With the enrollment of a small group of highly qualified experienced social workers, the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work established the first social work doctoral program in the Western United States in 1953. Over the years, the school has continued the tradition of providing opportunities for learning in small classes, seminars and tutorials. The major goal of the doctoral program in social work is to produce social work scholars who will have the capacity to make valuable and significant contributions to the knowledge base of the profession. Students acquire the skills necessary to become professional scholars and develop a significant capacity for professional leadership. Toward this end, the school is committed to pursuing excellence in education with persons of definite promise and to seeking gifted students of varied social, ethnic and economic backgrounds.