To become a leading doctoral program in Social Work in Cambodia and the region, producing highly qualified scholars, educators, researchers, and practitioners who advance social welfare, promote social justice, and contribute to sustainable social development through evidence-based practice and innovative research.
Programme History
The course of social work has been introduced as one introductory course/subject in the BA in Sociology program at Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) since 1994. However, by realizing its vital roles in the welfare and development of the individuals, communities, and the nation, RUPP, with the support from the University of Washington, established the Department of Social Work and recruited the first cohort of undergraduate students in 2008. Moreover, to respond to the immediate need for strengthening the capacity of social workers currently working in the government, civil society and private sectors, RUPP also initiated cooperation with the Ewha Womans University (EWU), Republic of Korea to plan and establish a Master Program in Social Work. After a curriculum for this MA Social Work (MSW) program was elaborated in collaboration with the EWU academic experts, in 2009, the first cohort of Master of Social Work was launched at RUPP, Campus2. With the success of this MSW program, KOICA has also provided support to continue it from 2016 to 2022. During the last 10 years, this program has produced 69 MSWs; 19 graduates become instructors and 48 become practitioners in various NGOs and INGOs and make good impacts in their community and society. Additionally, the MSW program also conducted a pilot study for Cambodian welfare panel research, held three social work conferences each year, and published four social work textbooks and 1st volume of Cambodian Journal of Social Welfare. All of these achievements combined have been well accepted as the improvement of the practice of social work to address social issues in Cambodia.
Rationale
The Ph.D. course is an essential program for sustainable growth in Cambodia. According to a 2018 CDRI (Cambodia Development Resource Institute) report, the importance of post-secondary education is increasing in Cambodia, especially at the level of Master and PhD degree that represents only 8.55% and 0.56% of total post-secondary graduation. In addition, the survey and forum held with the local CSO practitioners still show the high interests in Social Work programs, especially Ph.D in Social Work. The CSO field still needs higher education and training for social workers and NGO workers to make more competent professionals. Therefore, RUPP is determined to establish a new doctoral degree program in social welfare to strengthen Cambodia's capacity to achieve social development. For this purpose, RUPP and Ewha Womans University jointly develop and operate this PhD program to improve the expertise of higher human resources in Cambodia.
To become a leading doctoral program in Social Work in Cambodia and the region, producing highly qualified scholars, educators, researchers, and practitioners who advance social welfare, promote social justice, and contribute to sustainable social development through evidence-based practice and innovative research.
The PhD Program in Social Work is committed to:
Programme Goals
In order to achieve the above goal, the program will commit to implement the following objectives:
Grounded on the RUPP mission and goals, the Doctoral Program in Social Work aims to educate future researcher, scholars in social welfare with an emphasis on building social work knowledge and practice, research, and education in order to help students to play a pivotal role in social work profession and in developing social welfare in Cambodia. Social welfare is a practice-oriented discipline, studying professional and specialized methods geared towards addressing a wide spectrum of individual, family, community and social problems arising against the backdrop of modern industrial society. Social welfare education is based on theoretical research, understanding human behavior and social environment and their interactions, and it aims to nurture social welfare professionals equipped with expertise and values that would allow individuals, groups, communities and society as a whole to play their respective due relies properly. The specific education objectives are as follows:
Objective 1
To build capacity of Cambodian professions and researchers with advanced social work practices
Objective 2
To strengthen research capacity through research training, seminars, forums, and peer review
Objective 3
To strengthen field-specific intense education and research to generate highly qualified professionals in various fields of social welfare
Objective 4
To produce professional social workers with global leadership enhanced through participation in international exchanges and cooperation
Programme Management
The program will be coordinated by the Vice-Dean, Dr. Keo Chanvuthy . Cooperation will be possible upon the agreement with institutions to jointly work on the project and its goals. The coordinator(s) will be assisted by the secretariat team’s expert on finance, public relations and logistical matters. All administrative and financial procedures will be under the same regulations, those implemented by Royal University of Phnom Penh. In cases of making arrangements for partnership, mutual agreements can serve as the basis for cooperation.
Admission
All the applicants for PhD program are required to submit to Academic Office the following documents:
Programme Structure
Studying an Associate's doctoral degree in Social Work, a respective student is required to take 3-6 years or 54 credits of course.
Category A
Category B
Category C
In addition to ordinary classroom studies, students will participate in attending lectures connected to key problems and recent breakthroughs in Social Work. Renowned speakers will be invited to provide lectures, including, for example, senior officials from state institutions and civil society, expert (foreign) consultants and researchers, as well as domestic and foreign professors coming from well-known research institutes and universities around the planet.
Assessment
Course Assessment
| GRADING SYSTEM FOR EACH COURSE | |||
| PERCENTAGE | LETTER GRADE | NUMERICAL VALUE | PROVINCIAL STANDING |
| 85% - 100% | A | 4.00 | Excellent |
| 80% - 84% | B+ | 3.50 | Very Good |
| 70% - 79% | B | 3.00 | Good |
| 65% - 69% | C+ | 2.50 | Satisfactory |
| 50% - 64% | C | 2.00 | Adequate |
| <50% | F | 0.00 | Failure |
Dissertation Assessment
| GRADING SYSTEM FOR DISSERTATION | |
| PERCENTAGE | PROVINCIAL STANDING |
| 85% - 100% | Exceptional quality with outstanding analysis, originality, and presentation |
| 80% - 84% | Strong work demonstrating a high level of understanding and critical thinking |
| 70% - 79% | Solid performance that meets most academic expectations |
| 65% - 69% | Acceptable work with some areas requiring improvement |
| 50% - 64% | Meets the minimum requirements for passing |
| <50% | Does not meet the minimum academic requirements |
After Graduation
After getting the Ph.D. Degree in Social Work the graduates will expect to get the career opportunity as follow:
Professional researcher
Professor in social work
Advisor to the development project
Campus 2, RUPP
Phone not available.
Email not available.
