Overview

The Social Work program from Columbia University prepares candidates for careers as researchers, scholars and educators. Doctoral students can choose from three concentrations:

Advanced Practice

Social Policy and Policy Analysis

Social Policy and Administration

Candidates will also take advanced social work courses and a wide range of courses offered in other Columbia professional schools. A PhD in Social Work candidate will complete approximately two years of full-time coursework, master content in a social work method, a related behavioral or social science, and a substantive field of practice, and prepare and defend a dissertation.

Opportunities

The Ph.D. program’s great strength is in equipping the next generation of scholars, researchers, and teachers in the field of social work and social welfare. The faculty at the Columbia School of Social Work is consistently recognized as among the most gifted and academically productive cadre of social work scholars in the United States, holding diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and interests.

Doctoral students enjoy opportunities to learn from and conduct research side-by-side with nationally and internationally recognized scholars in their fields—and not only within the School of Social Work, but beyond in the other social and behavioral sciences departments at Columbia as well.

This interdisciplinary exposure within the program balances the best of social work’s professional concerns for highly complicated social problems, along with the state-of-the-science disciplinary methods and theory that can help shed light in devising effective responses.

Programme Structure

The doctoral curriculum is designed to enable students to develop and demonstrate the capacity to examine highly complex human problems in depth, arriving at new knowledge and solutions with rigorous and exacting minds.

Through concentrated course work and independent study, students achieve a systematic and intellectual grounding in the theory and history of social welfare, extensive training in research methods, concentration in a social work method specialization, and integrated exposure to social or behavioral science theory.

Successful completion of the Program requires approximately two full-time years of course work, plus time for tutorials, research projects, examinations, and dissertation work.

Required course work is taken both within the School of Social Work and in other social and behavioral science departments at Columbia University.

All students also conduct an intensive individualized research practicum with a faculty supervisor.

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 48 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2027-09-08 00:00:00
- Apply before 2027-02-15 00:00:00

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

100

Schedule TOEFL®

IELTS

7.5

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Credits

45 SCH

45 - 50 credits

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

Manhattan, United States

Disciplines

Social Work View 76 other PhDs in Social Work in United States

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Academic requirements

We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

100

Schedule TOEFL®

IELTS

7.5

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

Platform, Program & Specialization

Completed Online Application Form
Application Fee
Resume
Answers to Three Essay Questions
Three Letters of Reference
Relevant Transcript(s)

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

56840 USD / year

≈ 56840 USD / year
Out-of-State

56840 USD / year

≈ 56840 USD / year
Domestic

Applies to you

In-State

56840 USD / year

≈ 56840 USD / year

Living costs

Manhattan

United States

2638 - 5751 USD / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find PhD's scholarship opportunities for Social Work.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

About

Overview

Opportunities

Programme Structure

Key information

Duration

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Credits

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

Domestic

Living costs

Manhattan

Funding

Scholarships Information

Available Scholarships

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