Social Work vs. other fields for Ph.D research project

[Adelaide9216]

Hello everyone,

I am working on a scholarship application. One of my friends read through my research proposal and she did mention that my topic is very interesting but has difficulty seeing how it relates to social work. She says that it appears to her that it would be a better fit in sociology, political science or communications.

Social work is quite interdisciplinary as a field, and the reason why I picked social work is because I did my undergrad and graduate studies in social work. I'm picking a different university for my Ph.D. and have a very good feeling about my advisor (with whom I have developed this proposal). I don't want to risk going elsewhere to an advisor I feel that I won't be able to work with.

What are you thoughts on this? I'll probably stick to SW anyway, but just wanted to hear your two cents. 

Edited April 7, 2018 by Adelaide9216

[MarineBluePsy]

I'm not sure which PhD program you're looking at, but once you get to that level you might be allowed to expand your dissertation committee to include one or more persons from other disciplines.  There is plenty of overlap in Social Work and several other fields so it seems odd that your current advisor is pretty much saying go elsewhere.  It will be very important for you to make sure you choose a PhD program (whether its Social Work or something else) and advisor that fully understands that you intend to pursue an interest that is interdisciplinary and gain their assurance that they support that.

[Adelaide9216]

It's not my advisor who's saying that I should go elsewhere. It's my friend who read through my proposal. 

[doctormelody]

I’m confused by your initial question. I’m assuming your advisor is at your current university, but you mention picking a different university for your PhD? But you also say that you don’t want to go elsewhere to an advisor you won’t be able to work with. Can you clarify?

[Adelaide9216]

Yeah sorry. My English is not the best (I am a francophone).

I am currently at McGill but am applying to Ottawa for my Ph.D. My current advisor is someone I've worked with since my undergraduate studies and I have a great link with her. However, for Ph.D. programs and scholarships, mobility is important and that's why I am applying to Ottawa. The potential supervisor at Ottawa is a safe option for me in terms of my expectations and needs as a supervisee. I don't want to risk studying somewhere else because I trust this advisor at Ottawa.

 

Is that clearer? 

[doctormelody]

1 hour ago, Adelaide9216 said:

Yeah sorry. My English is not the best (I am a francophone).

I am currently at McGill but am applying to Ottawa for my Ph.D. My current advisor is someone I've worked with since my undergraduate studies and I have a great link with her. However, for Ph.D. programs and scholarships, mobility is important and that's why I am applying to Ottawa. The potential supervisor at Ottawa is a safe option for me in terms of my expectations and needs as a supervisee. I don't want to risk studying somewhere else because I trust this advisor at Ottawa.

 

Is that clearer? 

Yeah, I think I get it now! Are you saying that you wouldn’t be able to work with the potential supervisor at Ottawa if you don’t apply to their PhD program in social work? I think you should stick with SW unless you think there will be better job opportunities in another field - as you said, it’s an interdisciplinary subject by nature, and you already have such a strong background in the area. I don’t think you should worry too much about what your friend said. There’s room for innovation everywhere in the humanities and I think it’s okay to sometimes push the boundaries of what a particular subject can be.

[Adelaide9216]

Yes, exactly!

[rising_star]

On 4/7/2018 at 12:20 AM, Adelaide9216 said:

I am working on a scholarship application. One of my friends read through my research proposal and she did mention that my topic is very interesting but has difficulty seeing how it relates to social work. She says that it appears to her that it would be a better fit in sociology, political science or communications.

Even in an interdisciplinary field*, it's important that you have a solid grounding in the methodologies and theories of your discipline in your proposal. Why? Because without that, reviewers may have the same questions your friend did about how your topic fits in the field and why SW and not another field. You have to provide a compelling reason why this topic must be studied from a social work perspective if you want to be successful. I recommend going back to the key theorists and methodologies of your field and ensure that you're including clear linkages between your ideas and the field itself. Think about the things you read in grad level intro courses which were written by those in social work so that your project fits clearly in the field to those both inside and outside of it. Good luck!

 

*This comes from my experience getting all of my degrees in interdisciplinary fields.