Social Work and Social Policy (Research)

Goldsmiths is home to a wealth of experience and research in social work, spanning areas from social justice to social injustices to sexual and gender diversity.

Throughout this programme, you will effectively manage a project, from identifying research questions, planning interim milestones and timescale, and prioritising activities, through to timely completion.

Learning outcomes
On completion of the PhD:

• You'll be competent as an independent researcher in your discipline(s) and capable of continuing to undertake research at an advanced level, contributing substantially to the development of new ideas, techniques or approaches. As part of this, you should have gained:

An ability to evaluate critically the existing literature relevant to your thesis topic
An ability to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the generation of significant new knowledge and/or understanding
An ability to relate theory and concepts to evidence in a systematic way and to draw appropriate conclusions based on evidence

• You'll have an understanding of the place of your research in the context of your field of study.

• You'll gain an awareness of research integrity and any relevant ethical and professional considerations.

• You should also be able to demonstrate that you can:

Write clearly and in a style appropriate to the purpose and audience
Construct coherent arguments and articulate and defend ideas clearly to a range of audiences, through a variety of techniques
Manage your training needs, both in relation to your programme and your future career development

Areas of research
We provide a thriving research environment in which the research interests of staff are enormously varied, including:

• Child protection and safeguarding

• Learning disability

• Mental health

• The interconnections between domestic violence and child abuse

• Explorations of gender and sexuality in social care

• Thanatology (death studies) in social work.

• Religion and belief.

• Environmental justice and green social work.

• International social work.

• Political and financial social work.