This course provides an overview of the social work profession, its values and ethics, fields of practice, and unique models of intervention. Topics covered include the historical roots of the profession, its mission and purpose, description of client groups, and the settings in which social workers typically operate. The profession's commitment to diverse and at-risk populations, as well as to social and economic justice will be highlighted.
Prerequisite(s): CHAD 100 or SOWK 110 or WRIT 105 or HONP 100. This course explores social welfare issues in the United States, in the context of their history, primary rationale, and the values supporting different approaches. Emphasis is placed on policies, programs and institutional structures affecting children, youth and families across multiple service systems. Meets Gen Ed - Social Science Perspectives.
Prerequisite(s): SOWK 220. This course provides an overview of the helping process in social work, and describes the skills necessary to work with various client systems, including individuals, families and groups. Specific emphasis will be placed on engaging vulnerable children, adolescents and their families. Ethical considerations, essential values and theories, and the "use of self" in the helping process will be discussed.
Prerequisite(s): SOWK 325 may be taken as prerequisite or corequisite. This course is designed to meet the needs of students who seek an in depth, integrative understanding of the field of social work and its relationship to other disciplines that serve the needs of children, adolescents and families. This course will rely on specialists in the field to present research, knowledge of their field, career opportunities, and entry level requirements involved in becoming a social work professional.
Corequisite(s): SOWK 504. Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. This course provides foundation knowledge for generalist social work practice with individuals, families and groups. An emphasis is placed on a range of skills needed at various stages of the intervention process, while incorporating diversity and multicultural perspectives. Ethical considerations, essential social work values and theories, and the “use of self” in the helping process are discussed.
Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. To become effective practitioners, social workers must understand the context of clients’ lives, including their worldviews which have been influenced by their cultural, racial, ethnic, and gender identities, as well as other diversity factors. This course provide students with beginning tools to be able to fully appreciate and work with clients of various backgrounds.
Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. This course explores social welfare issues in the United States, in the context of their history, primary rationale, and the values supporting different approaches. Emphasis is placed on policies, programs and institutional structures affecting individuals, families and communities across multiple service systems.
Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. This course provides an overview of life-course development, and the ways in which individuals behave in social contexts. Ecological systems theory will frame students’ understanding of social work’s person-in-environment approach. Multi-dimensional aspects of change across the lifespan (biological, social, cultural, spiritual, etc.) will be explored.
Corequisite(s): SOWK 500. Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. The purpose of this course is to integrate classroom learning of generalist social work practice with individuals, families and communities, and a supervised practice experience in a human service agency. Requirements include participation in an agency-based practicum for about 230 hours per semester, and participation in online seminars, which provide students the opportunity to discuss and consult on field experiences.
Restriction(s): Master of Social Work students and MA in Child Advocacy students only. This course will provide an overview of school social work practice and the role of the school worker. It will allow students to critically analyze and examine educational programs, policies, laws, and principles of social work practice in schools. Students will also become familiar with the school social worker’s collaborations with key educational stakeholders.
Corequisite(s): SOWK 523. Prerequisite(s): SOWK 500. Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. This course provides students with an introduction to social work in organizational and community contexts. It examines the impact that social structure and group affiliation can have on human behavior. The role of social services, and their delivery systems, will also be explored.
Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. This course will provide students a comprehensive understanding of assessment and diagnosis of psychological disorders through the lifespan as they relate to social work practice. Emphasis will be placed on evaluating clients from a multidisciplinary perspective (biological, psychological, and social factors that impact incidence, manifestation, and course of mental health disorders). Ethical considerations (e.g., personal bias, cultural competency, client rights, and clinician responsibilities) will be discussed.
Corequisite(s): SOWK 520. Prerequisite(s): SOWK 504. Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. The purpose of this course is to integrate classroom learning of generalist social work practice with organizations and communities, and a supervised practice experience in a human service agency. Requirements include participation in an agency-based practicum for a minimum of 230 hours per semester, and participation in online seminars, which provide students the opportunity to discuss and consult on field experiences.
This course provides an overview of harm reduction approaches to substance use, and the historical and social contexts of harm reduction work in the United States and globally. Students will become familiar with a range of harm reduction interventions, their major principles, and the challenges in their implementation. Students will also learn to critically evaluate available research on harm reduction interventions and compare it with research on abstinence-based intervention programs. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits.
Prerequisite(s): SOWK 540. This course discusses major principles for engagement with people who use drugs, using a non-stigmatizing, social justice-oriented, and trauma-informed approach. Students will learn how to establish trusting, collaborative relationships with people affected by drug use; how to identify bias and stigma in common interactions; and how to practice self-reflection and self-regulation to maintain effective engagement. In addition, students will be able to identify the impact of clients` intersecting identities, cultural practices, and personal histories on engagement, disengagement, and reengagement processes. May be repeated for a maximum of six credits.
Restriction(s): MSW students only; others by permission of the department chair. This course will focus on current and relevant issues in social work. It will rely on specialists in the field to present their research or area of expertise to interested students. It will also provide students with an opportunity to research the literature within their fields of interest. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits.
Corequisite(s): SOWK 603. Prerequisite(s): SOWK 520 or SOWK 522. Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. This course discusses clinical interventions with children and adolescents across multiple service systems. Considering biology, psychology and the social environment, students will explore various models of intervention across different stages of child development, and advance their clinical skills to meet the needs of diverse children and adolescents.
Prerequisite(s): CHAD 603 or SOWK 522. Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. This course is the second in a series of required research courses in the MSW program. In this course, research is presented as a logical extension of service delivery, rooted in the ethical imperative, as noted in the NASW Code of Ethics, to not harm clients and to ensure that intervention methods employed in service delivery are effective. The course will teach students one way to evaluate their work with client systems by using single-subject research designs.
Prerequisite(s): SOWK 502 or SOWK 522. Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. This course provides an advanced understanding of public policies, programs, and services that impact children and families. The formation, implementation, and evaluation of national, state, and local policies are explored in-depth. Building on knowledge acquired in SOWK 502, students will analyze these policies through formalized frameworks for analysis, with an eye towards issues of equity and efficiency.
Corequisite(s): SOWK 600. Prerequisite(s): SOWK 522 or SOWK 523. Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. The purpose of this course is to integrate classroom learning of clinical interventions with children and adolescents, and a supervised practice experience in a human service agency. Requirements include participation in an agency-based practicum for a minimum of 230 hours per semester, as well as participation in online seminars providing opportunities for discussion and consultation.
Corequisite(s): SOWK 622. Prerequisite(s): SOWK 600. Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. This course discusses clinical interventions with diverse family configurations across a range of service delivery systems. Students will be introduced to major theories and concepts in family practice, and acquire specialized knowledge and skills for intervening with families to facilitate positive change.
Corequisite(s): SOWK 620. Prerequisite(s): SOWK 603. Restriction(s): Social Work w/conc Children, Youth & Families majors only. The purpose of this course is to integrate classroom learning of clinical interventions with families, and a supervised practice experience in a human service agency. Requirements include participation in an agency-based practicum of a minimum of 230 hours per semester, as well as participation in online seminars providing opportunities for discussion and consultation.
Prerequisite(s): SOWK 522. Restriction(s): MSW students only; others by permission of department chair. This course will focus on current and relevant issues in clinical social work practice. It will rely on specialists in the field to present their research or area of expertise to interested students. It will also provide students with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of specific clinical social work practice skills and interventions. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits.