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The nature of the social work profession is to assess community needs and optimize service delivery.  The same holds true for the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work’s newly revamped Doctor of Social Work program (DSW). Launched in 2019 as the first of its kind in the state of Florida, the program has recently completed a comprehensive market research analysis to optimize the 3-year curricula and is now accepting applications for the Fall 2024 cohort.

“We are very excited to be able to offer advanced clinical practice skills, which is something our practicing social workers find extremely beneficial, to know you're on the cutting edge of what's going on in the practice world,” said Danielle Groton, PhD, associate professor and doctoral program coordinator.

In addition to clinical excellence, the DSW program also prepares students for research and academic excellence. 

“The DSW curricula teaches students how to further develop their research skills, both learning how to read and understand research findings, and how to replicate some of those findings into your own practice so you can start to see and track important progress,” Groton said. “We also train our students on how to be educators in social work.”

Graduates may go on to teach in a classroom one day, but in a clinical setting, they may find themselves in a position where they’re training other social workers on, for example, a new type of therapeutic modality.

The DSW program overall is more practice than research-focused – an appealing aspect for alumni like Rochelle Epstein, DSW, LCSW-QS, who are licensed going into the program.

“The DSW is a doctorate that is intended for professional social workers who are already licensed,” Epstein said. “As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with definite ideas about social work education, the DSW makes makes my goal of teaching in higher education realistic.”

Katina Hill-Johnson, DSW, LCSW, an alumni of the program, shared that the DSW program also finetunes clinical management, communication and supervision skills.

“The DSW program increases clinicians’ ability to develop clinical knowledge and present it effectively and efficiently to their audience, resulting in more confident clinicians and clinical researchers,” Hill-Johnson said.

Move your career in social work forward with a DSW degree from the Sandler School of Social Work at ��M��. Applications open January 1.

Explore the DSW Program | Email the DSW Program Coordinator