Project Spotlight

Initiative Description

SSW advances AR/AOPgoals by identifying areas of improvement in PhD Student Manual.

“We held a four-hour workshop with five students recruited through the SSW doctoral student organization Inclusive and MulticulturalAssociation of Social Work Scholars (IMASWS) to identify how to turn the current outdated PhD Student Manual into a useful tool that promotes accessibility, inclusion, and allows all students, but especially BIPOC students to be able to see themselves in the program.”

Initiative Impact

Discussions on the PhD Student Manual in SSW helped to advance otherAR/AOP school-level changes.

“The Watts mini-grant also supported and encouraged additional anti-racist initiatives in the SSW PhD program, such as the elimination of the GRE for admission (for the first time ever in the Spring 2022 application cycle), the elimination of the Qualifying Exam (for the first time Spring 2022), an anti-racist review of the PhD courses in the curriculum (resulting in major revisions to existing courses), and two workshops with an external consultant (one with students on navigating the hidden curriculum in social work doctoral education; one with faculty to build their capacity for antiracist reforms).”

What’s next?

SSW hopes to continue gaining student feedback to promote Student Manual changes.

“The next step is invite student feedback on the draft manual resulting from their suggestions.They will be further compensated for their time and input.” participants.