VCU School of Social Work

Advising

Upon enrollment, the Ph.D. program director assigns each new student an adviser who will follow her or him for the first year in the program. Faculty currently teaching in the doctoral program and other faculty who are active and committed to the program are most heavily utilized in the first-year assignments.

The adviser, in consultation with the Ph.D. program director, is responsible for assisting the student in planning a program of study that meets degree requirements and helps build the student's specialized areas of scholarly interest. The focus is also on individual guidance and mentorship of students through the processes of registration, orientation and the transition to Ph.D. level work. In addition, the adviser may help to connect students to other faculty in the school and university with similar interests. At the end of the first year, also in consultation with the Ph.D. program director and adviser, students may continue with their adviser or select another consenting faculty member. Once a student is admitted to candidacy, the chair of the student’s dissertation committee serves as adviser.