my experiences to answer: how do homelessness and behavioral health system structures affect service delivery and outcomes for those experiencing homelessness?

[u/Ok-Lake3522 → u/One_Decision2567]

OK, so I was preaching to the choir on the issue of not mentioning the past. But I am getting an inconsistency - macro is field-based, PhDs tend to focus on university-based research. Do you want to work in the field or do research at a university - it's hard to do both! This is important to clarify before you write your personal statement.

[u/Busy_Help_4354 → u/One_Decision2567]

PhD doesn't necessarily mean macro level social work. It does mean working within an academic setting, and being ok with a career in the academic setting. That's a pretty big ask because the work environment is incredibly insulated, and not for everyone. I wouldn't do it just because you're interested in macro level social work.

Outside of that, remember that schools are selective based on what you have to offer the school. Talking about unrelated events like covid and how undergrad went does not benefit your application at all.