Department of Social Work and Social Ecology

PhD and Doctoral Program Admissions

Social Policy and Social Research

Admission to the program is governed by the policies and procedures established by the School of Science and Technology. Admission requirements to the doctoral program include:

1. Master's degree from an accredited institution of higher education. Examples would include such disciplines as social work (MSW), nursing (MS), business (MBA), public health (MPH), education (MEd), and the ministry (MDiv.);
2. Evidence of adequate academic preparation in graduate education. This includes a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (4.0 scale) for graduate/postgraduate work;
3. Strong intellectual abilities, including background in social science and statistics;
4. Evidence of research and policy interests that are compatible with the specialized emphases supported by the program faculty;
5. Professional experience and achievement that demonstrates the competence, motivation, organization, and leadership to complete doctoral education in a timely manner;
6. Personal interview;
7. Sample of writing in the form of a published article, academic or professional paper prepared for a research purpose, or an essay prepared for admission to the program;
8. Satisfactory performance on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE); and
9. Curriculum vitae or other description of education and employment history.

In addition to the above criteria, the application process for the PhD degree in social policy and social research utilizes a pooled application process by which the top candidates meeting the admissions criteria are selected. The number of new candidates admitted each year is also reviewed in light of the total number of students completing the program.

Notification of acceptance

The social policy and social research program admissions committee forwards a recommendation of regular, provisional, deferred, or denied status to the dean of the School of Science and Technology and to the dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies for confirmation. Reasons for designation are given to applicants who receive other than regular acceptance. All applicants are first notified by the dean's office of their admissions status. Accepted students must then acknowledge in writing their intentions to reserve their place in the program.

Clinical Social Work

The clinical social work program is open to students who demonstrate leadership and scholarly potential. Admission to the program is governed by the policies and procedures established by the School of Science and Technology. An admission committee of social work faculty oversees the admission process, reviews applications, and recommends students for admission to the program. Admission requirements to the doctoral program include:

1. Master’s degree in social work from an accredited institution of higher education.
2. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (4.0 scale)for graduate/postgraduate work.
3. Commitment to advancing knowledge and research related to clinical social work.
4. Professional experience and achievement that demonstrates competence, organization, leadership, and motivation to complete doctoral education in a timely manner.
5. Personal interview; geographical circumstances may determine an individualized process.
6. A sample of writing regarding a clinical treatment topic in the form of a published article, academic or professional research paper, or an essay prepared for admission to the program.
7. Satisfactory performance on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE); and
8. Curriculum vitae or other description of education, employment history, and experience in clinical practice.
9. Prerequisite preparation. If an applicant has not had adequate clinical treatment experience, additional clinical course work of 6-12 units will be required. (Students needing to meet this requirement take CSWK 688 Clinical Treatment Practicum)

Notification of acceptance

The clinical social work program admissions committee forwards a recommendation of regular, provisional, deferred, or denied status to the dean of the School of Science and Technology and to the dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies for confirmation. Reasons for designation are given to applicants who receive other than regular acceptance. All applicants are first notified by the dean's office of their admissions status. Accepted students must then acknowledge in writing their intentions to reserve their place in the program.

Public Administration

Students who apply for admission to the program are governed by the policies and procedures established by the School of Science and Technology. Admission requirements to the doctoral program include:

1. Master’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education, with significant work experience in health and human services, community development and planning, or a related field. Examples would include the master’s degree in social work (MSW), nursing (MS), business (MBA), public health (MPH), education (MEd), public administration (MPA), and the ministry (MDiv)
2. Evidence of adequate academic preparation in graduate education.
3. Strong intellectual abilities.
4. Commitment to advancing knowledge and techniques related to public administration.
5. Professional experience and achievement that demonstrates competence, organization, leadership, and motivation to complete doctoral education in a timely manner.
6. Personal interview.
7. Satisfactory performance on the GRE (Graduate Record Examination).
8. Curriculum vita.
9. Application deadline: Open admissions

Notification of acceptance

The public administration program admissions committee forwards a recommendation of regular, provisional, deferred, or denied status to the dean of the School of Science and Technology for confirmation. Reasons for designation are given to applicants who receive other than regular acceptance. All applicants are first notified by the dean's office of their admissions status. Accepted students must then acknowledge in writing their intentions to reserve their place in the program.

School of Science and Technology Admissions

(909) 558-1900 or 1-800-422-4558

admissions.sst@llu.edu

Department of Social Work and Social Ecology

Admissions Coordinator

Judy Rynearson

jrynearson@llu.edu

(909) 558-8548

Regular status is given to applicants when all of the following conditions are met:

• their scholarship (GPA) meets the stated admissions requirements of the School of Science and Technology
• they are deemed suitable for pursuit post masters education
• their admissions documentation is complete.

Provisional status is given to applicants

• whose scholarship does not reach the level for regular standing but who shows strong promise for success
• is missing some of the prerequisite content
• whose admissions documentation has some missing items (e.g., some official transcripts may be missing) at the time of notification of acceptance

To continue eligibility for study, a student admitted on provisional status must achieve a grade point average of 3.0 quarter by quarter, with no course grade less than B- (3.0) and address other requirements as specified upon admission.

Deferred decision is given to applicants

• whose scholarship does not reach the standards established for provisional acceptance but for whom post masters work may be possible with additional evidence of academic preparation, and/or scholastic consistency
• who will not complete their graduate degree by the requested admission date
• who are substantially lacking adequate graduate prerequisite preparation
• whose admissions documentation is incomplete at the time of notification of the application review.

In these cases where an admissions decision has not been made and is deferred to a later time, the admissions committee of the department provides deferred applicants in writing with a list of the additional requirements that must be met before a decision can be reached.

Denied status is given when an applicant receives an admissions score below the minimum required for acceptance into the program as provisional or deferred status and/or the delineation of scholastic improvement options is considered to be substantial and suggest unreasonable hardship for the applicant.