Research is a major driver in the College of Social Work and across the University of South Carolina, designated by the Carnegie Foundation as an institution of very high research activity.

We partner with an extensive network of organizations and agencies to advance scientific understanding and develop practical knowledge about social conditions, exploring causes and effects and piloting novel interventions. USC boasts a collaborative research environment, and our researchers frequently work with faculty from other disciplines, including nursing, medicine, public health, political science, engineering and computing.

We probe issues of consequence to our state and the world. Faculty are shedding light on the underpinnings of the opioid crisis and urban blight. We are developing new strategies to prevent HIV infection, closing the rural health disparity gap by building a replicable telehealth module, identifying markers that drive success for undocumented youth, training corrections officers to understand the signs of mental health and designing a parent navigator program that improves health and education outcomes for children with autism and their families.

Our researchers employ rigorous qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including community-based approaches. Our faculty have traveled to east Africa and China for extensive field projects and leveraged state and local partnerships to interview military service members and undocumented teens. We also support large-scale data analysis projects, such as a review of nearly 900,000 military health claims and administrative records.

 

Research Focus Areas