Doctoral Program

The College of Social Work welcomed its new cohort of doctoral students this fall.

A recent article by doctoral student Priscilla Wilson explored how Ghana’s child protection system is impacted by the cultural dissonance between global rights-based mandates alongside local duty-oriented cultural practices. The study argued that the implementation gap is due to the cultural dissonance between the two rather than from a lack of resources.

How people use healthcare services is often complex, particularly when it comes to the interplay of many biopsychosocial factors.

Beren Crim Sabuncu, a doctoral candidate with the FSU College of Social Work, was awarded a 2026 Doctoral Student Research and Creativity Award in the Social and Behavioral Science disciplinary category at Florida State University. The FSU Celebration of Graduate Student Excellence event brought together many fellowship, grant, and award winners from across campus in April 2026.

Sanoop Valappanandi, a doctoral candidate in the FSU College of Social Work, was awarded a fellowship from the Grand Challenges of Social Work program this spring.

Two doctoral students from the Florida State University College of Social Work, Oluwaseun "Jay" Jegede and Ngondwe "Pons" Ponsiano, received highly competitive 2026 Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Travel Awards to support their participation in the annual conference held in January 2026. Each year, SSWR awards a limited number of travel stipends to doctoral students nationwide selected as presenting authors at the conference.

The FSU College of Social Work (FSU CSW) participated in the 2026 Society for Social Work and Research Conference in Washington, DC.

The College of Social Work is thrilled to welcome the newest cohort of doctoral students. Each doctoral student joins the university community with a unique background and sense of purpose to further advance social work scholarship and the people the field of social work serves.

In light of the recent tragedy at the FSU Student Union, the College of Social Work relocated its Spring 2025 Graduation Event to Opperman Music Hall in the College of Music’s Kuersteiner Building. The event welcomed spring 2025 graduates and their guests, celebrating 51 BSW, 141 MSW and two doctoral graduates.