Does the DSW Practice Doctorate Provide Opportunities for Closing Gaps in Gerontology?

The 2019 annual conference of the Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work (GADE) highlighted the increasing role that the Doctor of Social Work (DSW) degree is playing in social work education. Over the past 15 years, social work has followed suit with a number of other health and helping professions (PsyD, DNP, DPT, etc.) by expanding access to practice doctorate programs for professionals who are interested in doctoral-level training, but primarily have interest to remain working in the field as practitioners, rather than become researchers. As more DSW programs have emerged, questions and concerns persist about the DSW, with most questions pertaining to the meaning of the degree for the overall field and the value of having an additional advanced practice degree in social work beyond the MSW degree. However, I urge readers of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work to consider the opportunities that the DSW may present for advancing gerontological education, research, and practice.