Below is a summary and description of the application requirements for the PhD Program.
Applications for Fall 2027 are due on January 5, 2027. Apply to the PhD Program now, or email phd@ssw.umaryland.edu with specific questions.
If you have more questions about the PhD Program, view the frequently asked questions. We can also connect you to a current PhD student.
Please write a 3-5 page personal statement that describes your career goals and how the University of Maryland School of Social Work (SSW) PhD Program will help you achieve these goals. Detail your research and teaching interests and how your previous professional and personal experiences inform them. Identify any SSW faculty members whose work would be particularly influential on your doctoral education and career. Finally, describe your strengths in terms of critical thinking, communication, tenacity, maturity, and other personal qualities that prepared you for PhD-level work and that would contribute to the culture and climate of a PhD program. (Although the Graduate School Application asks for a 300-500 word statement of goals and objectives, please provide this personal statement instead.)
You can find our faculty bios and CVs by searching tenure-track faculty at: https://directory.ssw.umaryland.edu/
Please provide a recent paper, report, or publication on which your role was the primary or sole author. The writing sample should demonstrate how you formulate and communicate ideas or findings and how you build a logical argument or support a thesis. If using a co-authored product as your writing sample, include an introductory comment describing your contributions to the work.
Review advice from current students on choosing the best writing sample
Include a copy of your vita showing your educational background, your work experience, and any research projects and publications. At the end of the vita, include the names and qualifications of your three references.
Applicants must submit transcripts from each college/university attended, including work in progress at time of application. Unofficial copies may be provided for the application review process.
Admitted students must provide official transcripts from each college/university from which a degree was earned no later than the first day of the first term of enrollment at UMB. Transcripts must be provided to the School of Graduate Studies directly from the prior, degree-granting institution in a sealed envelope in order for that document to be considered official. Alternatively, it may be provided to the School of Graduate Studies electronically by way of a secure, encrypted platform. Send encrypted, electronic transcripts from your issuing institution to: gradapply@umaryland.edu.
Send official, sealed, and stamped transcripts to:
ATTN: Admissions
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Graduate School
620 West Lexington Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-1508
Transcripts (US only) may also be provided through one of the following transcript clearinghouse services:
https://www.parchment.com/
https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/solutions/learners/
The completed application form must be signed (hand signature or electronic certification) by the candidate for admission to receive consideration. A completed application file includes the application form for admission, the required, nonrefundable $75.00 USD application fee*, and all accompanying documents required for the given degree program or status.
Failure to comply with all School of Graduate Studies and departmental or program requirements for admission, or failure to provide a completed application file by the published application deadline date, may result in the application being denied or not being considered. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the School of Graduate Studies receives all required application materials.
When completing the online PhD application, you can pay the application fee($75) by credit card or debit card. The application fee is non-refundable. We have reached our maximum for application fee waivers for the Fall 2027 application period. We are no longer accepting application fee waiver requests for Fall 2027 admission.
Select three references that are able to assess your conceptual, analytic, and research skills as well as your ability to apply theoretical and abstract knowledge to social work problems. They should clearly describe their relationship with you, the duration of that relationship, and your potential as a social work scholar and teacher. Ideally, recommenders will possess a PhD or other doctoral degree. Please provide this guidance to each recommender and request that they upload or email a letter of recommendation on letterhead directly to the PhD Program
International Applicants- please review this important information International Applicants
The PhD Program in Social Work welcomes International Applicants. The program maintains a strict language requirement for non-native speakers of English. All applicants to the doctoral program whose native language and/or language of the home is not English are required to submit results from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or the Duolingo English Test.
Click here for more information for international applicants.
