A Message from the Doctoral Program
 Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, PhD Professor and Director, PhD Program |
 Michael McCaw Assistant Director, PhD Program |
Thank you for your interest in the NYU Silver School of Social Work Doctoral Program. Our program offers students the preparation necessary for a successful career at a research intense academic institution and for leadership roles in the design and development of social welfare programs and policies. The program's curriculum is designed to provide students with rigorous methodological, conceptual, and statistical training in both quantitative and qualitative research. An important feature of our program is that all students are paired with a research mentor who works collaboratively with the designated student throughout the entire program to ensure competency in core research, scholarship, and teaching areas. Our aim is to prepare and competitively position our graduates for academic and research opportunities, such as faculty positions at top research universities and successful careers as independent investigators and social work leaders.
Our faculty is especially renowned for expertise in several key areas, including poverty studies, mental health services research, and children and family research. Silver faculty have a strong portfolio of NIH and other research projects that are supported through extramural grant funding and provide doctoral students with cutting edge training opportunities. In addition to NYU's standing as a global university with an increasingly international perspective, our students are significantly enriched by the resources of the university and from being part of New York City, with its incomparable dynamism, diversity and rich research environment. The Doctoral Program at the Silver School is further strengthening its research emphasis through several changes beginning in the 2011-2012 academic year. Among these is the development of research centers that will further support doctoral student training. Specifically, the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research and the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH) are among two of the newer research centers at the school. In addition, the Silver School has recruited a cadre of senior researchers and scholars to help strengthen and support the training of students in the Doctoral Program:
Dr. James Jaccard focuses his work on attitude change and decision making among young adolescents. He is a leading expert in structural equation modeling and an internationally recognized social psychologist, serving as one of the developers and core investigators of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), one of the largest and most influential secondary databases on adolescent health in the United States. Dr. Jaccard will be teaching the Introductory Statistics course.
Dr. Mary McKay is a prominent researcher and Director of the McSilver Institute for Poverty and Policy Research. Her extensive body of research encompasses mental health service utilization in urban areas and prevention needs of inner-city youth and families. Dr. McKay will be teaching the Social & Behavioral Intervention Research course.
Dr. Liliana Goldín is an anthropologist and scholar whose work draws on both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine economic well-being among Latinos in both national and international contexts. She is the recipient of a prestigious NSF grant to conduct global research on economic well being. Dr. Goldín will be teaching the Qualitative Methods and Social Science Theories courses.
Dr. Wen-Jui Han is a prominent policy expert whose extensive work has received numerous awards and scholarships. She is the recipient of the 2010 Outstanding Review award from the American Education Research Journal. She has an extensive background with issues surrounding policies designed to enhance the welfare of children and their families, such as immigrant child well-being, social welfare services, and the effects of maternal employment on children. Dr. Han will be teaching the Methods of Inquiry course.
Dr. Vincent Guilamo-Ramos is a leading expert in the role of families in promoting adolescent health. His research focuses on Latino populations and the prevention of adolescent problem behavior. He is the Director of the Doctoral Program at the Silver School of Social Work and the Co-Director (along with Dr. Jaccard) of the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH). Dr. Ramos will be teaching the Dissertation Proseminar and a second semester data analysis course.
If you have any questions about our program or wish to discuss how it fits with your educational and professional goals, please contact the PhD Program Office at ssw.phd@nyu.edu.