Doctoral Candidate Maggie Thomas Receives SSWR’s Doctoral Fellows Award

BUSSW doctoral candidate Maggie Thomas has received the 2020 Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Doctoral Fellows Award – recognizing and supporting doctoral students whose proposed dissertation research reflects innovative ideas and rigorous methodologies related to social work research, policy, or practice. Award recipients are considered exemplars of excellence in doctoral level social work research. 

The prestigious early-career award is made in support of Thomas’s dissertation – Material Hardship, Public Assistance, and Child Wellbeing: A Panel Data Study – and is accompanied by an honorarium.

Thomas, who expects to complete her doctorate degree in 2020, specializes in research on poverty and related systemic issues and policies. Prior to beginning her doctoral work at BUSSW, Thomas was a practicing social worker who spent three years working in the child welfare system and working with LGBTQ youth and families in the community. She is also a founding member of BU School of Public Health’s Public Health Post and a member of the BUSSW Social Policy Analysis Working Group.

Along with other SSWR award winners, Thomas will be honored at the 2020 SSWR Annual Conference in Washington, DC. The awards presentation will take place on Saturday, January 18th, 2020 from 2:00–2:30pm.