Mission Statement
The Boston College Graduate School of Social Work Doctoral Program prepares scholars committed to pursue knowledge that will advance the field of social welfare and social work practice. Students master a substantive area and gain methodological expertise to excel as researchers and teachers in leading academic and social welfare settings throughout the world. Grounded in core values of human dignity and social justice, the program nurtures independence and originality of thought in crafting innovative research and policy agendas for constructive social change.

To achieve this important mission, all doctoral students are required to develop expertise in five interrelated areas:

1. a substantive area of social work;
2. a social or behavioral science;
3. research methods:
4. teaching methods; and
5. communication skills.

Expertise in a substantive area of social work provides the foundation for advanced research in that area; social and behavioral science knowledge provides the theory and the empirical findings needed to understand the causes, dynamics and outcomes of the subjects and processes addressed by social work interventions; research competence is necessary to conduct the empirical research needed to advance knowledge; teaching competence is essential for imparting knowledge and skills to the next generation of social work scholars and practitioners; and communication skills as a writer and speaker are essential for disseminating the results of one’s scholarship among the community of current scholars and practitioners.