Rebecca L. Thomas, PhD

Professor and Director, Center for International Social Work Studies

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Rebecca L. Thomas, Ph.D. is a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work and director of the Center for International Social Work Studies. Her research focuses on international social work, international development, forced migration, including climate-induced migration, as well as social entrepreneurship, poverty, and human rights. 

At UConn, she’s examined the resettlement of Syrian refugees, economic development among immigrant-owned businesses, responses to human trafficking in Connecticut, and civic engagement among immigrants through public libraries. 

In 2026, Thomas received a grant from the UConn Office of Global Affairs to lead an international research project using Photo Elicitation Interviewing (PEI) to explore the lived experiences of recent Russian and Indian immigrants in Armenia. Findings from the study will inform policy recommendations and guidance for social workers, service providers, and institutions supporting immigrant communities. In 2024, she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to interview displaced Ukrainians in Bulgaria. 

Thomas has served as principal investigator or research author on more than 15 grant-funded studies, including Transforming Communities: Focus on Armenia for the Council on Social Work Education; Human Trafficking for the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence; Building Relationships and Bridging Social Capital: An Inclusive Approach to Immigrant Civic Engagement within the Library for Hartford Public Library; and Safety Net Service Networks for the Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies. 

She is the co-author of two books: International Social Work: Professional Action in an Interdependent World (Oxford University Press, 2020) and Advancing Human Rights in Social Work Education (Council on Social Work Education Press, 2014). She has also co-authored numerous articles in journals including Social Development Issues, Journal of International Migration and Integration, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, Journal of Teaching in Social Work, and International Social Work. 

Thomas has presented at more than 50 juried conferences and professional programs. Most recently, she presented findings of her Fulbright to Bulgaria: “Social Integration of Ukrainian Refugees in Bulgaria: Understanding the Role of Civil Society in Building Support Systems” at the 30th annual Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference in 2026. 

She teaches in the Policy Practice concentration and serves as chair of the International Social Work focus area. She also directs a joint academic exchange program between UConn and Yerevan State University in Armenia. 

In addition to her academic work, Thomas serves on the board of the Katherine Kendall Institute of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and served as  the chair of CSWE’s Commission on Global Social Work Education in 2018 to 2023. She represents the International Association of Schools of Social Work on the NGO Committee on Migration at the United Nations. She is also a member of the City of Hartford Commission on Refugee and Immigrant Affairs and the Southeast Europe Academic Women’s Leadership Network. 

Thomas holds a B.A. in international development and a B.S.W. from Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas; a B.Th. in theology from Canadian Mennonite Theological Seminary in Winnipeg, Manitoba; an M.S.W. with a focus on program planning and management from Temple University; and a Ph.D. in educational psychology, with a focus on welfare-to-work, employment, and training, also from Temple University. 

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