FAQs & Useful Links

The application deadline is December 1 every year via SOPHAS (sophas.org). Go to our Application Information page for answers to more questions about deadlines, fees, and application requirements including international transcripts.

As long as you will complete the Master’s program before classes begin for the PhD program, then yes, you are eligible to apply.

Please provide us with transcripts now, showing your progress so far in your current Master’s program, as well as transcripts for degrees you have already completed. You are eligible to apply now, even without final transcripts for your Master’s program, as long as you will complete the Master’s program before classes begin for the PhD program next fall.

No, you do not need to secure a faculty advisor prior to submitting your application or admission into our program. The program encourages students to meet and work with faculty in the first year of the program to inform advising decisions.  If you have an area of interest and a faculty member that you would really like to work with, please clearly articulate that in your personal statement. You may reach out to the faculty and, certainly, do not need to do so. It will be a helpful piece of information in our process.

All first year Ph.D. students have their program director as faculty advisor. During first year in the program, students are highly encouraged to network with multiple faculty members with overlapping research interests. The program also creates opportunities for new students to meet various faculty members. Towards the end of first year or at the beginning of second year, Ph.D. students identify their faculty advisor and begin working with them on their Ph.D. research.

All admitted students get $35,000 a year for five years in the program. Additionally, students receive full tuition remission, professional development funds, and access to year-long subsidized dental and health care plans during the program. Paid research and teaching positions are available to eligible students, as well.

The program is designed for students to complete it between four to five years. Brown School stipend ends after the end of fourth year, and students have at most seven years to complete the program, if needed.

No, the Brown School covers tuition fees for Ph.D. students, domestic and international.

All Ph.D. students, domestic and international, get the same level of financial support. Students conducting global research also may apply for dissertation funding to support the work.

At the time of admission, the program selects students to apply for these competitive fellowships:

• Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship
  • Spencer T and Ann W. Olin Fellowship for Women
  • McDonnell International Scholarship Academy Fellowship

Once in the program, students may also apply to doctoral fellowships. You can find more information at the Stipends, Fellowships, Pre- and Post-Doctoral Opportunities page.

There are a number of resources available at WashU to support Ph.D. students during the program:

• Habif Health and Wellness Center – offers physical and mental health services
• Liberman Graduate Center – connects students with a variety of student groups and offers activities to enhance graduate student experience
• Center for Teaching and Learning – offers evidence-based workshops and programs to improve teaching techniques, develop or refine course materials, assess students’ learning, learn about new and/or effective educational technology, sharpen academic writing, hone presentation skills, and more
• The Brown School Library – our on-site library with a comfortable and welcoming Reading Room is not only a pick-up location for texts from all over Washington University (and beyond), it also provides access to a large collection of social work and public health texts, as well as a broad online database, and offers excellent staff and librarian services to students.
• The University Libraries on Danforth campus boast several of the more beautiful study spaces on campus as well as a world-class rare book collection. It is also home to librarians with expertise in subjects from multiple disciplines.
• Becker Medical Library on the campus of Washington University Medical School is another fantastic resource for texts, research assistance, and support. They also offer RedCap workshops and tutorials, and many other events.
• You can learn about more resources on the Student Support page.

Students live across the St. Louis region. Some neighborhoods around the Brown School/WashU include:

• DeBaliviere Place
• Skinker DeBaliviere
• Central West End
• University City

Also, WashU has Quadrangle Housing. Check it out to learn more about neighborhoods and housing options.