Apply to the PhD in Social Welfare Program
Ready to be transformed into an expert in social welfare? Start your application for Penn SP2’s innovative PhD program.
Admissions Requirements
Ensure you meet the qualifications for admission to our PhD in Social Welfare program.
Basic Requirements
The PhD in Social Welfare is a full-time, on-campus degree program. Students are required to have a master’s degree in social work or a relevant field before they can enter the PhD program.
The PhD in Social Welfare is a rigorous program that requires strong comprehension and communication skills. English Language Proficiency requirements are available below.
Application Deadline
- To be considered complete, your application and all required supporting materials – including letters of recommendation and, if applicable, official English language proficiency test scores and evaluated transcripts – must be submitted through the online application system by December 1.
- Please note that the application deadline has changed from December 15 to December 1. Because official test scores and transcript evaluations may take several weeks to arrive, please schedule your English language proficiency exam or transcript evaluation well in advance.
- December 1 is a firm deadline. Only applications completed by this date will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee.
Application Components
Complete guide to preparing your PhD application.
Online Application
Your admissions process begins with submitting your application online. After creating an account to start your application, you will be able to return to your application as many times as you wish before submitting. You can track the status of your application at any time by logging into your account.
Required Components:
- Resume/CV: Submit a current resume or CV as part of your online application
- Application Essay:The application will include three questions regarding your academic and career goals. Your responses will be limited to 500 words per question. You must insert a page break after each answer to clearly indicate that you have addressed each question separately. If interested in working with a specific faculty member or members, please include that information in your responses. Applicants are not responsible for finding their own advisors. That decision is made by the faculty and takes into account faculty availability, the match between faculty and student interests, and other considerations. Given the number of applicants, we are not able to address advisor-advisee assignments until after admissions decisions have been made.
- Writing Sample: Writing samples should reflect your ability to write at the PhD level. Examples include, but are not limited to: previously submitted academic assignments, a journal publication, a brief, a professional report, etc. Total pages should be approximately 25 (no more than 30) and may include more than one piece or a portion of a larger piece.
Transcripts
Unofficial transcripts are accepted at the time of application; official transcripts are required upon enrollment. Upload copies of your official transcripts that clearly display your name, dates of enrollment, course names, and credits and grades for each class. Do not mail hard copies of transcripts to the School.
International Applicants:
Transcripts reflecting more than two semesters of study at institutions based outside the United States must be evaluated on a course-by-course basis by a third-party evaluation service such as WES(opens in a new tab) or Educational Perspectives(opens in a new tab). Allow sufficient processing time as evaluations are due by the application deadline. More information can be found on our International Students page.
Recommendations
Each application requires three letters of recommendation submitted directly to the online application. Letters must come directly from the letter writer’s email account and will be verified.
Required References:
Please be sure that you are choosing letter writers who are qualified to speak specifically about your capacity to excel in a PhD program in social welfare. To this end, we recommend that you choose academic advisors, mentors, or professors who are familiar with your capacity for academic research and scholarship. We do understand, however, that some applicants will have been out of school for a period of time and no longer have access to academic references. In such cases, the letters can be from professional sources.
Tip: It’s never too early to start preparing your application. Contact your recommenders early and provide them with adequate time to write thoughtful letters.
Test Scores
Standardized tests are not required for the PhD program.
For international applicants whose first language is not English, information on examination requirements can be found on our International Applicants page.
Enrollment Deposit
Upon notification of acceptance, you are required to submit a nonrefundable $500 deposit to reserve your spot in the class. The deposit due date is provided with your offer of admission and will be credited to your account upon matriculation.
Tuition & Finances
Students are fully funded for four years (a generous ten-month stipend plus coverage for full tuition, individual health insurance through the plan offered by the University, and fees for computing, library, and similar facilities and services). Additional funding for summer months and study beyond four years is available through research assistantships, graduate fellowships, and teaching assistantships.
Individual health insurance through the University also is provided to each student for four years. Students have the option of purchasing coverage for their family members as well. More information is available here. If a student prefers other insurance, he or she is responsible for the cost and must provide to the program proof of alternate health coverage.
Additional Funding Opportunities
Students are encouraged to apply for external scholarships, fellowships, and grants (e.g., dissertation grants). Administrative support for these efforts is provided by the School and University.
External Funding Opportunities
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
The dissertation will focus on areas relevant to health services research, with emphasis placed on methodological and research topics that address the mission of AHRQ.
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Research fellowships to support joint research projects for study in Germany between American and German scholars.
Elderhostel K. Patricia Cross Doctoral Research Grant
This grant was founded to aid doctoral students researching topics relevant to aging and later-life learning. This $5,000 grant honors the work of K. Patricia Cross, PhD, former Elderhostel Board Member and Professor Emerita at the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley.
Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Research Fellowships
The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (HFG) welcomes proposals from any of the natural and social sciences and the humanities that promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence, aggression, and dominance.
NASW Jane B. Aron Doctoral Fellowship
The Jane Baerwald Aron Doctoral Fellowship Program provides partial support to social work doctoral students who are engaged in dissertation research in health care policy and practice.
Social Science Research Council
Sponsors pre-doctoral fellowships and advanced research grant programs. Requirements and deadlines vary.
Internal Funding Opportunities
GAPSA Research Student Travel Grant
The GAPSA Research Student Council(opens in a new tab) has some funds available to distribute as individual travel grants to help defray the cost of qualified travel expenses for doctoral students presenting their research at academic conferences and meetings.
Award amount:
- Individuals presenting: max. $800
- Individuals attending only: max. 50% of total cost or $500, whichever is less
Please note: If a student is in a PhD program, they are considered a research student by the University. If a student is in a research master’s degree program (AM or MS, as defined by the University), they are considered a research student.
If a student is in any other non-research Master’s degree program (including EdD, MSE, and other Master of Science degree programs with other letters), they are considered a professional student and will need to apply for funding through the Professional Student Council.
GAPSA Research Student Travel Grant(opens in a new tab)
GAPSA President Gutmann Leadership Award
President Amy Gutmann has generously provided additional funding to GAPSA to augment GAPSA’s funding for graduate and professional student travel(opens in a new tab). The award will be given to students presenting at either an international conference or a conference within the United States that would normally be out of their budget even with an individual travel grant through the Research or Professional Student Councils.
Award amount: The maximum award is 70% of the total budget or $2000, whichever is less.
GAPSA President Gutmann Leadership Award(opens in a new tab)
GAPSA Provost’s Award for Interdisciplinary Innovation
The GAPSA Research Student Council(opens in a new tab) in conjunction with the Office of the Provost offers $6,000 grants to provide summer support for research projects that promise to harness the knowledge of different academic disciplines to explore societal issues. Individual students or teams of students may apply for this award by submitting a proposal for a summer research project that clearly intends to integrate knowledge across academic disciplines.
Award amount: Up to $6,000 per project
GAPSA Provost’s Award for Interdisciplinary Innovation(opens in a new tab)
Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to common questions about our PhD program and application process.
Faculty and doctoral students at Penn SP2 conduct research across a wide range of areas relevant to social policy and practice. The program encourages interdisciplinary collaboration across Penn’s schools and research centers.
Admitted doctoral students in the PhD in Social Welfare program receive a multi-year funding package that includes tuition coverage, stipend, and health insurance.
Most students complete the PhD in Social Welfare in 4–5 years. The program includes two to three years of coursework followed by comprehensive exams and dissertation research. The program provides mentorship and milestones throughout to support timely completion.
PhD graduates typically pursue faculty positions at research universities and schools of social work, as well as research and policy leadership roles at government agencies, think tanks, foundations, and health systems. The program prepares graduates to produce rigorous scholarship and translate research into practice and policy.
PhD students receive training in a range of social theories and both quantitative and qualitative research methods both in-house and across the university. The program is designed to encourage students to take theory and methods courses and to draw upon faculty expertise in multiple disciplines.
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