The Bachelor of Arts in Community Action and Social Change (CASC) requires the completion of 28 credits of core coursework. The required courses are listed below, along with their titles and descriptions, to provide an overview of the foundational knowledge, skills, and learning experiences that make up the CASC curriculum.
CASC Major Required Courses
SW305 Theories & Practices of Community Action and Social Change (3 credits)
This course introduces students to foundational theories and practice frameworks that inform community action and social change efforts across social work, sociology, education, public health, and related fields. Students will examine how social problems are defined and addressed through collective action, policy reform, advocacy, organizing, and systems-level intervention.
The course bridges theory and practice by pairing conceptual frameworks such as ecological systems theory, critical race theory, feminist theory, and social justice-oriented models of change with real-world case studies drawn from community-based organizations and movements. Students will analyze how power, identity, history, and institutional structures shape both problems and solutions.
By the end of the course, students will be able to articulate multiple approaches to social change, evaluate their strengths and limitations, and situate their own interests within broader CASC frameworks.
SW310 Research for Social Change (3 credits)
This course develops students’ capacity to critically engage with evidence used in community action, policy-making, and social change initiatives. Students will learn how different forms of knowledge, including quantitative data, qualitative research, community knowledge, and lived experience, are produced, interpreted, and mobilized to justify action and inform decision-making.
The course emphasizes critical data literacy, research ethics, and equity-centered approaches to evidence. Students will examine how evidence can both illuminate and obscure social realities, particularly for marginalized communities. Topics include research design, data interpretation, bias, misuse of statistics, and ethical considerations in research with communities.
Students will practice evaluating research claims, synthesizing evidence across sources, and communicating findings in accessible formats relevant to community and policy audiences.
SW320 Understanding Systems of Power, People, and Change (3 credits)
This foundational course serves as an introduction to the intellectual and professional roots of Community Action and Social Change. Drawing from introductory coursework in social work, public policy, and organizational studies, students are introduced to systems thinking as a core framework for understanding complex social issues.
Students will explore how individuals, families, organizations, and institutions interact within broader social, political, and economic systems. The course introduces key concepts such as social welfare policy, organizational dynamics, power, oppression, and leverage points for change. Emphasis is placed on understanding how systems both constrain and enable human behavior and community outcomes.
This course provides essential grounding for students pursuing further CASC coursework and prepares them for applied and seminar-based classes.
SW340 Relational Leadership Skills (3 credits)
This skills-based course focuses on the relational competencies required for effective leadership in community and organizational settings. Students will develop foundational skills in facilitation, communication, conflict navigation, and collaborative decision-making.
The course emphasizes relational leadership grounded in values of equity, accountability, and inclusion. Students will explore how power dynamics, identity, and positionality shape interpersonal interactions and group processes. Through experiential learning, students will practice leading discussions, facilitating groups, and responding to interpersonal challenges in community-based contexts.
This course prepares students for community engagement, organizational leadership, and collaborative social change work across professional settings.
SW400 Navigating Today’s Social Issues Using Social Work Strategies (3 credits)
This course is designed to familiarize students with the profession of social work. The particular social issues selected for discussion will change from year to year depending on faculty and student interest and the contemporary context. The opening sessions of the course will briefly overview the social context for the kinds of roles, interventions, and fields of service that the profession generally operates from, before exploring in depth the profession's response to each selected social problem. Important professional themes like multicultural sensitivity to various diversity dimensions such as ability, age, class, color, culture, ethnicity, family structure, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), marital status, national origin, race, religion or spirituality, sex, and sexual orientation; empowerment; prevention; and value-based intervention will also be reviewed in this course. This course focuses specifically on a limited number of selected social problems and probes social work's professional involvement in preventing and assuaging each problem.
SW410 Advanced Topic Seminars in Community Action and Social Change (6 credits minimum)
Students must complete two seminar courses (3 credits each) selected from faculty-designed offerings. Seminar topics vary by semester and reflect faculty expertise and emerging issues in social work and community action.
CASC Seminars are advanced, discussion-intensive courses that provide students with the opportunity to engage deeply with specialized topics related to social work, community action and social change. These seminars emphasize critical analysis, application of theory, and integration of research and practice.
Seminar topics may focus on areas such as:
- Trauma and resilience in communities
- Racial justice and abolition
- Youth, education, and community systems
- Gender-based violence and prevention
- Indigenous approaches to community healing
- Immigration, migration, and belonging
- Disability justice and access
- Motivational interviewing
- Suicide prevention and intervention
Students will engage with advanced readings, case studies, higher-level writing requirements, and applied projects. Seminars are designed to foster intellectual rigor and critical reflection.
Advanced Community-Based Action Courses (6 credits total)
SW440 Community-Based Action I (3 credits)
This first course in the two-term sequence introduces students to community-based engagement through guided participation with a community organization, initiative, or project. Students will focus on understanding the community context, organizational mission, and structural conditions shaping the issue area.
The course emphasizes ethical engagement, relationship-building, and critical reflection. Students will examine their roles as learners and collaborators rather than experts and will explore concepts such as reciprocity, accountability, and power in community partnerships.
SW460 Community-Based Action II (3 credits)
Building on Community-Based Action I, this course emphasizes deeper participation and contribution to a community-based project. Students will apply CASC theories, research skills, and relational leadership practices to support community-defined goals.
Students will engage in structured reflection, analyze challenges and outcomes, and consider the sustainability and impact of their work. The course culminates in a final project or product developed in collaboration with the community partner and grounded in ethical, equity-centered practice.
SW401 Community Action and Social Change Integrative Capstone Experience (1 credit)
This one-credit course is the capstone course for students in the undergraduate major and minor in Community Action and Social Change. The course is designed to help students integrate their learning from the different component areas of the minor and to develop an e-portfolio that captures the core learning. Students will meet in small groups to engage in generative interviewing to facilitate the development of philosophy statements and artifacts. Students will use the M e-portfolio software to input their philosophy statement and artifacts. Students will present their e-portfolios in a showcase at the end of the semester.