Fall 2020 PhD!

[hyronomus4]

Anyone applying for a PhD in social work?  What is your story?

[LisaOh]

I am applying! Have you already received acceptances and rejections? Where did you apply?

Me: I have a MPP ('15) and have worked in social or health policy since 2013. I have healthcare experience prior to that. I did research as an undergraduate at Cornell for 3 years cumulating in an honors thesis. I also did a research/capstone project for my masters degree. I have volunteered as a rape crisis advocate, patient care advocate, NAMI course instructor, and right now, an assistant case manager at a housing non-profit.

[Logodds56]

Hello! I am applying this year for social welfare PhD programs. I am finishing my MSW this year and am applying to Case Western and University at Buffalo. Both applications are done and now I am waiting for probably a long time. I have some strong points to my applications but also some weaknesses- super low GRE math score (146), not much experience in the social work field, and a sorta mediocre undergrad gpa (3.4). Strengths are 4.0 masters gpa, 2 (coauthored) publications, 5.5 writing and 160 verbal GRE, and well-polished recs, written sample, and SOP. I am curious to see how this turns out, not really sure what to expect. I reached out to admissions and the program director at UB earlier in the semester but didn't do that for case western. 

[Methinks]

Hi! 

I am looking to apply for PhD program at the York university in Canada. I have two Masters in International Development, the recent one from UK and have over 5 years of experience in my field. 

I could find only one professor whose interest is closer to my own at York and she also seems positive about my topic. However, the professor happens to be in the department of Social Work, on which I have little idea and I am unsure if a PhD in Social Work would be the right choice for me at this point. I would prefer academia after graduation but as we all know competition is very tough so I am also open to industry opportunities especially research.  

I would appreciate advice from someone with Social Work experience especially those who have transitioned into PhD Social Work from another interdisciplinary field. How hard is it to cover theory and concepts? Is it better, say career-wise, than ID, Political Science or Sociology? What are your thoughts on the career prospects ahead for someone who comes from a different field?   

Your thoughts on York university is welcome as well. Many thanks.

 

[wodislah142]

yes, applied 4 schools. 

[App7]

I applied to five schools for Fall 2020. My deadlines are all January 1st and January 15th so I don't expect to hear back for quite some time. My story: I am licensed to practice independently in Arizona (LCSW) and this is my 5th year working as a mental health therapist. I love the work that I do and it has raised questions that I would like to explore via research. I've also wanted to teach for a while now. I don't have a strong research background. I completed the thesis option and did some research in undergrad, but that was over 10 years ago. My GRE scores were average and GPA was standard. I am not sure what my chances are but I am excited! 

[Logodds56]

Has anyone heard back at all from places they applied? I am still waiting to hear from both of my schools--University of Buffalo and Case Western Reserve. 

[123PhD]

Hi everyone! I'm glad that this thread has started.

@Clabarr55 I've applied to 7 schools (though no overlap with your list) and have not heard back from any.

@LisaOh I see that you applied to UCLA - can you remember from the info session when they said that people would start to hear back about interviews? 

[alfgrape]

Hi! Another applicant here. I applied to seven schools, which felt like a lot, but I don't see myself being in a position to apply again for a long time so I wanted to shoot my shot. My situation is: GRE scores are good but not amazing (319 weighted heeaavily on the verbal side).  I think (hope) my personal statements are pretty strong. I don't have any publications but I do have a decent research background and a couple grants under my belt. I also have 7+ years of employment experience in social services (micro and mezzo level) although only two of those are post-masters. I never went for licensure because I didn't want to fall off the research path after grad school.  I did not end up reaching out to potential advisors so I guess a lack of faculty relationships is the piece I'm most worried about. 

I got an interview request yesterday from a professor at U Pitt (super exciting/scary) but no word from any of the others yet. It's still early!

Edited January 11, 2020 by alfgrape
small grammar error

[Logodds56]

I honestly am starting to feel silly for even applying. My GRE is pretty bad (156 Verbal, 148 Quant, 5.5 Writing) and I've only had research experience since starting Grad school! Gah. I guess I will hope for the best regardless. Best of luck everyone! I'll post updates here as a I start to hear back. 

[alfgrape]

I think you definitely have a good shot!  Writing sample/research background are the most important parts from what I can tell and GRE seems to hardly matter. Publications are a big deal, I wouldn't rule yourself out  

[alfgrape]

(I also didn't have any research experience before grad school and my math score is not much higher than yours btw!) ?

[LooseConsideration]

Well, now that I'm waiting to hear back and obsessively checking this forum, I figured I might as well say hi. I applied to five schools (UW, PSU, BU, UoT, and Wilfrid Laurier) this cycle. I'm not sure how successful I'll be -- my GRE scores are good, and I've got research experience and good LoRs, but no publications and I'm not terribly confident about my writing sample (which feels ridiculous to say, given that it's the part of my application I have the most control over). But we'll see!

Sending good thoughts to everyone else waiting! Glad we're at least in this version of purgatory together? ;)

[Logodds56]

Thank you for the encouragement! At this point I have two second author publications (though they are editorials, not research experiments) and a couple in progress to be submitted. Master's GPA 4.0 holding strong with just a few credits left. Recommendations, writing sample, and SOP are good IMO. Really crossing my fingers. 

[LisaOh]

On 1/11/2020 at 11:41 AM, 123PhD said:

Hi everyone! I'm glad that this thread has started.

@Clabarr55 I've applied to 7 schools (though no overlap with your list) and have not heard back from any.

@LisaOh I see that you applied to UCLA - can you remember from the info session when they said that people would start to hear back about interviews? 

I didn't attend any info sessions. So I am completely in the dark.

[123PhD]

On 1/12/2020 at 9:01 PM, Clabarr55 said:

I honestly am starting to feel silly for even applying. My GRE is pretty bad (156 Verbal, 148 Quant, 5.5 Writing) and I've only had research experience since starting Grad school! Gah. I guess I will hope for the best regardless. Best of luck everyone! I'll post updates here as a I start to hear back. 

From what I've been told, it seems like the GRE will be the aspect of your application that has the least effect on whether you'll be admitted. It seems like you have some great research experience and your publications, SOP and letters of recommendation will all strengthen your application. I know that it can be easy to get caught up in feeling like an impostor while you wait and wait and wait to hear back from these programs, but every applicant will have weaknesses and a less-than-great score on 1 section of the GRE does not sound like a major weakness to me. I wish you the best of luck! 

[123PhD]

23 hours ago, LisaOh said:

I didn't attend any info sessions. So I am completely in the dark.

I could have sworn that I wrote it down somewhere, I just can't seem to remember where! ?

[Adelaide9216]

On 12/6/2019 at 3:05 AM, Methinks said:

Hi! 

I am looking to apply for PhD program at the York university in Canada. I have two Masters in International Development, the recent one from UK and have over 5 years of experience in my field. 

I could find only one professor whose interest is closer to my own at York and she also seems positive about my topic. However, the professor happens to be in the department of Social Work, on which I have little idea and I am unsure if a PhD in Social Work would be the right choice for me at this point. I would prefer academia after graduation but as we all know competition is very tough so I am also open to industry opportunities especially research.  

I would appreciate advice from someone with Social Work experience especially those who have transitioned into PhD Social Work from another interdisciplinary field. How hard is it to cover theory and concepts? Is it better, say career-wise, than ID, Political Science or Sociology? What are your thoughts on the career prospects ahead for someone who comes from a different field?   

Your thoughts on York university is welcome as well. Many thanks.

 

 

 

Hello, I think I can answer this.

I did all my university studies in SW though. However, I think it doesn't hurt to have an interdisciplinary profile. Many of my colleagues at the university I attend and professors have interdisciplinary profiles.

I am constantly being told that it is currently easier to get a job in academia in the field of social work right now. That is, most social workers don't do PhDs. It's a pratical profession, so most people who choose that path are not inclined to pursue PhDs at first. Plus, not all Schools of Social Work across Canada have PhD programs. So in the next couple of years, they'll want to develop some more. And they'll want more people with PhDs in Social Work. I would not take that situation for granted though, because it's probably going to get as competitive as other disciplines, but the omen are quite good right now. I know a couple of people who graduated with their PhDs who got hired as a profs before finishing their doctoral thesis, just to give you an idea. They completed their thesis after getting hired.

My feeling is that Sociology and Political Science are wayyyy more competitive fields than Social Work for prof positions. 

You would need to ask more people to get diverse perspective on this, but personally speaking, although I am doing everything i can to increase my chances to get a tenure-track position, I am being told that the omen are often good in social work for this. 

I did not attend York university, but heard that their program is quite progressive. Maybe you could contact current PhD students and ask them about their experience in the program. I always do that whenever I have to apply to something, and people often are very happy to share their experience and perspective.

Edited January 15, 2020 by Adelaide9216

[123PhD]

I heard back from my first program today - I've been accepted at Ohio State University! 

How's the process going for all of you? Any news?

[Logodds56]

I received an email saying I got a phone interview with Case Western on 1/20! Very happy! 

 

Edited January 22, 2020 by Clabarr55

[gradschooltime]

I interviewed this week at BU, and they said they'd make decisions within 3 weeks. 

[Methinks]

On 1/15/2020 at 9:58 AM, Adelaide9216 said:

Hello, I think I can answer this.

I did all my university studies in SW though. However, I think it doesn't hurt to have an interdisciplinary profile. Many of my colleagues at the university I attend and professors have interdisciplinary profiles.

I am constantly being told that it is currently easier to get a job in academia in the field of social work right now. That is, most social workers don't do PhDs. It's a pratical profession, so most people who choose that path are not inclined to pursue PhDs at first. Plus, not all Schools of Social Work across Canada have PhD programs. So in the next couple of years, they'll want to develop some more. And they'll want more people with PhDs in Social Work. I would not take that situation for granted though, because it's probably going to get as competitive as other disciplines, but the omen are quite good right now. I know a couple of people who graduated with their PhDs who got hired as a profs before finishing their doctoral thesis, just to give you an idea. They completed their thesis after getting hired.

My feeling is that Sociology and Political Science are wayyyy more competitive fields than Social Work for prof positions. 

You would need to ask more people to get diverse perspective on this, but personally speaking, although I am doing everything i can to increase my chances to get a tenure-track position, I am being told that the omen are often good in social work for this. 

I did not attend York university, but heard that their program is quite progressive. Maybe you could contact current PhD students and ask them about their experience in the program. I always do that whenever I have to apply to something, and people often are very happy to share their experience and perspective.

Hi! Thanks so much for the response. It is certainly helpful. Yeah, I will contact other PhD students as well.   

[LisaOh]

I just received my first acceptance from University of Wisconsin - Madison!

[HannahJoy]

9 minutes ago, LisaOh said:

I just received my first acceptance from University of Wisconsin - Madison!

Wow, congratulations!!! Can I ask what your stats are? 

[alfgrape]

I just got my first acceptance too! MSU. Rejected from Washington last week (boo) but also had a super promising interview with a potential advisor at U Pitt that I'm kind of thrilled about and really hoping it pans out. excited to hear from everyone about all these acceptances and interviews!