The Research Component of the Master's Degree Curriculum in Social Work: A Survey Summary

This paper reports on a survey conducted on formal research requirements in the master's degree program of accredited schools of social work. Requirements were found to vary widely in type and extent among the sixty-seven reporting schools, ranging from schools that required only a single research course to those that required courses in research and statistics and an empirical research project as well. In terms of the proportion of total graduation credit devoted to research-related requirements, the spread was from 24 to 5 percent, with a mean of 12 percent. Issues and implications for social work education are noted.