Class Descriptions

SW503

Foundation Topics in Social Work

Credits:
1 Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This course is taught by various members of the program faculty. Each version of the course has its own subtitle, some being offered one time only while others are repeated and may evolve into regular courses with their own course number and title. This is an appropriate selection for upper-level undergraduate students.
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SW505

Engaging Social Justice, Diversity, and Oppression in Social Work

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This required essentials course is designed to increase students’ awareness, knowledge, and critical skills related to diversity, human rights, social and economic justice. The course focuses heavily on engaging diversity and differences in social work practice and advancing human rights and social and economic justice, through understanding power and oppression across micro, meso, and macro levels. We will explore the knowledge base that underlies skills needed to work towards justice. These include types and sources of power, multiple social locations, social constructions, social processes, social identities, conflicts, and how all these interact. A major emphasis is on self reflexivity and developing skills in critical contextual thinking and analyses, as well as learning to use knowledge and theory to recognize critique, and engage underlying assumptions, and inform working for change. Multiple kinds of understanding are especially important—across groups, between organizations and system levels, and within and between people, related to intersecting social locations.
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SW506

Essentials of Interpersonal Practice

Credits:
4 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This course presents knowledge and skills essential to interpersonal practice while considering the community, organizational, and policy contexts in which social workers practice. Students learn how to perform various social work roles (i.e. counselor, group facilitator, mediator, broker, and advocate), recognizing that these roles must be based on the adherence to social work values and ethics. All phases of the IP treatment and prevention process (i.e. engagement, assessment, planning, intervention, evaluation,and termination) will be presented with attention to how they are applied to work with individuals, families, and small groups. Using an evidence informed approach, students will learn to assess problems in clients' lives that relate to attributes of the client (e.g. age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability and spirituality) as well as situational and environmental factors relevant to the client's social functioning. Students will understand patterns of functioning, to assess strengths and limitations, and to plan, implement and monitor change strategies. Students also learn how self-awareness and the conscious use of self affect the helping relationship and how to apply practice skills such as active listening, empathic responding, contracting, problem-solving, critical and creative thinking in practice. Students learn how to apply various evidence informed strategies in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of change efforts based on whether their implementation enhances the client's capacity for self-determination and the system's capacity for justice.
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SW507

Research Basics for Social Work Practice

Credits:
1 Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This course will provide students with an orientation to research, scientific inquiry, and the contribution of research in social work practice. The course will help students define research terminology, the social work ethical standards pertaining to research and evaluation, and the role of the researcher in social work practice. Students will understand the ethical, political and cultural context of research to inform micro, mezzo and macro social work. This course is not required for Advanced Standing students.
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SW508

Essentials of Social Welfare Policy

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This course surveys the history of social welfare policy, services, and the social work profession. It explores current social welfare issues in the context of their history and the underlying rationale and values that support different approaches. Emphasis is placed on major fields of social work service such as: income support, health care, mental health, and services to the elderly. Analytic frameworks with regard to social welfare policies and services are presented. These frameworks identify strengths and weaknesses in the current social welfare system with respect to multiculturalism and diversity; social justice and social change; behavioral and social science theory and research; and social work relevant promotion, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programs and services in relation to diverse dimensions (including 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).
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SW509

Essentials of Community and Organizational Practice

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This course is partly survey in nature, touching on a range of methods, strategies, and skills in macro practice, specifically community organization, management, and advocacy. It provides an appreciation of the historical and contemporary importance of these social work methods as well as opportunities for students to develop practical skills. With opportunities for hands-on experience and training using tangible tools that are critical for success in macro practice, the course places special emphasis on approaches that strengthen socially just and culturally sensitive practice. Students focus on: (1) understanding the context of macro practice; (2) identifying community and organizational interventions to address social needs and problems; (3) organizing and building relationships within communities and organizations; and (4) organization-based and community-based policymaking, planning, and program development. Course content addresses concepts and practice skills involving assessment, engagement, and intervention planning at the macro level, and strategies to work effectively with communities, organizations and groups. Content also includes reflective practice and utilizing interpersonal skills in macro practice. The course will offer skill-building in some tasks that are important to beginning social work practice, such as understanding and developing spreadsheets, meeting facilitation, teamwork, collecting and presenting basic data, and communicating effectively.
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SW513

Topics in Social Work

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This course is taught by various members of the program faculty. Each version of the course has its own subtitle, some being offered one time only while others are repeated and may evolve into regular courses with their own course number and title.
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SW514

Independent Studies: Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Permission of instructor
Pathway Elective For:
Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host)
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SW515

Foundation Field Education

Credits:
2 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
Foundation field education assists students applying and integrating Foundation knowledge of social work skills, values, and ethics with practice and in developing a professional social work identity. The field experience provides students with a series of supervised field-based assignments and tasks selected to complement Foundation academic courses. Students may be exposed to a variety of social work roles such as case manager, counselor, advocate, organizer, administrator, facilitator, mediator, educator, and planner. In this context, students are expected to develop knowledge, understanding, and skills concerning relationships with clients, supervisors, co-workers and external constituencies. In addition, students will be expected to develop a Foundation understanding of the context of social work practice as it relates to multiculturalism and diversity; social justice and social change; prevention, promotion, treatment and rehabilitation and research-based practice. Within the field curriculum student learning will involve experiential learning and is based on the identification of field-based assignments and learning activities, and regular supervision with a field instructor.
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SW527

Independent Studies for Peace Corps Master's International

Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Must be in the MSW PCMI program
Description:
Students will reflect on their Peace Corps experience and connect it to first-year coursework and their career goals. Students will maintain regular communication with the instructor and their classmates during their PC service through a professional blog and during course meetings during their first semester back on campus. Finally, students will share their reflections through a student-initiated project or event that is open to the SSW community.
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