Plan for students with masters in a related discipline

1. Doctoral students with a Masters Degree in a related discipline will satisfy all requirements of and be awarded the MSW degree.

2. Students will complete the entire Foundation curriculum, including the practicum, with the following qualifications:

a. The first doctoral core research course and the measurement course can substitute for the masters research sequence;

b. If students pass masters program proficiency examinations, or transfer credits that duplicate Foundation content, they will substitute other social work courses in the same sequence or area, e.g. an advanced policy course if 101 is exempted. If there is no advanced course in the curricular area, they may substitute a social work elective.

3. Requirements in the Advanced curriculum can be satisfied through a combination of concentrations:

a. completing the required advanced curriculum courses;

b. transfer of previously earned credits;

c. application of doctoral courses in lieu of an advanced masters curriculum course;

4. Ph.D. students completing the MSW may transfer up to twelve previously earned credits; they may satisfy course requirements through the regularly given proficiency examinations; they may apply doctoral courses as electives; but they must complete a minimum of 32 hours of regular masters courses.

5. Students will be selected through the doctoral admissions process, but admitted in the "Masters/then Doctorate" status. When they have completed the masters program requirements, they will be formally transferred to doctoral status.

6. They will fulfill the one-year residency required by the masters program, and their time spent in the status of masters student in full-time residency will count toward the required two years of full-time residency for the Ph.D.

7. Under this plan, students will complete a minimum total number of 80 credit hours in the two programs. (The masters program normally requires 62 credit hours; the doctoral program 48).

8. Students will formulate their plan for completing their masters and doctoral requirements in consultation with their doctoral adviser, for review and approval by the Director of Studies. The plan will be forwarded to the Graduate School.

9. In cases in which the MSW is not relevant to a student's career goals, s/he may request an exception to the requirement that s/he complete one. In order, however, for the student to have the necessary grounding in professional knowledge and values, s/he must plan, with the adviser, an individualized program of masters level courses appropriate to her/his background, either counting these as doctoral electives or not counting these for doctoral credit.

10. Admission of doctoral students in the "Masters/then Doctorate" status does not affect their eligibility for doctoral funding.

COURSE GUIDELINES FOR MSW/PHD PLANNING
FOR STUDENTS WITH MASTERS IN A RELATED DISCIPLINE
(same as MSW/PhD course guidelines)