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College of Health and Human Sciences

Social Work Ph.D. in Social Work

Doctor of Social Work Program Looking for Top Social Work Doctoral Programs?

school of social work phd graduates 2018

As full members of the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education, the School of Social Work believes the purpose of the Ph.D. in social work is to prepare students to be scholars who function as “stewards of the discipline.”

Our program offers

  • Forward-thinking approaches to professional education, addressing critical social issues and transforming professional practice and social policy
  • Interdisciplinary training and collaboration opportunities to enhance health and well-being across local and global community systems
  • Flexible full-time and part-time programs of study

Each student works closely with their adviser and graduate committee to develop their own learning agenda and dissertation proposal. The student’s background, experience, personal schedule, and learning goals are considered when developing the program of study.

CSU’s Social Work doctoral program is part of the WICHE/Western Regional Graduate Program exchange.

Learn more about how you can tailor your program to fit your research and career interests.

View CSU Course Catalog.

Interdisciplinary Research Centers

You will have the opportunity to work with interdisciplinary research centers during your doctoral tenure.

Social Work Research Center

Creating partnerships that bridge the gap between research and practice, transform the human services landscape, and strengthen families and communities.

Human-Animal Bond in Colorado

Improving the quality of life for people of all ages through the therapeutic benefits of companion animals, via animal therapy programs, education, and research

Asset 108 Regional Economic Development Institute

Aiming to understand, analyze, and inform economic development strategies in struggling rural and urban areas through engaged research.

Asset 327 Center for the Study of Crime and Justice

Focusing on criminological and criminal justice education, and engagement and research at the international, national, state, and local levels.

Asset 108 Prevention Research Center

Promoting health and well-being across the lifespan for individuals and families through coordinated, effective prevention services.

Asset 3 Institute for Research in the Social Sciences

Connecting and supporting social scientists with other researchers, and university, community, and industry partners.

Center for Healthy Aging

Promoting research, education, and community engagement around current issues involved in healthy and successful aging.

Featured Faculty Research

Dr. Anne Williford

Ph.D. Program Director and Associate Professor Dr. Anne Williford’s research focuses on identifying effective strategies to prevent bullying, violence, and peer victimization, and promote positive behavioral health outcomes among children and adolescents. She is currently the principal investigator of two projects funded by the Spencer Foundation aimed at testing the effectiveness of  a high school-based prevention program, Sources of Strength. The projects include a qualitative process evaluation of the intervention’s underlying change mechanisms, and a longitudinal study investigating the impact of the program on post-high school trajectories.

Dr. Shannon Hughes

Dr. Shannon Hughes studies critical perspectives in mental health and advances social work leadership in psychopharmacology. Since 2018, she has been leading an innovative drug-free mental health care study to evaluate a biopsychosocial approach to mood-related distress in young adults. Funded by the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care, it includes education, peer support, nutrition and lifestyle counseling, and recreation-based social networking. She is also collaborating on the development, delivery, and evaluation of a curriculum for child welfare workers on psychotropic medications with youth in foster care. Dr. Hughes heads the Alternatives for Mental Health and Healing Lab.

Dr. Paula Yuma

Dr. Paula Yuma studies the effects of environmental, economic, and social characteristics of neighborhoods on the health and well-being of individuals, with an overall goal of eliminating health disparities.  She has recently led funded research projects on equitable outdoor engagement for youth (Colorado Health Foundation), supporting healthcare and social service providers with coping and resiliency after disasters (The Americares Foundation), relationships between behavioral health and child maltreatment, including how access to care protects children at risk for maltreatment (The Colorado School of Public Health), and disparities in traumatic injury prevention and care in rural communities (Colorado State University Extension).

Dr. Samantha Brown

Dr. Brown’s recent work has focused on key biological and behavioral correlates, such as stress physiology and sleep, that may be implicated in childhood maltreatment as well as the role of parent-child interactions in buffering children from the negative consequences of early adverse experiences. She has translated this work into the development and testing of family-oriented intervention for child welfare-involved families, based in the Parent-Child Relationships and Well-being Lab. Dr. Brown is the recipient of the 2018 Victoria S. Levin Award for Early Career Success in Young Children’s Mental Health Research, and has also been awarded a K01 grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more about Social Work Research at CSU

Resources Useful Links

Asset 106 Paying for Graduate School

There are a number of funding opportunities available for our graduate programs.

Asset 90 Advising and Support

Get in touch with our Graduate Program Coordinators to answer your questions and get started on your doctoral journey.

Asset 315 Career Opportunities

Learn how your graduate degree will lead to your next career.

Selected Ph.D. Student Profiles

Tiffany Banks

Tiffany N. Banks is a doctoral student and serves as the Graduate Research Assistant at Human Animal Bond In Colorado (HABIC). Her research areas of interest include disability policy, maternal and child health, parental health, psychiatric best practices for youth with autism spectrum disorder, human animal bond, social justice, and family centered practices.

tiffany banks

Shane LeMaster

Shane G. LeMaster is a doctoral student and Graduate Research Assistant with the Social Work Research Center at CSU. His areas of research interest include psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies, holistic/integrative treatments, child welfare, metaphysics, social justice, participatory action research, and knowledge translation.

shane lemaster