Social Work MSW/PhD, PhD Applicants!

[wisdomspeaks]

Hi everyone!

I wanted to start a lively thread for all social work PhD and MSW/PhD hopefuls, where we can build solidarity as we play the waiting game together. I have created a guide using results from past years for the schools to which I have applied (MSW/PhD dual degree):

University of Southern California: Applicants were invited for in-person interviews between Feb 4th and Feb 21st. Most were contacted early Feb.

Boston College: Applicants were invited to attend a Skype or phone interview as early as Jan 9th and as late as Feb 12th, and notified of their acceptance Feb 13th-Feb 22nd.

University of Michigan (Joint PhD and Social Science/Social Work PhD): Applicants were accepted Feb 15th-21st

University of Chicago (AM/PhD): Applicants were accepted Feb 7th-Feb 13th

University of Wisconsin-Madison: Applicants were accepted Jan 24th-Jan 31st, but data was sparse (only 2 results were found)

I also applied to UC Berkeley and UCLA, but could find no results on these schools. I applied to University at Buffalo and was accepted 12/14, offered a generous funding package and nominated for a fellowship, and invited to campus.

My application: GRE: 164V/154Q/5.0AW; Undergraduate GPA: 3.657; Graduate GPA (I spent one year in the JHU counseling program): 4.0; Field and supervisory experience: 5 years; Research experience: 1 year (undergraduate) and I have been working at Hopkins School of Medicine for the past few months. No publications, but my writing sample was a sole-authored manuscript currently under review; Strong LORs and essays, but none were from faculty with whom I conducted research (that's my weak point). Overall, my background is verrryyy practice-heavy with a lot of supervisory experience and grant writing, which might set me apart from others. However, my lack of research experience, relative to my peers, is my biggest worry!

Feel free to comment, talk about your application, add to the data sheet, or post updates on admission status!

Edited January 6, 2016 by wisdomspeaks

[SWstudent]

Thanks for this. I'm finishing up my undergrad, and applied to a few dual MSW/PhD programs. I also applied to two social psych programs, and one human development and family studies program (of which I've had a phone interview for).

for social work dual programs I applied to:

USC, Boston College, UW-Milwaukee, and Rutgers. 

I also applied to University of Washington's MSW and NYU's MSW program. 

Congrats on your admission to Buffalo, already! That's amazing. 

 

[JointPhD-Social Work Guy]

That is all great information! Thank you!

 

I applied to U of Michigan Joint Soc/Anth Ph.D. and The Same Joint program at Wayne state. 

 

Still waiting!

[wisdomspeaks]

Hi! Thank you for your replies, and no problem. You can thank my neuroticism!

AMStudent: Congrats on your phone interview, too! Which school? I am excited about Buffalo and might actually go there. Their program is based on a trauma-informed approach and their PhD curriculum is super interdisciplinary, which I like a lot. I have a few friends who have applied to psych PhD programs and have been getting phone interviews. It seems like the SW schools are a little late to the game... every year. Where would you like to go?

JointPhD-Social Work Guy: I applied to the joint Social Work/Sociology program. The joint program is very competitive, so I doubt I will make the cut with that one. Awesome combination, though. Do you have a degree in anthropology?

 

Good luck to you both!  Let me know if you hear anything good this week.

[wisdomspeaks]

Hey, welcome! I feel you on that one... Did you apply to any other schools, or is your heart set on U-M? And yes, it would definitely be awesome to meet future peers on thegradcafe. If we do not end up in the same place, there is always a chance we will later (especially for those of us who would like to stay in academia).

[SWstudent]

Hey @wisdomspeaks I had an interview with Penn State's HDFS program. I haven't heard anything since so I'm not too hopeful--more realistic. The joint MSW/PhD programs are crazy competitive, which is a little frustrating to me. I wish there were more MSW/PhD programs, kind of like clinical psych programs, you can earn your masters along the way to becoming a researcher, ya know? Anyway, as someone who 100% wants to research/and work at a university I found it frustrating, hence my application to a couple other kinds of programs. Can't wait to hear more good news from you!

[wisdomspeaks]

Hey @AMStudent what's up? I haven't heard back from any other schools yet! Our fate is approaching. Have you heard back from Penn State yet? This is unrelated but I am curious to know of others' plans: how do you intend to get your two years of post-MSW practice experience? I am quite concerned about that actually! I was thinking of part-time work in the last two years of the PhD program and then going for a post-doc and continuing to slowly build those two years (maybe 20-30 hours a week). My fear is not publishing during that time period, so that's why I am considering that path.

[JointPhD-Social Work Guy]

On 1/11/2016 at 0:33 AM, wisdomspeaks said:

Hi! Thank you for your replies, and no problem. You can thank my neuroticism!

AMStudent: Congrats on your phone interview, too! Which school? I am excited about Buffalo and might actually go there. Their program is based on a trauma-informed approach and their PhD curriculum is super interdisciplinary, which I like a lot. I have a few friends who have applied to psych PhD programs and have been getting phone interviews. It seems like the SW schools are a little late to the game... every year. Where would you like to go?

JointPhD-Social Work Guy: I applied to the joint Social Work/Sociology program. The joint program is very competitive, so I doubt I will make the cut with that one. Awesome combination, though. Do you have a degree in anthropology?

 

Good luck to you both!  Let me know if you hear anything good this week.

@Wisdomspeaks I have a degree in Social work and Anthropology credits from a Drama Therapy program that didn't agree with me. I have some experience doing ethnographic research both in the states and in the U.K and Ireland. I have not heard from UMICH yet, but I do have an interview at Wayne State on the 1st of Feb for their SW AN joint program. I am super stoked and mildly terrified because, well I have never had a grad school interview before. Good Luck everybody and yes, I hear that UMICH admits 6-8 people and it is super competitive, but I think if you put in the effort and jumped through the hoops, you have real determination and that speaks volumes!!

 

Sending super good energy 

[SWstudent]

On January 21, 2016 at 9:05 PM, wisdomspeaks said:

Hey @AMStudent what's up? I haven't heard back from any other schools yet! Our fate is approaching. Have you heard back from Penn State yet? This is unrelated but I am curious to know of others' plans: how do you intend to get your two years of post-MSW practice experience? I am quite concerned about that actually! I was thinking of part-time work in the last two years of the PhD program and then going for a post-doc and continuing to slowly build those two years (maybe 20-30 hours a week). My fear is not publishing during that time period, so that's why I am considering that path.

Hey @wisdomspeaks, I've been thinking about that a lot. I would assume/hope the joint programs would somehow have that plugged into our timeline. However, I am fully prepared to do what you said about working AND researching. In an ideal world, where we gain our practicum hours could influence our research. I asked my home school UW, which does not offer a joint program, and they said it possible, but would imagine the joint programs base their curriculum off of us eventually becoming professors. It seems these dual programs take a while to get back, because some of them have to wait to hear from the masters school, as well. I'm not sure, but I am getting very anxious about hearing back. In other news, I got a second interview with Penn State, so maybe I was being a little hard on myself.  Keep us posted about what you hear. 

[Kiren]

@wisdomspeaks Do you happened to know if it's group interview for everyone in the MSW/PhD track or if it's track specific for Wayne State for Anthro/Social Work. I haven't heard from Wayne State and am wondering if I should start hitting the books again for the GRE and start planning another postbac year. 

[JointPhD-Social Work Guy]

@Kiren I received an email asking me what dates and times were good for me. I applied for the Anthro-SW track, I don't know if they have been emailing everyone or not. Not sure if @wisdomspeaks has more info. Thought I would weigh in, though. Good Luck!!

[wisdomspeaks]

Hi you two,

I do not have any information on Wayne State  I am sorry. I did not apply to that school. I would suggest taking a look at the results page for past years to see if they staggered their interviews. I wouldn't get discouraged yet because many admissions committees sometimes do that.

Has anyone heard from U-M yet? 

[JointPhD-Social Work Guy]

Thanks, @wisdomspeaks,

I am still waiting to hear back from UMICH. I wonder if they log how many times I access Wolveringaccess because it is a lot! Still hoping for the best and expecting the worst. Good luck and may the Ph.D. admissions be with you 

[wisdomspeaks]

Hey everyone,

I just got my first rejection from Wisconsin-Madison. It was still upsetting, although it definitely was not my top choice. My interests were not as in line with their faculty as others' interests were, I'm sure. I still felt a pang of hurt!

 

-Allison

[JointPhD-Social Work Guy]

 Allison/ @wisdomspeaks I am sorry to hear that. I know that it must hurt a lot, rejection is rejection. Hopefully, it was because they felt the same way and places like UMICH, Chicago etc... will be more in line with your interests so you can do the best! Stay strong, you have a lot of good qualities about your application and I have faith you will get into the right program for you. I can empathize with the rejection, but I also know getting into a program that doesn't fit you, never goes well either. 

 

Good Luck!

 

Chris

 

[wisdomspeaks]

Thanks for the kind words! I think just the act of being rejected is difficult for everyone. However, I also recognize that rejection will always be a huge part of my life, given my career path. I actually feel I am taking the rejection quite well!

btw, you will not hear about the status of your application on wolverine access. My dumb ass tried contacting them to ask about why it still said it wasn't complete and I was reprimanded for contacting the office to check on the status of my application. The individual with whom I spoke quoted what was stated on the admissions site (don't contact the office; all communication you will receive regarding status of application will come from this office directly or whatever), even though I already had reviewed that info. I just found it confusing to have received an automated email telling me that my wolverine account would also provide me with this information. They really should explicitly say that they don't update wolverine, because that's what I ended up finding out from that awkward exchange. That would minimize the confusion and reduce the amount of contacts they seem to loathe so much lol I did find it a little rude because I wasn't really checking on the status of my app. I had a question about wolverine and I truly don't understand why they are so unapproachable to prospective students. I guess you can do that when you're at the top and everyone wants you!

[wisdomspeaks]

Wow today must be the day for rejections! I was rejected from UC Berkeley today, as well. I was actually expecting this one, so it did not hurt as much. Again, there were no amazing fits between my interests and those of faculty, and it is highly competitive. There were some definite overlaps and I liked that they offer a critical theory graduate certificate, but I am sure others' interests fit better with those of faculty. I am just grateful to have gotten into one school so far because I am not sure how forgiving others will be about my lack of research experience and extremely practice-heavy background

[JointPhD-Social Work Guy]

^{Aye, two in one day  Thanks for the info about Wolverine Access, that would be nice to know that it won't be updated. The U of M worries me with their unapproachable attitude and makes me wonder if I get accepted into multiple schools, would their program make me happy?}

^{@wisdomspeaksI am glad that you have been accepted into one school already!! Hopefully, it helps reduce the anxiety of rejection! Also hopefully, they contact us soon. I have, to say the deadline for Wayne was 1/10/16 and I was asked to interview on the 21st. U of Mich was due (as you know) was due 12/1/15 and it has been almost 2 months. I guess when you're the top, you can take your time, even if it means minimizing the analysis of potential acceptance letters and funding packages due to less comparison time.}

 

^{You really do have to choose who will do your research for dirt cheap very carefully...}

[wisdomspeaks]

Hey! I would say definitely put your values first in your decision. Tbh, I was strongly leaning toward UB even though it's less prestigious for those reasons. The director of the program is a woman of color whose interests are in gender studies and I was able to actually be myself and be real with her about academia and how we feel about it. PhD programs are what you put into them. It's the real beginning of your career as a scholar. if you are being productive and doing important work, you could be just as successful at a top 25 school as you would be at a top 10. Also, it's social work. It's the work we do that matters and part of that is raising consciousness about higher education as an institution that is, quite honestly, a breeding ground for oppressive practices. Ratings have practically no value and are purely based on prestige, as I said. involvement in scholarly work is a privilege in itself. I really love your interests, btw. mine are in transracial/transcultural adoption and since I will be in Buffalo, I would love to do work in Canada with native communities there. A lot of unethical adoptions take place across that border and it's really messed up. I would like to use my research to shatter the unethical in adoption placements and that's the purpose of this, really, right?!

[CrimsonEyes]

Hey ALL!!!!!!!

All those who applied to UC Berkeley for PhD in Social Welfare, I just got off the phone with admissions, and they said decisions will be sent out this week!!!!!!!! GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!!

I also spoke with Penn admissions, and they said that the Feb 15th decision date that is going around is completely wrong. They have had several people call regarding this. They said that they are still very much being reviewed by the committee and that they are shooting for late Feb to early March... They said it would be a miracle if we hear a decision on Feb 15th. 

[JointPhD-Social Work Guy]

@wisdomspeaks, your research interests sound great! There are so man social welfare policies in Canada that further colonize indigenous populations and child welfare is one of those issues. I think that it is great that you would step in and work toward fairer policies. ones that include cultural lifestyles from the already oppressed populations. I think you are going to accomplish amazing things in helping regulate unethical adoption practices!

I am definitely with you on values versus prestige. Obviously, I am still waiting for UMICH but I did have my interview and I felt a subtle sense of joy and exuberance when I left. Needless to say, I think the interview went really well and they said that it was a first that they had run out of questions to ask. I am really excited at this potential prospect and since Wayne has shown me more humanity and kindness than other programs, it is my inclination to lean toward that.

So have you fully committed to Buffalo? If so, Congratulations!!! It has been good having the support on this thread!

Go Shatter those unethical placements!

 

[wisdomspeaks]

@JointPhD-Social Work Guy Oh ya, let's talk about how indigenous women keep disappearing and how not much is being done to investigate the issue.

I am glad you had such a great experience at Wayne State! I am not sure yet which school I will decide upon. I love Chicago, too. I am waiting to hear back from five schools, so I guess I will see what happens. Good luck!!! I think actually being on campus and experiencing the schools will be the deciding factor. I can't make a decision until I do that.

Another update for all (I am looking at you, specifically, @AMStudent). I was accepted to USC's MSW program so fingers crossed about the PhD program! However, they are requiring a $260 nonrefundable deposit by the 15th and if I ended up not going there because I did not get accepted into the PhD program, that would be a significant hardship... I am going to give the school a call and ask if I can defer my decision until I hear back from the doctoral program.

 

And finally, thanks, @CrimsonEyes for that information about Penn. I did not personally apply there, but appreciate your consideration for other prospective students on this thread!

 

 

[Happysoul]

 @CrimsonEyes

Thank you for the update w.r.t UC-Berkeley. Keeping my fingers crossed on it. 

Good luck everyone !!

@wisdomspeaks : I believe you should mail the program co-ordinator at USC (Phd). She has been really helpful with all my queries and i am sure they would agree with your request. 

[wisdomspeaks]

@Happysoul are you referring to Malinda Sampson? She has been great to me, as well. Really helpful! She actually helped me out with a glitch on my application. For some reason it didn't save changes to one page on my app that were very important. I checked my app on the day of the deadline (I had submitted it originally in October) and noticed the issue and she fixed it for me, despite the fact that I had already submitted it btw, I need to respond to a previous comment from you and will. Just got so busy

[MCinephile]

@JointPhD-Social Work Guy  I'm glad your interview went so well and you're impressed with Wayne! I have mine tomorrow for the macro social work PhD program at Wayne!! I'm a bit nervous of how to prepare, do you have any tips?