The UT College of Social Work proudly announces that our Doctor of Social Work (DSW) degree program was recently awarded an eight-year accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Board of Accreditation (BOA), reinforcing the college’s commitment to academic excellence and professional preparation in social work. The UTCSW DSW program is one of only three fully accredited social work doctoral programs in the country.
Practice doctorate programs in social work prepare graduates to advance practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels as well as in higher education and/or professional leadership. These doctorate programs educate master’s-level social work practitioners who are graduates of CSWE-accredited programs as doctoral-level practitioner-scholars who will develop, translate, and advance social work practice knowledge; engage in systematic inquiry; and apply and disseminate research-informed knowledge, values, ethics, and skills in social work through practice, professional leadership, and teaching.
The number of practice doctorate programs has grown in recent years. In response to questions on how practice doctorate program graduates fit within the education continuum, BOA partnered with programs, social work educators and leaders, doctorate students, and other constituents to conduct an environmental scan, gather data and feedback, and create accreditation standards. Accreditation standards set a minimum threshold for recognizing practice doctorate programs as having a level of performance, integrity, and quality expected by the educational community and the constituents the programs serve.
“The Council on Social Work Education’s decision to award our DSW program an eight-year accreditation confirms the UTCSW’s commitment to excellence by providing a program that focuses on advanced clinical social work, including evidence-based practice, clinical leadership, and applied research,” said Dr. Sharon (Lizzie) Bowland, Associate Professor and Director of the DSW Program. “The accreditation is the result of countless hours of work by many social work faculty, including Drs. Javonda Williams Moss, Lisa Zottarelli, and Bill Nugent. We are proud and confident that our DSW students are receiving a professional practice degree designed to prepare them for advanced clinical roles and advanced leadership.”
About the DSW Program
The DSW is a professional practice degree designed to prepare students for advanced clinical practice and advanced practice leadership. The curriculum is offered in an online format where students who are full-time working clinical social workers can continue their ongoing clinical practice while taking classes. The DSW is an intensive, accelerated program that enables students to satisfy all degree requirements in three years without career disruption. The program is a hybrid/online program in that it includes the requirement that students travel to the Knoxville campus for a one-week period in each of the two consecutive summers while they are in the program.