Beyond the PhD: Exploring Academic Pathways of Professors in Schools of Social Work

Background and Purpose: The social work academic job market has been tightening in the past decade as the market has shifted from an undersupply to an oversupply of doctorally trained social workers. Tenure-line social work positions at research-oriented universities are increasingly competitive, and social work PhD students interested in such positions have little empirical guidance on how to craft their careers for professional success. This study explored this issue by examining the variety of academic pathways that professors at top ranked schools of social work in the United States have taken prior to arriving at their current institution.

Methods: Two coders separately collected publicly-available data reflecting the professional pathways of each tenure-line professor at the top forty ranked social work schools in the United States based on the US News and World Report 2024 rankings (N=1,041). Data collected included professors’ degree fields, schools they graduated from and graduation year, the role they held prior to employment at their current institution, if they served as a postdoctoral associate, and the number of schools at which they held a tenure-line role. After cross-checking, data was analyzed through descriptive statistics separately by school ranking, professor rank, and graduation year.

Results: Career pathways of assistant professors varied based on ranking of the school of social work. About one-sixth (17%) of the assistant professors at the top ranked social work schools came directly from their PhD program, while one-half to two-thirds (51-66%) of assistant professors at schools ranked 12-40 came directly from their PhD programs. Over half (59%) of those at top ten ranked schools of social work completed a postdoctoral associate position, compared to 43% of those at schools ranked 12-20, and a quarter (25%) of those ranked 21-40. About one-sixth (17%) of assistant professors and one-third (30%) of associate professors across universities held a tenure-line position prior to their current institution, demonstrating that switching institutions early-career is not uncommon; similarly, about one-fifth (21%) of full professors held positions at three or more universities.

Conclusions and Implications: Our findings demonstrate a variety of academic pathways into tenure line positions exist, and these paths vary for assistant professors based on the current ranking of their school. While it is important to acknowledge that social work rankings are reputationally-based, assistant professors at top ten ranked schools are more likely to have completed a postdoctoral associate position or moved from another academic position early in their careers compared to other top ranked schools. These findings provide guidance to doctoral students as they plan their academic careers. Further analyses could investigate how professional pathways of tenure-track social work professors have changed over the decades.