This page describes the Ph.D. Program in the College of Social Work and presents policies and procedures that govern satisfactory completion of the program and graduation. It is a guide for doctoral students and faculty. Doctoral students and faculty advisors should obtain copies of The Ohio State University Graduate School Handbook . The policies and procedures outlined in the College of Social Work Handbook comply with those of the Graduate School.
Educational emphasis is placed on theory development and research.
The doctoral program focuses on testing, building, revising, and extending knowledge. The doctoral program prepares students for a lifetime of intellectual inquiry that manifests itself in creative scholarship and research. Knowledge-building refers to the processes involved in learning facts, truths, and principles, through study or investigation, and includes familiarity with a particular subject or branch of learning. Knowledge-building involves an acquaintance with facts, especially bodies of facts that are organized into principles of human behavior, and ranges along a continuum from concrete, specific, discrete items of information to abstract, general, theoretical systems of science. The source of this knowledge begins with a solid foundation in social work and the other social sciences.