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So when he said it worked. There were back in as like it's still the same thing. But maybe he's seeing something that I jumped so I believed you.
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Oh, there, we go OK update.
Hello hello, welcome will just just going to wait for a couple minutes.
And just kind of get a little organized and wait for everybody to sign out and so will just kind of hang out for couple minutes and come back and.
Soha Salamah
03:01:02 PM
Hi everyone! Can you hear us?
Now it is everything is going somewhere.
Soha Salamah
03:01:19 PM
Please type into the chat box
OK Alright sounds good, yeah, yeah.
This is kind of the most important part.
OK 'cause I wanna talk to them about what?
Soha Salamah
03:03:08 PM
Hi everyone! Please let me know if you can hear us
Heard everybody will welcome and thank you for coming to the PhD in social work web and are here today. My name is Nick and I'm a MSW student and also assisting in the admissions process and this is doctor piles.
Rachel Giles
03:03:22 PM
Hello
Soha Salamah
03:03:26 PM
Hi Rachel!
Files and I am the director of the PhD program also professor in the school of Social Welfare and look forward to.
Soha Salamah
03:03:36 PM
Thank you, Dan!
Folks today and answering any questions, you might have and sharing more about the program awesome, so in this presentation will sort of talk about the program itself. The curriculum some different sort of career opportunities funding? How to apply and then will also answer all your questions and things like that.
Let's see why a PhD in social work. There's so many different things. You could do with it. You can be research. Scientists out local Social Research organization can be a tenure track professor you can do a lot of sort of management of nonprofits of state agencies. So there's a lot of really interesting things you can do with a PhD in social work.
So why you already I always like to sort of address this why it's so important to.
Why are you holding up so first of all it's cost faculty so cost is like if you're in state you know it's pretty.
Soha Salamah
03:04:38 PM
Please type your questions into the chat box and we will answer the all at the end!
A cost effective way to get you know get a PhD faculty. We have about the Top 5% faculty in the nation for research so they do really awesome research. There are sort of specialties in your area.
And you get to really work closely with the faculty as a PhD student so you can do I will talk about this? A little bit more of a lot of sort of research teaching assistantships things like that location, being in Albany. You have you have the Senate right here. You have state legislation and things like that and you also have a lot of the sort of.
Or nonprofit organizations for the whole state right around here and then like I said research you have a lot of faculty who are doing a lot of research and affiliations so many of the faculty are affiliated with similar sort of social welfare organizations. So there's the Center for minority health disparities elimination of minority.
And you know, one of our one of our professors runs that another professors runs.
Does a local hospitality house? Which is a sort of?
Everything for individuals experiencing substance abuse for dual diagnosis, so a lot of people who are sort of a specialty in that area really doing awesome work. So yeah, do you have anything else to say?
I just pick up on some of the themes that you talked about in just in terms of the location and the like. Not only like the state agencies and the Assembly and Senate and that sort of thing, but also just being close to major cities like NYC also, if you know if you have more of a rural research agenda. There's like that. So it's kind of a little bit of everything and then also and it's also very beautiful in the Capital Region.
But we also unionized campus which I think is really important that our graduate students have their own union and that includes a lot of benefits, including health insurance and so it's there's a sense of like workplace. Justice here, which I think is important. Definitely yeah, I was a graduate graduate student health insurance, although sort of other benefits are really affordable, and they're open to graduate students, which is really nice so.
Yeah, great benefits to sort of take advantage of while you're here.
So about the program so just some like quick fast facts. So the program is about 36 credits plus your dissertation hours tuition for somebody wanted state per per credit out of state is about twice that cohort class size. So it's a pretty small cohort class. You're working really closely in a small sort of class size. So 5 to 10 is your code for it usually 20 per hour.
Some 20 hours per week research assistantship, so that's you know you might be helping out a professor with the research might be also assisting them with preparing some materials for classes and helping even do a couple lectures in class so a lot of different ways to really prepare you for doing what you want to do with the PhD afterwards research teaching the IT management things like that.
Yeah, I mean, the research assistantships. We really try to give that's primarily focused on research. The students have great opportunities to engage with research with professors opportunities for publications or disseminating research opportunity to participate in like sort of the lifespan of the research study from conceptual ization to articulation of a design to data collection and implementation analysis and.
Writing it up so there's opportunities for great opportunities to be mentored around doing research so that's I think that's one of the great things about.
Alright so course work there's a lot of different few different sort of tracks. You have the full time and you have a joint MSW. PhD track so of course. We're kind of represents the first stage of the program and then you have your sort of dissertation another.
After that, so the coursework really gives you a foundation to build off of and so that's really gives you a foundation of policy of research of theory of practice so you see that in you can see are sort of.
Are required core courses and we really? See you know we really try and give you that?
Useful general background of course, is that you can move on in your dissertation and use those use those courses all.
Yeah, it's it's a great foundation and you get to work very closely with our faculty as Nick said that it's going to be a small cohort small class size, so all your classes are going to be 5 to 10 students of the most in all of these core courses. We have undergone some changes in the curriculum and so actually this in the incoming class of fall 2020, will be the first class that gets to experience some of these new courses, which is of course on qualitative research.
Of course, that helps prepare you to engage in Scholarly, writing and then of course on teaching pedagogy. So we're really excited about the course offerings.
Really competitive program.
So you can kind of complete this as I believe in your own time you know, so some people you know if you want to do it. Get it right out of the way maybe 2 years might take you most people. You know just within this sort of course, work area. It really depends you know it depends on if you want to do it, you know you can take a classy or class, there or you can take.
Most people take up to 4 classes a semester. I'd say, Yeah, 3 to 4 classes. So so you know just kind of each person has their own sort of part time. Students usually just take one, but it could be more.
Let's see so, so once you sort of do step one which is taking the courses. Then you're onto Step 2, which is your comprehensive essay dissertation, so the comprehensive essay is a literature review and analysis that really.
Focuses on that topic area that you're interested in so you know focuses on the policy practice research of that sort of topic area and it really becomes a sort of comprehensive ground foundation for you to sort of do your dissertation original research on which is your next step. After that really.
Taking all of that course work all of your literature review all of your knowledge and putting that into practice so.
Yeah, yeah, and that's uh it's it's an opportune. It's kind of the first stage of doing independent work. So Stage 2 and 3 are independent work in a stage. One you got in the context of a classroom. So Stage 2, is really a little bit where the rubber meets the road in terms of whether folks are kind of cut out for this next stage, which is so much. It's it's very much you know, nobody's gonna be knocking on your door. Where is your comprehensive essay? Where is your dissertation like it's very much self motivated so?
Those are the stats the stage where we start to see like who's really going to be able to like stick with it and you have a supportive community to do that. You have this supportive community of fellow graduate students or faculty were there to support you in that process. But then once you past that comprehensive essay. It's a 12 week long process.
Engage Justin that writing the essay once you pass that then you move into Canada. See and that puts you at so you can just register for one credit so all the Seven year tuition. Bill goes down a lot. If you're paying out of pocket tuition so there's a big.
Big incentive to get into Canada see.
The answer usually takes flight doctor piles of saying it's really up to you. On your sort of time frames. It sounds like you know it's sort of it takes as long as or as short as the individual wants and so these sort of steps. I take a year or so or 2 years or several years.
So you know it really is up to sort of each individual.
Station is the same thing it's gonna take you as you're saying it's it's gonna take.
Different it would depend on the type of dissertation that you're that you're approaching if you're using some existing data that maybe you're working on a project with a professor and then get some data that you can craft in a dissertation that might be a little more efficient. No more quickly. If you're engaging like your own research that involves like building community partners and relationships and there's more.
Labor intensive on the ground like that could take you know they're looking at different time frames, but it's all about kind of the quality of the experience that you want to have an like your intentions and what you want to get out of it.
So everyone's process looks very different. I've never seen anyone finish in less than 5 years. The whole thing. The whole PhD so we're really we're really talking about a good 5 year long process and then it can it can go up from there, but so it's a big commitment. But we build community. You build networks. You build amazing CBS that come out of it in terms of all the opportunities you get through that process.
Grow as a person, too, and I think I really want to echo what doctor pals was just saying about.
How there's a really supportive community?
No matter what really you're you're working closely with the professors and you have this really supportive community where there are there to help you?
How long and and what you were sort of really interested in so definitely I think that's one thing to me that really sort of stands out that I've really found is that school social offer has this really awesome community so.
So moving on to sort of research teaching opportunities is that there is so there's a lot of different research opportunities that you'll definitely find and have access to so as I was saying earlier that there is a diverse faculty with a range of different interests so.
We uh uhm if you're interested in child welfare. You can do a lot of different work in that if you're interested in German teologi aging if you're interested in.
I already help for immigrants there's a whole different you can work with.
Professors with many different areas, so.
There's also let's see partnerships with other research centers, so we partner with many centric with many sort of different research Centers for example, say the Center for substance abuse Policy Research one of our professors works with and so there's a lot of different.
Not partnerships, we have just reiterate is that a 20 hour week research assistantship.
And so those are available for students who are qualified, which is basically most most PhD students that we well. Yeah, I mean, it's very competitive in terms of actually we only have a few slots like less than 5 slots probably for full time.
PhD students who are funded right so those spots are very competitive. So yeah, but it's it's a great opportunity to do that and then if down the road you want to do some teaching we open up opportunities for teaching there. There's lots of different pathways to get involved in teaching starting with internships with other faculty and starting with more guest lecturing type things to actually having your own class usually around the 3rd or 4th year of the program. Students who want to get teaching experience can do that and.
Teach teach their own cards.
And so does every every student today get a team to get a research assistantship or do not all students get well. Part time students wouldn't get them and then most students if if you got accepted the program but didn't didn't get funding. Most students probably aren't going to come here. They're going to go for it. Go to a place where they get the funding so yeah. That's so our students. That's the reason it looks like all of our students get funding because they do.
Right so the ones you don't get that don't get funding.
Often don't come here because not a lot of people are paying.
Even full time out of pocket, but part time. Students definitely Jen said. Part time students. It can be really great pathway for folks who wanted and continue working and just wanted to that one Class A week, which which seems to be planning for people who are working full time because the causes the level of engagement required for the PhD level causes versus the NSW is just very significantly different so.
Yeah, so there's a lot more work. We sensor is a lot more. Yeah, just in the quality of work expected is just much different.
Let's see so funding is also available as we were saying.
Often, with the assistantships there's funding with the assistantships.
And so that includes sort of the cost of tuition and that also includes your health insurance and other benefits like that. And those benefits are at a really great affordable price. So so it's very accessible to all graduate students pretty much and so anything else.
Yeah, so now we're at the how to apply sort of state, yeah, and I know that doctor files had wanted had a lot of different fruits.
Soha Salamah
03:19:47 PM
Get your questions in! we will be answering them shortly
Yeah, yes, you can see on the the slide there. The things that were asking folks so transcripts from any schools. You attended so really we're looking when we look at your record. We're looking at the overall whole person right and not any one of these individual things is going to outweigh another but your academic record is going to be a combination of your transcripts and your.
Jerry scores so that that's the that's the academic record that were were getting and so that's going to paint a picture so.
Reality is that social work students uhm don't tend to score as high on Jerry scores as in some other fields. And so a lot of students. I find feel stressed out about their jirari scores and wonder if that's going to prevent them from getting into the program and I would say don't worry about that. In fact, we're considering getting rid of the GRE scores as a requirement as of this moment 2020 it's there still required.
But that could change up.
But certainly or academic records showing a history of like being successful.
And it's important if for some reason in your record your academic record there might be some red flags in there. Some things where we would look at your record and say hi. I wonder what happened. There, like things went really downhill or that there were things of concern in there, it might be something you would want to dress in the personal statement just so that we can have some context around it. The letters of recommendation are always important we're looking for a combination of both professional and academic references.
Certainly your resume CV is important if we want to see especially at the PhD level that you have a history of social work related employment that.
Want your can sometimes take the place for particularly for joint students were fine for the joint program.
But the thing I want to emphasize the most is the personal statement that's kind of what I really want to talk about is is the personal statement. If there was any one thing that was most important. I would say it's a personal statement, the personal statement needs to be a very well written document so if we see a document. That's not well written that doesn't look like PhD level writing that is well organized articulate thoughtful.
Completely free of grammar and other problems than it's it's just not going to reflect well on your capacity to be a PhD student so I really encourage you to do lots. And lots of drafts to get support from people have more than one person read it give you feedback so that's really vitally important. I would emphasize 2. If your first language is not English again. It's really important that you have.
Somebody on review the document so we're really looking for that. We're looking for like PhD level writing in the statement. We're looking at the ability to articulate your past experiences whether it be a combination of personal professional and academic right. All these past experiences and to make meaning of them such that you are articulating why you want to come get a PhD right like? Why do you want to do this?
Um so and that's I think really critical. I I hear this uh uh.
Sort of phrase going around the culture, these days of you know what is your why? Well, you need to know what your? Why is like to get a PhD right like already we already talked about like it's It's a long haul right. It's it's a lot to do and there's going to be times where you're like, Oh my gosh. What have I done? Why am I doing? This this was the worst idea ever had. So it's really important that you're clear as to why you want to do this and to be able to communicate that to the committee and so you want to be able to communicate it.
Not only like uh like why you're motivated to do that. You know whether it again. This combination of personal professional academic like? What motivates you to do that, but also to articulate articulate specifically what kind of research study do you imagine undertaking for a dissertation and then? Where are you going with it right now? The reality is with these 2 things in particular like? What's the research study going to do for my dissertation.
And where am I going with all of this? What do I want to do when I have it up the reality is that like sometimes you really don't know exactly that could change right and I imagine it will change for folks, but
you need to pretend like you know like we really need to, like you really need to, like articulated out and flush it out and like just be clear about what you think a research study could look like so that it might be helpful to look at a few new brush up on on research design or go online and look at some social work dissertations and just to get a sense of what?
What kind of population? What kind of research question? What kind of social problem? What kind of context will kind of methods. Are you thinking about any of those questions are going to be really important to articulate like what your research agenda is so we really wanted were looking for students who know what their research agenda is.
And again That being said, You know it's not like 3 years into the program. You know, I'm gonna pull out that application and say wait a minute. You're not doing what you said. You were right. We know you're going to grow and change in the program but having a clear articulation up front will go along Ways and again the same. It's like where you want to what you want to do with it where you're going with it, I think.
So I think I've I hopefully I brought home the point about the personal statement have I made that clear that it's important?
That were really yeah that we really keen.
It's the thing will go back to again and again and it's it's you know you're telling a story. You know make it make it engaging to tell. It tell a story. It's a combination. It's you know it's a personal statement. So it should be in the first person.
Tell your story, but tell it in a way that is articulate and draws from these.
Different life experiences so.
You look forward to reading out there fun to read. I love it. I mean, it's the favorite my favorite part of my job is reading. These these applications, so we look forward to it.
They say like um even in the MSW program and from what I've seen from the PhD program as well that you can go in.
The personal statement saying I'd really like to do this in this area, or this. This area of research or this area practice.
And uh and while you're in the program. You're exposed to a bunch of different concepts ideas practices research and you say you know actually this? Sparks my interest and go down a totally different route that you would have 3 four five years ago, not even see yourself doing.
So for example, I was doing a lot of work in Hospice before this and the nursing homes in with older people. It's like. Yeah, I was going to do a gerontology and then you know come here and my first internship as the MSW program is with.
And sort of community mental health and I really realized what I really loved about all that was really working closely with people in the community and that's part of what?
Mental health is all about so I said, maybe this is an area that I would like to do more in.
The PhD program, the MSW PhD program. Both really meant to open you up, too many, many more different opportunities in research and practice and sort of blending the 2 so yeah.
Yeah, so let's see how do we think moving onto super questions? Yeah, alright?
Soha Salamah
03:28:56 PM
type in your questions! live questions and answers right now!
Awesome so yeah now will take some questions and so you know we'll try our best to answer all your questions and things like that if anything kind of comes up in the next day in next few hours.
Feel free to email us, the pH DS W normally orel piles.
Someone is taking their clothes.
Do you know like on average? How many how many years or something like that? Does it take you know I don't have that data in front of me.
So I I would guess it's probably somewhere around 6:00 to 7:00.
But at least you can complete it is maybe like 3 or 4 or something.
It's in the realm of possibility to complete it. In 4 not 3, yeah, because that would be impossible. But it's in the realm of possibility.
What should the research proposal look like in regards to formats within the personal statement and then do we need to provide research design analysis design etc?
Rachel Giles
03:30:03 PM
1. What should the research proposal look like (format) within the personal statement? As in, do we need to provide research design, analysis design, etc.?
Yeah, um it doesn't have to get like super super formal uhm. But as much as you could like bring up some of those concepts. I think it it could be helpful.
Soha Salamah
03:30:23 PM
It doesn't need to be super formal, but you should bring up those concepts that you mention
So if if you wanted to bring in a citation or 2 that that's fine. It's not at all necessary.
Yeah, I think of really the main things are like what kind of problems. You've seen like social problems that you would want to address or interventions that you want to know more about policies that you want to impact.
Populations of Contacts it like painting has a picture of that.
And then think about offering like Oh here's some research questions that I have. These are the kinds of questions and these are the kinds of research designs. I've always been interested in like I've always wanted to do participatory action research, I've always wanted to do.
You know, some more in the quantitative and I want to do some kind of linear modeling like whatever it is like you're interested in in that regard, you could.
Bring that up so it doesn't need to be like totally laid out, but as much as you can.
No, that that you're communicating to us that you thought about your your dissertation.
Dan Horowitz
03:31:43 PM
Within the personal statement, would you recommend focusing on just one potential future research area rather than bringing up possibly like 2 or 3 potential research areas of interest?
Within the personal statement would you recommend focusing on just one potential future research area rather than bring up possibly 2 or 3 that's a good question. I think you know, most people do come in with.
You know more than one area of interest. I am one of those people that has a lot of areas of interest and sort of the whole clear singular expertise kind of research trajectory model that doesn't my brain doesn't really work that way.
Soha Salamah
03:32:26 PM
Most people do come in with more than 1 area of interest, but maybe limit it to 2
So I can understand having multiple interest areas. Uhm I would say no maybe haunted into 2. If it gets into 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7, then people start to think this person are they able to stay focused. When they get too sidetracked so but definitely if it's like going to paint a picture of you is like a multi dimensional person. I think that can be a little strong point.
Just made the questions right now.
I had a I had a question I think some people might have.
The students applying for the joint MSW PhD track and they're currently entering their second semester of the first year.
On the MSW Tracker Parser research methods class for the spring semester, but the joint track would replace that with a PhD seminar do you recommend she stick with regular MSW track for now or should she seek permission to switch the research methods class for the PhD center.
Just their current students for this spring.
I mean, you have to make sure that if for some reason you didn't get into the joint program that the school would allow the PhD course to count as the research course, so you have to make sure that they would allow that from that into things if you didn't end up going from PhD route. I just took the PhD course anyway. Make sure it'll count but it wouldn't be a bad idea to reach out to the professor and ask if they would require special permission.
We have to do that, but they could potentially let you in so it might be worth.
Work that I think, though now that I'm saying this out loud. The research courses. A2 semester sequence. So you've already missed the first semester of that, so as I'm saying this you. You can't just jump into the second semester of that. But first semester is a prerequisite so I think if I understand your question correctly that you would have to take.
Sorry that was confusing and talk talk myself through.
What was your question yeah so my question?
My question is, you were saying that the course work is a little bit more intensive and so I would say in an undergrad you're doing more.
Memorization kind of thinking of general concepts in Graduate School, you're thinking of larger concepts and how they really apply to real life and that sort of the MSW.
So how would you say that that's a little bit different in a PhD program you know what kind of content? Are you doing more research.
Scholarly research degree so it's not a practice degree. So where they're they're not. It's not like you're trying to develop professional skills of any kind of like in terms of like direct practice kinds of skills or indirect practice kinds of skills. You're developing your capability to be a scholar and a researcher so that that's the whole focus so that you know you're learning to think like a scholar in terms of.
Are you analyze and look at things and how you write things uhm and so?
Yeah, it's it's you're you're the course work is focusing on your your development as as a scholar so just the the way you read things is different like the way you process. The material an right is going to be different in terms of.
This is like developing a new way of thinking too.
What does someone who is qualified for a research assistantship look like?
Rachel Giles
03:36:18 PM
What does someone who is "qualified" for a research assistantship look like (i.e. what makes someone "qualified")?
Soha Salamah
03:36:29 PM
1. full-time student
Yeah, um will definitely you know they're gonna be um a full time student and they're going to have a?
Soha Salamah
03:36:36 PM
2. strong academic record/background
Very strong academic record strong academic background.
Soha Salamah
03:36:57 PM
3. Well articulated personal statement
Doesn't mean you have to have gone to the fanciest undergraduate or Masters school in the world but you know where we are looking for like a strong academic background and then like a clearly articulated personal statement that really resonates something that's you know you're focusing on issues that are very relevant to the day.
So you would have outstanding recommendations in.
Lots of like good practice background that's preparing you for the practical point of the practice background is that like because the page. The seminars, I mean, these are like small little think tanks about social work right so these are like season practice practitioners. In a room talking about like there lived wisdom of like being in the.
Enduring social work, so we're looking for like someone who has the wisdom and that in the background. Now That being said it joint. MSW PhD students are at a disadvantage in that regard because they tend not to have the background and experience as someone who is coming in with the MSW and they've been practicing for a decade right that so that you can make up for it in other areas and I think it's.
Discriminating against uhm you know joint students where you know, we love that program and and we had in fact, some of our best students are from the joint program so that certainly we see kind of a level of maturity with the joint students that.
That maybe we wouldn't see with just a regular and studies do so. So we're just looking for that, like just an approach to social work that is sourced out of experience knowledge skills list.
Hello I had another question.
So I also saw somewhere that there's a proficiency requirement, either a language or a data program.
And so I would just wanted to ask about that. Yeah, good question. That's that's one of those things that's a little confusing and it's basically a It's almost kind of a technicality within the Graduate School that you have to have that, but we fulfill it because because through the stats course. So you don't have to do anything special.
Take a foreign language or take some computer programming or anything like that. It gets automatically fulfilled through our stats sequence. So so people are going to go.
Now the question is also well if anything else does come up feel free to email us.
Soha Salamah
03:39:50 PM
Thank you everyone for joining!
W at albany.edu or the piles of piles and all that and thank you very much and let us know if you have anymore questions. Yeah, definitely here to answer your questions. We can have a Phone chat or anything that would be helpful to you here in the.
As we as we're coming in on the the deadline, so I wish you all the best and enjoy the process of applying it's it's a great opportunity that personal statement is great opportunity to just check in with yourself and see dream and vision what you want to do going forward, so enjoy that process and reaching out to your recommenders and.
Doing your networks to to find your old professors and that sort of thing. So hopefully it's not too stressful. So we should the best of luck.