Monday, March 12, 2012

Should You Stop at a Doctorate or Masters in Social Work?

Both master's and doctorate levels exist for social work programs. Your average Masters in Social Work course is one designed to help you get started on a satisfying career path. Those who want to go focus more on the academic aspect of the field, though, should go with the PhD program.

A Masters in Social Work, also known as an MSW, includes course content in social policies and programs, methods of practice, human growth and development and social research. You can expect to finish in about 2 years. Master's courses are typically given a lot of attention by scholarship-granting funds and institutions.

Aside from completing coursework, students of MSW programs must also complete at least 900 hours of fieldwork in an accredited agency. Since social work actually does involve a lot of working with society, people in MSW courses shall find their lives to be rich with activities for the organizations for which they work. Usually, you shall need to have a specialization, preferably an area of interest to you.

You can find a number of concentrations in this course, from methodology down to health care. From state to private institutions, students coming from the social work program generally choose groups that can help them protect societal health. It is possible to sign up for a joint degree instead.

The CSWE is the organization that deals with accreditation for social work courses. It is possible to go on with your studies in a higher-level course if you complete your masters in a degree that has been accredited by the organization. You even have the choice of finishing your masters in just one year.

A Doctorate in Social Work or DSW is a degree designed for professionals who want to advance their careers by gaining knowledge and skills in research and policy analysis. There are some divergences in the terminology: doctorate or PhD. Either way, they stand for the same thing.

Most graduates of doctorates go into the academe. The end result of a doctorate is commonly a seat in an educational board or department. The doctoral enables you to draw attention to yourself as a major thinker and analyst in the field.

This advanced program is very focused on research and analytical work. Like all other doctoral degrees, a DSW requires students to complete dissertations. The dissertation is a massive composition, both analytical and investigative, and intended to contribute to the body of work that exists in the field.

After entering the program, you shall probably spend as long as four years working towards the end of it. Universities do exert the strongest pull for graduates, but a select few PhDs opt to go into actual social work instead of research. It is not going to be easy, but you may also decide to take on jobs and duties from both sides of the discipline.

In contrast to the masters in social work course, doctorates for the field are not accredited by the CSWE. Hardly any possibilities exist for getting financial scholarships for doctorate students. Longer years of working in the field as well as of study are valued when it comes to admissions for such programs, making them tough to enter.


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