INTERDISCIPLINARITY IN DOCTORAL SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION: DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Abstract

Interdisciplinarity in doctoral education currently is strongly advocated by governments and universities as important in developing knowledge useful in addressing significant public problems. However, the efficacy of these claims has not been subject to empirical investigation. Using longitudinal data covering a 13-year period, this research addresses this limitation by examining how variation in interdisciplinary emphasis in social work doctoral programs affects the scholarly orientation and productivity of graduates. The findings suggest that interdisciplinary doctoral education makes a difference, with graduates from programs with higher levels of interdisciplinarity demonstrating more generalist scholarly orientations, and achieving higher levels of scholarly productivity.