A ceremony on June 30, 2011, formalized an agreement between Boston College and Sovereign Bank/Santander Universities to establish an International PhD in Social Welfare Program in the Graduate School of Social Work. Through this doctoral program, Boston College will form partnerships and exchanges with Jesuit, Catholic universities worldwide to advance and professionalize the field of social welfare. According to program leaders, students will gain research-driven knowledge, experience-based insight, and field-tested skills to address the unique issues faced by each country or community.
"As more countries embrace democratic forms of government, there is even greater need for social welfare professionals — not just in practice but in teaching and research," says Louise McMahon Ahearn Professor of Social Work James Lubben, director of the GSSW's doctoral program. Lubben, director of the initiative, says the BC program represents an alternative track for doctoral students interested in international social welfare, whose skills are increasingly in demand among newly democratic nations and those of the Global South.
Read the full story on this new groundbreaking doctoral program.
