Field of Social Work

On September 1, 2022, by Decision No. 90 of the ARACIS Council, the evaluation results for the establishment of the doctoral field of Social Work (DSUD – SW) within the Doctoral School of Philosophy, Sociology, and Political Science (SDFSSP) at the West University of Timișoara (UVT) were approved.

The doctoral supervisors who founded the Social Work doctoral field—with dedication, passion, effort, and courage—between February 2019 and July 2022 were the following tenured academic staff members from UVT: Professor Cosmin Ștefan GOIAN, Professor Mihaela TOMIȚĂ, and Associate Professor Patricia RUNCAN (Field Representative), all members of the Department of Social Work (DAS) within the Faculty of Sociology and Psychology (FSP).

The mission of the Social Work doctoral field is to provide opportunities for the accumulation of advanced knowledge and the development of professional and transversal skills in the doctoral domain. Doctoral students will also have the possibility to focus their research on current and priority topics, including but not limited to:

Quality of life, Strengthening public policies related to the integration of vulnerable groups and their access to quality social services, Communication and ethics in social work, Resilience, Social justice, Family and child protection and well-being, Prevention of burnout, depression, drop-out, addictions, Counseling and supervision, Mentorship and leadership, Quality relationships (at micro, mezzo, and macro levels), Evidence-based social work, etc.

Doctoral studies in Social Work have clear and realistic objectives derived from the relevance and importance of new trends, challenges, and informational technologies in the socio-human environment, as well as from the impact of broader social systems on quality of life and personal, family, institutional, and community performance.

The specific objectives aim to:
• Strengthen public policies in areas such as family, education, health, the integration of vulnerable groups, and their access to quality social services and adequate benefits to support overcoming periods of crisis;
• Increase the number and quality of research studies on policies and practices in the field, thereby offering evidence to improve national social policies, service quality, and ultimately quality of life; train highly qualified specialists in social work (not only in related fields).

The doctoral program in Social Work is both scientific and professional in nature. It is intended for graduates of second-cycle university studies or long-term higher education programs (preBologna). Doctoral studies represent the third cycle of university education, focused on research-based learning. Their purpose is to develop competent human resources capable of conducting scientific research and integrating into the highly qualified labor market. The doctoral program includes two components: an advanced academic training program and an individual scientific research program.

Ā 

Within the Faculty of Sociology and Psychology at UVT, five research centers operate:

  1. Centre for Social Diagnosis (CDS)
  2. Centre for Psychological Studies and Research in Timișoara (CSCPT)
  3. University Clinic for Psychopedagogical Therapy and Counseling (CUTCP)
  4. Child–Parent Interaction Research Center (CICOP)
  5. Research-Action Center on Discrimination and Social Inclusion (CCADIS)

Ā 

The Social Work doctoral field contributes to strengthening the Doctoral School of Philosophy, Sociology, and Political Science (SDFSSP), enhancing both theoretical and applied knowledge. It focuses on identifying genuine solutions to real issues in the socio-human environment through high-level empirical research, improving social practices and policies, and increasing the quality of life for both direct and indirect beneficiaries at micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Learning and research within doctoral programs in the social sciences encompass several dimensions:
• Spiral learning – where solving one research problem generates the next;
• Knowledge and research through academic and socio-economic networking and partnerships;
• Interdisciplinarity and depth;
• Respect for fundamental principles and values in research and dissemination of results.

Doctoral students
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Doctoral supervisors
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Doctoral supervisors

  • Prof. univ. dr. habil BREAZ Maria-Alina (CV)
  • Conf. univ. dr. habil. BUCUR Venera MargaretaĀ (CV)
  • Prof. univ. dr. habil GOIAN Cosmin Ștefan (CV)
  • Conf. univ. dr. habil. LĂZĂREANU Carmen Gabriela (CV)
  • Conf. univ. dr. habil RUNCAN Patricia Luciana (CV)
  • Prof. univ. dr. habil TOMIȚĂ Mihaela Alida (CV)

Thematic areas of interest (2025)

Professor Maria-Alina BREAZ, PhD
• Social services
• The prison environment and domestic violence
• The impact of domestic violence among incarcerated women

Associate Professor Venera Margareta BUCUR, PhD
• Social work activity in palliative care institutions

Professor Cosmin Ștefan GOIAN, PhD
• Residential care in social work in Banat
• Communication in social work
• Deontology and values in social work
• Conflict management
• Management in social work

Associate Professor Carmen Gabriela LĂZĂREANU, PhD
• Counseling for typical and atypical crises and multiple traumas among vulnerable groups in social work—at the individual, family, community, and societal levels
• Social structures and individual deviance from a social work perspective (family, school, street, and community violence; drugs, alcohol, juvenile delinquency, human trafficking, legal issues)
• Discrimination and social inequality—forms of support in social work (poverty, issues faced by minorities, racial and interethnic inequalities, children in need, the elderly, people with disabilities)
• Institutional problems and intervention methods in social work (unemployment, discrimination; occupational diseases; alienation, social inequality, structural and economic transformation; technologization, digitalization, globalization; family; education; health; national security)

Associate Professor Patricia Luciana RUNCAN, PhD
• Social and spiritual work with families
• Counseling in social work
• Supervision in social work
• Mentorship in social work
• The path to success: psychosocial and spiritual approach
• Family well-being and child protection
• Parent–child and spousal relationships

Professor Mihaela Alida TOMIȚĂ, PhD
• Resilience of vulnerable groups
• Alternative sentencing systems
• Integrated social work for drug users and victims of human trafficking
• Forms of violence against children: specific intervention programs

Useful information

Proposed topics for admission (2025)

For the complete list of topics, please refer to the table (link).

The funding status of each topic (scholarship-based budget, budget without scholarship, or tuition fee) is determined based on the admission competition, in accordance with the UVT methodology.

Admission

The admission competition for this doctoral field consists of an interview during which the candidate presents the doctoral research project (see Annex 8 of the Admission Regulations of the Doctoral School of Philosophy, Sociology, and Political Science).

The main elements of this project are as follows:

  • title of the scientific research project;
  • project summary;
  • content of the scientific research project;
  • research objectives and activities within the project;
  • plan for disseminating the results of the doctoral research;
  • elements of the candidate’s previous scientific research activity (if applicable).

Candidates may choose to prepare and present the scientific research project in Romanian or in an internationally recognized language agreed upon by the examination committee.

Candidate evaluation during the admission exam will be based on the criteria and indicators included in the evaluation grid specific to the chosen doctoral field (see Annex 9 of the Admission Regulations of the Doctoral School of Philosophy, Sociology, and Political Science).

For more details regarding the application file, admission calendar, and the organization of the doctoral admission process within the Doctoral School of Philosophy, Sociology, and Political Science, please consult the Admission Regulations of the Doctoral School and the UVT Doctoral Admission Methodology.

Resources

  • Eugen Todoran Central University Library (B.C.U.) – ranked among the top four university libraries in Romania, B.C.U. ā€œEugen Todoranā€ offers doctoral students access to over 1,000,000 documents;

  • Through Anelis Plus, doctoral students have free access to all major databases (e.g., ScienceDirect, Wiley, Sage, Scopus, Springer, or Web of Science);

Curriculum

  • Doctoral students admitted in the first year in 2024 (link)
  • Doctoral students admitted in the first year in 2025 (link)

Courses

Completion of studies

For more details about the IOSUD-West University of Timișoara study completion procedure, please visit the Doctoral Studies > Completion of doctoral studies pageĀ (link).

For field-specific details, please consult the following:Ā 

  • Order of the Ministry of Education and Research no. 3018/2025, dated January 13, 2025, on the approval of the minimum mandatory national standards required for awarding doctoral degrees, published in the Official Gazette no. 78 of January 29, 2025
    (applicable to doctoral students admitted from 2025 onward)Ā (link)
  • Order of the Ministry of National Education no. 5110/2018, dated September 17, 2018, regarding the approval of the minimum national standards for awarding doctoral degrees, published in the Official Gazette no. 817 of September 24, 2018 (link)
    (applicable to doctoral students admitted before 2025)Ā (link)
  • The National Guide for Writing Doctoral Theses related to the Field of Study (forthcoming publication)
  • Sections concerning the graduation procedure in the Regulations of the Doctoral School to which you are affiliated