PhD Program

Although the program is designed to take 5 years to complete, the university allows an additional year in case you get behind. This 6-year period is referred to as your “time to completion”.  While progressing through the program, the university expects students to achieve a series of milestones (i.e., aspects of the program need to completed by a particular stage in the process).  Our program milestones are the 5.0 credits in course work plus the 0.5 credit in the Qualifying Examination be completed by the end of the first six terms(Fall, Winter, Summer, Fall, Winter, Summer); and the Thesis Proposal defended by the end of Year 3 (9th semester).
Here is what a usual timeline would reflect:

• YEAR 1 – The focus in year one is course work and the practicum in advocacy research.  In your first term of the program, you have the opportunity to get to know faculty and colleagues.  You also begin making a connection with a community partner where you can complete some research in an organization. In your second term of the first year it is helpful to begin having conversations with faculty to explore who you might want to have as your research supervisor. The mentor who you were assigned when you were admitted to the program and the graduate program supervisor can support you in terms of who you might want to speak to. Make an appointment to talk to them about possibilities.
• YEAR 2 – In year two you continue your course work and, starting in the winter term, your comprehensive exam.  Your comprehensive exam is an opportunity to read material in your area of interest and develop your expertise in that topic by writing a paper consolidating and analyzing the materials that you read.  You want to start planning for your comprehensive exam (i.e., the areas you want to explore and your reading list) in the summer following your first year in the program. This planning should happen with support from your mentor and the graduate supervisor.  Make an appointment to talk to them at the end of your first year.  It is helpful to begin the winter term of your second year with a plan for your comprehensive exam and to have your comprehensive exam committee established (i.e. a supervisor and two other faculty members who will support your work).   It often takes the winter and spring/summer semester to complete the exam.
• YEAR 3 – In the fall of year 3, students should be planning to write and defend their dissertation proposal which is outlined in the Social Work PhD Thesis Guidelines. In the winter semester you also want to secure ethics approval for your research and start collecting data in the winter and spring/summer semesters.
• YEAR 4 – In your fourth year you should be moving from data collection to writing your dissertation.  It is good to have a complete draft of your dissertation by the end of your fourth year.  Remember that you do have an extra year if things have taken longer than expected.
• YEAR 5 – In your fifth year, you should be revising your first full draft based upon feedback from your supervisor and committee members.  It often takes a full year of revisions before a dissertation is ready for defence.

We know that life often throws us unexpected turns so the university has built in an extra year into your completion time to provide you with the flexibility to deal with these events whether they are personal or academic.  This said, it is important that you track your own progress and pay attention to the milestones outlined above.  If you do start getting behind, reach out and talk to the program administrator, program supervisor and your research supervisor to understand your options and to put in place processes that can support your success.

Getting through a PhD Program successfully.
Completing a PhD program on the schedule outlined above requires full time focus.  This can often be quite challenging.  It is important that students in the course work phase of the program develop a sound proposal and apply for external funding to support their studies.  Having external funding makes it a lot easier to weather the challenges of academic work and life.
Every year the university will ask you to report on your progress and whether you met the expectations (milestones) of that year.  The reason for this is it provides an opportunity for you and your supervisor to reflect on what you might need to progress successfully. It is also intended to flag early if you are having difficulties.
It is also very helpful to take advantage of opportunities for research assistantships where you can learn about the research process while being involved in other scholars’ research projects.  This can also provide you with the opportunity to have your name on scholarly publications.  It is helpful that, upon completion of the program, students have been able to be part of additional research projects and to have some publications. To find out about these opportunities, reach out to faculty, participate in co-curricular events.  There are also academic conferences that can be a helpful place for you to learn about research.  A great place to start is the Canadian Association of Social Work Education that hosts an annual conference.  You will also find a variety of graduate student conferences happening at Carleton and other universities in Ontario.  There are some funds available to students who present at these conferences to offset some travel and accommodation expenses.

** Note –  option to choose 0.5 credit in an approved research course in another discipline at an equivalent level
The practicum in advocacy research at the School of Social Work provides students with an opportunity to apply academic research skills outside the university. It is designed to enhance students’ knowledge translation skills in an applied learning experience hosted by a partner organization.  The practicum is designed to be mutually beneficial with the student developing community-based knowledge translation skills, while organizations benefit from the doctoral students’ contributions.  Practicums are usually 130 hours long and completed within one semester preferably in the first year. For students in the program who are looking for non-academic jobs after graduation, this advocacy practicum provides a unique chance to apply their scholarly skills outside the university.  For those who want to work in the academy, research partnerships with community partners remains central to academic research and this practicum provides an opportunity to develop and implement such a partnership.

The focus of the research advocacy practicum is to engage in projects that integrate research and community while contributing to change through a variety of knowledge dissemination practices. Projects include those that emerge from scholarly literature; developing evidence-based learning opportunities; and report development. These placements can be housed within charitable organizations, governmental organizations, or non-profits.  They can be national or local in scale; in person, or remote.

Some students come into the PhD program with connections to organizations with whom they want to partner for the research practicum.  These students can discuss their interests with the graduate supervisor, their mentor, and the PhD seminar leader to assess whether such partnerships could be a fit for the course.
Other students look to faculty members, the graduate supervisor, and their mentor to help find them a practicum.  This happens through informal conversations and brainstorming sessions.
It is important to start these conversations early in the fall as it can take some time to find a fit and for organizations to conceptualize a project and prepare for a student.

Some Examples of Practicums
Students have used their research skills to develop reports for national non-profit organizations in the areas of food security, Indigenous Issues, health care, and union organizing.  Others have worked for political leaders to help translate research findings into educational materials for workers and/or the general public.  Others have helped link scholarly literature to the development and implementation of research activities at an organization.

Prior to registration, students must submit a proposal to the graduate supervisor. The proposal must include a description of the organization, a description of the project, an articulation of the tasks involved in completing the project and an agreement for 130 hours of work. This proposal must be approved by the graduate supervisor and signed by the student and a representative from the community organization. Upon completion of the Practicum in Advocacy Research, students must submit a summary of the research completed and this must also include signatures of the student and the organizational representative. Please note: normally all 130 hours of the practicum must be completed within the term so that the graduate supervisor can submit a SAT (Satisfied) grade.  Practicum in Advocacy Research: Agreement Template & Completion Summary Template
*** Insurance forms are required, please see Carleton’s information on Paid/Unpaid Work Placements  and FAQs.  Return completed forms to Graduate Supervisor and Graduate Administrator in the School.