Loyola University Chicago

All applicants considering admittance in to the Ph.D. program at School of Social Work should submit the following information: 

1. Vitae/Resume

2. Personal statement: Please address the following content areas in your personal essay. The essay should be approximately 3-5 pages.  

• What are your areas of professional specialization or interest?  What are your research interests and activities?  How have these interests evolved from your prior educational and/or professional activities.  Within your area(s) of interest, what do you consider to be the major psychosocial, service delivery, social policy, and/or research issues for the social work profession to address?
• What do you hope to gain through your doctoral study and your likely professional activities after you have completed the Ph.D. program?
• At this stage in your professional career, what do you regard as your greatest strengths, abilities, and accomplishments?  What are the areas in which you have the most to learn?  How do you think enrollment in the Ph.D. program will build on your strengths and/or help you grow in new areas?  

3.      Three letters of reference that address competency to begin doctoral study

Official transcripts - MSW degree with a graduate grade point average of 3.0 or higher, based on a 4 point scale. A MSW is required; however in situations where a candidate has demonstrated experience in clinical work and excellence and compatibility with the MSW requirements, other graduate degrees will be considered.  The candidate with a non-MSW degree must support his/her experience level with clinical or social work related issues in the personal statement and in the letters of reference.  Admission requirements for these candidates may be extended to include supplemental graduate work to the doctoral curriculum by requiring MSW classes as determined by the doctoral program director and/or the admissions committee in consultation with the candidate.

4. Research/Clinical Evaluation paper.  The research paper should describe a clinical case, problem, population, or service delivery system and how this topic area is of interest to the candidate and the profession.  Included in this 3-5 page paper, should be a clear conceptualization of the research problem, theoretical supports for the understanding of the clinical or organizational intervention(s), and how research could assist in the improvement in this practice arena.

5. Verification of statistical competency – a graduate level online or onsite statistics course offered by the school of social work.  This statistics course must be taken prior to beginning the doctoral core curriculum and must be completed within the past two years.

6. Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).

7. Acceptable scores (as described on the Loyola University Chicago website,  www.luc.edu/gradschool/admission_international.shtml) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Test of Written English (TWE), and Test of Spoken English (TSE) for applicants whose first language is not English.  International students who received their MSW outside the United States, must seek and gain approval by the Council on Social Work Education that their degree is equivalent to a MSW program within the United States.  

The school's Admission Committee’s review will evaluate prospective students’ application according to the following criteria: 

• Scholarship: it is expected that all entering students will have demonstrated satisfactory scholarly activity in graduate study.
• Service: the candidate will provide support that he or she has consistently demonstrated initiative and involvement with service to the community and/or profession.
• Clinical experience:  Post-graduate practice experience is not a requirement, but at least two years of clinical practice or the administration of service delivery experience are recommended.
  
  
  
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