Doctoral Program

Two Florida State University faculty members received a $16,000 grant from the Mental Research Institute to launch their project, “Family Therapy and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Telehealth Response.” Dr. Michele Parker of the FSU College of Human Sciences and Dr. Michael Killian of the FSU College of Social Work will assess Behavioral Health Services offered by the FSU Multidisciplinary Evaluation and Testing Center (FSU MDC).

Although the Fall 2020 semester looks very different from previous fall semesters due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FSU College of Social Work is proud to welcome its newest cohort of doctoral students. Each comes to FSU with a wealth of previous experience in social work and a desire to make a difference in social work research and academia. Meet our Fall 2020 Doctoral Cohort:

Florida State University celebrated its Summer 2020 graduates with a virtual celebration on July 31st at 7:30 pm. The College of Social Work along with the other colleges across campus provided virtual celebrations for their graduates.

Recent graduate R. Lane Forsman was able to successfully defend his dissertation on February 28th before the U.S. had seen the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite all the current uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, Lane is excited to join the faculty of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE).

His dissertation titled, “Queer College Sexual Violence: The interaction of gender identity and sexual assault on campus” (Major professor: Lisa Schelbe) highlights his research interest in LGBTQ+ issues and sexual assault.

Lauren H.K. Stanley, a social work doctoral student and instructor, felt humbled when she got the notice that two of her students nominated her for an FSU teaching award. “She was a fantastic professor. She really made the subject understandable and fun to learn. I learned a lot and enjoyed being in the class,” they wrote in their nomination.

Raised by parents who taught business and economics, Sherry Jackson had her sights set on a degree in business as she set out for college. But when she arrived at Florida State University as an undergraduate, she quickly realized her passion focused more on the social and behavioral sciences. With a degree in cultural anthropology under her belt, she decided to stay at Florida State because of how much she enjoyed her undergraduate experience and to pursue an MSW because of the national reputation of the FSU College of Social Work.

Doctoral Student Rachel Harris along with Doctoral Candidates Melissa Murphy and Sarah Rakes recently had their study entitled, “The Psychometric Properties of the Outcome Rating Scale Used in Practice: A Narrative Review” in the Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work.  

Two Florida State University faculty members have been awarded a grant to study health outcomes after pediatric organ transplants.

Michael Killian, an assistant professor with the FSU College of Social Work, and Zhe He, an assistant professor with the FSU College of Communication and Information, were awarded the grant by the University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Precision Health Initiative Pilot Project.

Doctoral Candidate Erin King graduated this summer with her doctoral degree in social work from the FSU College of Social Work. She successfully defended her dissertation titled “An exploration of the effects of primary and secondary trauma on child welfare workers’ mental health and commitment to the field” on June 25, 2019. In the fall, Dr.

On the last day of the summer 2019 semester, the FSU College of Social Work hosted its summer graduation reception, honoring the of 23 BSW students, 93 MSW students, and one doctoral graduate (Erin King) graduation this semester.

Undergraduate social work student Faith Dekanter addressed attendees as the highlighted student speaker and graduate. From Jacksonville, Florida, Faith completed her degree in social work in three years along with a minor in child development.