Joint PhD Program

Deadline: January 15, 2026
This student-initiated application must be submitted directly to Rackham.

The grant is intended to support Rackham graduate student parents who incur expenses while traveling with small children (under the age of six) while attending conferences, workshops, meetings, or other academic events as part of their scholarly research or in pursuit of professional career readiness both within and outside of academia. Requests may also include dependent care at home while the student is traveling, the cost of transporting the dependent, car seat and crib rental, and daycare

Deadline: January 15, 2026
This student-initiated application must be submitted directly to Rackham.

The Rackham Professional Development Grant is intended to support Rackham doctoral students seeking careers both within and outside academia. This funding is to support short-term experiences that promote the development of professional skills which will further a student’s career goals.

Rackham Professional Development Grant

Brittany Ribeiro Brown, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Psychology, has successfully defended her dissertation “It’s Nothing to Lose but My Chains: Intersectional Stigma, Mental Health, and Mental Healthcare Among Black Sexual Minority Emerging Adults.” Her committee consisted of Daphne Watkins, Lucretia Ward (co-chairs), Ashley Lacombe-Duncan and Elizabeth Cole. She has accepted a postdoctoral position in the Medical Social Science Department at Northwestern University.

Flourish Fund: Supporting Community Well-Being Initiatives

The Flourish Fund provides small grants to support current MSW students, PhD students, staff and faculty within the School of Social Work who are interested in hosting events or developing projects that advance community-wide well being, with and explicit connection to one or more of the 8 Sectors of Well-Being (emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical social, spiritual).

The fund is designed to financially assist individuals or groups seeking to create positive change through projects, programs, events

Jay Kayser, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Psychology, defended his dissertation entitled “Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Cognitive Function: Correlates, Consequences, and Causes in Older Adults.” Kayser has accepted an Assistant Professor of Social Work position at the University of Iowa.

E.B. Gross, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Psychology, defended their dissertation entitled “‘I Have Worked Hard to Be Someone My Child Can Trust’: Perceptions of Parental Support Among Trans and Gender-Expansive Young Adults and their Parents.” Gross has accepted a social work faculty position at Eastern Michigan University.

Charles Williams II, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Sociology, defended his dissertation entitled “Healing Balm: Black Women, Black Churches, and Du Boisian Pathways to Health Equity.” Williams has accepted a tenure-track position at the University of Texas at Arlington.

PhD student Sunghyun Hong’s research on the methods for evaluating social skills in young children was cited in Phys.org. Hong’s findings highlight the need for more culturally responsive approaches to evaluating children’s social skills as the nation’s child population becomes increasingly diverse. 

“As we work to understand children’s development, it’s important that our assessment tools recognize the many ways social competence is expressed across families and communities,” Hong said.

The IMPACT Awards honor outstanding students, faculty, staff and student organizations who are committed to uplifting our community and advancing the School’s mission. The awards are presented annually by the School’s Flourish Office.

Student IMPACT Award: PhD Student Nico Juárez

Nico Juárez is a student in the Joint PhD Program in Social Work and Anthropology. His award is in recognition of his academic excellence and his impact in translating social work values into community action. His work directly reflects the School’s Strategic Vision, specifically the “Action for the Public Good” pillar

We welcome you to join us for dinner at the SSW as we introduce our Fall 2026 potential doctoral students. We hope that you can join us to connect and network with them.  Please indicate on the form if you intend to bring any guests, we encourage you to come as you are able throughout the evening.

Click here to RSVP