Social Welfare

A total of 95 units of course work in the department is required. Students must select an area of concentration spring quarter of their first year: social and economic justice, health and mental health across the life span, or child and family well-being. Specific course requirements for each concentration are outlined below; all areas of concentration require eight units of M.S.W. elective course work to meet the minimum unit requirement for the degree. Appropriate substitutions or waivers may be requested. With the consent of the chair, students may take courses in other professional graduate schools or academic programs of the University in fulfillment of course requirements for the degree. There is no notation of area of concentration on the student’s academic record.

With the consent of the instructor and chair, tutorial studies of comparable material in the 500-series may be substituted for either required or elective courses. A maximum of four units of 500-series courses may be applied toward the entire graduate course requirement for the degree.

While no University-approved specific thesis is required for the M.S.W. degree, the curriculum requires theoretical courses in research methodology. Students will complete and present an applied research project as their capstone for the program.

Social Welfare, M.S.W., Social and Economic Justice:

Social Welfare, M.S.W., Health and Mental Health Across the Life Span:

Social Welfare, M.S.W., Child and Family Well-Being:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Law, J.D.

The equivalent of 4 quarter units of law course work may be applied to the M.S.W. degree. The equivalent of 12 semester units of Social Welfare course work may be applied to the J.D. degree.

Students complete a total of 91 quarter units in Social Welfare and 75 semester units in Law to achieve both M.S.W and J.D. degrees. Students must qualify for graduation in both Law and Social Welfare to get either degree. Students completing the M.S.W./J.D. program may choose either the research project capstone or the comprehensive exam capstone for the M.S.W. program.

All M.S.W./J.D. concurrent degree students must enroll and complete the second year field placement (SW 402 A, B, C) during the summer between their second and third year of the program. Students enroll through UCLA Summer Session; UCLA Summer Session fees are additional.

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Law, J.D., Social and Economic Justice:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Law, J.D., Health and Mental Health Across the Life Span:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Law, J.D., Child and Family Well-Being:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Asian American Studies, M.A.

A maximum of eight units of course work in Social Welfare may be applied toward both the M.A. degree in Asian American Studies and the M.S.W. degree. All Areas of Concentration require eight units of elective coursework to meet the minimum unit requirement. Students completing the M.S.W./M.A. program and are completing a thesis in Asian American Studies may choose either the research project capstone or the comprehensive exam capstone for the M.S.W. program.

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Asian American Studies, M.A., Social and Economic Justice:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Asian American Studies, M.A., Health and Mental Health Across the Life Span:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Asian American Studies, M.A., Child and Family Well-Being:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Public Health, M.P.H.

Students who pursue the concurrent degree program with the Department of Community Health Sciences must complete a total of 87 quarter units of Social Welfare course work and 52 units of Public Health course work. The remaining eight units of the regular 95-unit requirement for the M.S.W. degree are fulfilled through research and policy courses taken for the M.P.H. degree and are applied toward the M.S.W. program through a pro forma petition to the Graduate Division upon application for advancement to candidacy. A maximum of eight units of Social Welfare course work may be applied to the M.P.H. degree. All areas of concentration require eight units of elective course work to meet the minimum unit requirement for the degree.

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Public Health, M.P.H., Social and Economic Justice:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Public Health, M.P.H., Health and Mental Health Across the Life Span:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Public Health, M.P.H., Child and Family Well-Being:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Public Policy, M.P.P.

Students who pursue the concurrent degree program with the Department of Public Policy complete a total of 87 units in Social Welfare. The remaining eight units of course requirements are fulfilled through policy studies courses taken for the M.P.P. program and are applied toward the M.S.W. degree through a pro forma petition to the Graduate Division upon application for advancement to candidacy. All areas of concentration require eight units of elective course work to meet the minimum unit requirement for the degree. Students completing the M.S.W./M.P.P. program and are completing the Applied Policy Project may choose either the research project capstone or the comprehensive exam capstone for the M.S.W. program.

All M.S.W./M.P.P. concurrent degree students must enroll and complete the second year field placement (SW 402 A, B, C) during the summer. Students enroll through UCLA Summer Session, UCLA Summer Session fees are additional.

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Public Policy, M.P.P., Social and Economic Justice:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Public Policy, M.P.P., Health and Mental Health Across the Life Span:

Social Welfare, M.S.W./Public Policy, M.P.P., Child and Family Well-Being:

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Practicum Requirements: There is a concurrent field placement in each of the two years. Time spent in placement may vary according to the academic year calendar, holidays, and guidelines established by the program or placement setting. The overall time requirement is approximately 1,200 hours of which approximately 550 hours are completed in the first year and 650 hours are completed in the second year of the program. Field experience in the M.S.W. program earns course credit via enrollment in SW 401A (3 units) in the fall of the first year, SW 401B (3 units) in winter, and SW 401C (3 units) in the spring; and SW 402A (4 units) in the fall of the second year, SW 402B (4 units) in the winter, and SW 402C (4 units) in the spring. Field placement is graded and recorded as in progress until spring quarter when full credit for the academic year is received.

Capstone Plan

Applied Research Project. All students in their second year will engage in a year-long research project directed by their capstone course consisting of eight units over three quarters.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

Students are expected to be in full-time attendance and to work without interruption toward the degree. The requirements for the M.S.W. degree should be met ordinarily within two consecutive academic years (six academic quarters). Course scheduling is predicated on this understanding. In special cases, at the discretion of the department, students may be admitted for study on a part-time basis which permits completion of the academic courses and field instruction over a period of three academic years.

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Advising

On entering the program, students are assigned an individual adviser. To the extent possible, the student's interest and background are considered in the assignment of the adviser. The assignment is made by the chair, in consultation with the doctoral program committee. Students are sent written notification of their assignment of adviser prior to entering the program. Students ordinarily continue with the initial adviser until successful completion of the written qualifying examinations and until they choose a dissertation chair, usually in the second year. Students may request a change in advisers at any time during the course of study by submitting a request directly to the chair, or to the chair through the current adviser. Once the doctoral committee has been appointed by the Graduate Division, consent and approval of the committee, department, and Graduate Division are necessary for any change in committee structure, including a change in chair.

The student and the adviser establish a schedule of meetings that includes a conference at the beginning of each quarter regarding the student's program of courses. The adviser's written approval is prerequisite to enrollment in all courses. The student and the adviser are expected to meet regularly to review the student's progress.

Each quarter, upon request, a written summary of the student's grades in Social Welfare is provided by the Graduate Adviser. In addition, the adviser or instructors may present a written report to the student, if necessary. Overall progress of doctoral students is reviewed regularly by the doctoral program committee.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

The program trains research-oriented scholars to advance the field of social welfare through research and knowledge development, and to assume leadership roles in academic, policy, and practice settings. The curriculum is organized into three major areas: (1) specialization in a substantive area of social welfare, (2) integration of social and behavioral science knowledge into social welfare, and (3) research methods. Programs of study are planned in relation to the special and individual needs and interests of students.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

There is a minimum core of required courses which includes: a three-quarter sequence of seminars on the craft of social welfare scholarship; a three-quarter sequence of seminars on the foundations of scientific inquiry; and two graduate-level courses in statistics. In addition, students are required to take (1) at least three graduate-level courses in the social and behavioral sciences outside the department related to their specialization in social welfare; (2) a combination of at least four additional courses in advanced research methods and statistics; and (3) three quarters of research internship and a two-quarter dissertation seminar. All courses with the exception of Independent Study, Examination Preparation and Dissertation Writing (SW 596-599) must be taken for a letter grade to count toward doctoral coursework requirements.

Every effort is made to individualize the curriculum around a student's area of interest and plans for the dissertation. In order to achieve this goal, a variety of patterns is utilized, including tutorials, small seminar groups, special courses in the M.S.W. program, and courses in other departments and schools of the University.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

The written qualifying examination consists of two sections:

(1) An examination in social welfare policy and practice, reviewing current theory and research. The examination consists of an oral exam with a written submission to provide foundation and context for the exam questions and is administered at the end of the third quarter of the first year. This examination is evaluated by the student’s adviser and two members of the Senate faculty. Upon Doctoral Committee approval, students are allowed to retake the exam if they fail the first administration. Students must successfully pass this section of the written qualifying exam by the end of Fall quarter of their second year.

(2) A major publishable scholarly paper on a social welfare topic, demonstrating the student's mastery of social science theory and methods of scientific inquiry. The paper will be evaluated by a three-member committee appointed by the Chair of the Doctoral Committee. The paper is due no later than the final review period of the third year of study. Revisions will be accepted according to policy within three quarters of first submission.

The qualifying examinations are graded on a pass/fail basis for the first section of the examination and pass/revise/fail for the major publishable scholarly paper. Passing both exams is a prerequisite for pursuing the dissertation. Students who fail either section of the examinations are reviewed by the departmental Doctoral Committee, which makes a decision about whether the student is allowed to continue in the program and retake the examination. Students permitted to retake the examinations must develop a written remedial work plan with their adviser and have it approved by the Chair of the Doctoral Program.

Advancement to doctoral candidacy follows successful completion of both the written qualifying examination and subsequently the required University Oral Qualifying Examination, which covers the dissertation proposal and related areas. It is administered by a doctoral committee requested by the student and approved by UCLA Graduate Division.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Normative time-to-degree is eighteen academic quarters. Time for completion of the degree cannot exceed seven years (21 academic quarters). Students are expected to complete all course requirements, defend their dissertation proposal and be advanced to candidacy within three years (nine quarters). Time for completion of the dissertation varies from two to six quarters after advancement to candidacy. A student who has not completed the degree requirements within the maximum seven-year (21 academic quarters) limit is not allowed to continue in the program without the permission of the departmental Doctoral Committee.

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Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

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