| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | Community-based policy advocacy will be presented as an empowering process that helps to strengthen intra-group and inter-group solidarity as it challenges and attempts to change oppressive structures, systems, and institutions. In contrast to viewing advocacy in the traditional sense -- as a means by which experts represent group interests in legislative, judicial, and executive settings -- this course will explore ways through which traditionally excluded groups advocate for themselves and, in so doing, help build organizations and develop communities. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Community Change (Host), Policy & Political Social Work |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course examines environmental justice organizing in a US and global context. Students will explore the disproportional impact of environmental racism and climate change on low-income communities of color in the US and globally. The course will examine both the history of environmental justice organizing as well as contemporary US and global efforts to organize for change. A particular focus will be on grassroots and coalition building as a strategies for environmental justice and climate change organizing. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Community Change (Host), Global Social Work Practice, Policy & Political Social Work |
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| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course will examine theories, social policies and services, social movements, activism and research concerning gender-based violence, and domestic violence (intimate partner violence) in particular. While focusing on domestic violence, the course will address other forms of gender-based violence through an ongoing analysis of interlocking systems of oppression, power and control. This course is an integrative seminar designed to help students strengthen their critical analysis skills and integrate their knowledge and skills at micro, mezzo, and macro levels. The course encourages the application of these knowledge skills to various levels of practice aimed at ending domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence, especially social change activities through policy advocacy and community organizing. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Community Change (Host), Global Social Work Practice, Policy & Political Social Work |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course will be a rotation elective course focused on special and contemporary topics in community change. It will be faculty-driven and focus on specific and important issues in community change, including specific issues impacting community change, contemporary organizing efforts, specific skills in community change, and/or specific issues, policy, population, or contexts for community change. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Community Change (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | In this mini-course, students will learn a theoretical framework for social entrepreneurship and design thinking, as well as explore the individual skills and will necessary to respond to complex social needs both locally and globally. Students will be placed on teams throughout the course to engage in hands-on activities, case studies, competitions and a leadership project. The objective of this course is to inspire and begin equipping students to become innovative leaders in the social sector. Specifically, we will address how to understand yourself as a leader within the context of a community and how to lead with moral imagination (the ability to put yourself in the shoes of the people you are serving); understand how an entrepreneurial mindset and operational skills can create and support social change; and turn theory into action by designing and carrying out a team leadership project. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Management & Leadership (Host), Program Evaluation and Applied Research |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course will present the fundamental knowledge and skills needed to develop and manage the budget of a nonprofit social service organization and its programs. Students will learn to use techniques necessary to: 1) Plan, develop, display, revise, monitor, and evaluate a program budget; 2) Evaluate past financial performance (e.g. financial statements); 3) Monitor and evaluate the cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of a nonprofit program and a nonprofit organization. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Management & Leadership (Host), Policy & Political Social Work, Program Evaluation and Applied Research |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course is designed to familiarize students with common types of supervision found in social work practice. The course will present fundamental knowledge and skills needed to effectively engage in supervisory relationships, both as a supervisor and as a supervisee. Students will learn strategies for effective supervision, learn to handle conflict in the workplace, and develop skills needed to support and assess performance of employees. |
| Credits: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | Evidence suggests that women face unique leadership challenges. Marginalization based on gender, family and work priorities, and societal expectations create a system that hinders the maximization of leadership potential. In addition, women bring diverse capabilities and hold unique characteristics in the work world today. Community benefit organizations must leverage this diversity of leadership to improve decision making, tap into diverse points of view, and inspire social change. This course will examine the social, structural and personal dynamics that differentially impact women and men as leaders. It will prepare all students to identify and harness the specific needs and capabilities of women. It will provide the knowledge and skills to succeed and contribute added value in their roles as leaders at any level. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse, Management & Leadership (Host) |
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| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | The seminar examines health disparities and inequities as reflected in: higher incidence or prevalence of disease (e.g., earlier onset or more aggressive progression), premature or excessive mortality from specific conditions, higher global burden of disease (e.g., disability adjusted life years), poorer health behaviors and clinical outcomes, and worse outcomes on validated self-reported measures (e.g., daily functioning or conditions-specific symptoms). The seminar aims to develop a rigorous critical analysis of health disparities and inequities and the potentials and limitations of different approaches to addressing them (e.g., behavioral strategies, community change, and policy interventions). Weekly seminar activities focus on discussion, critique and analysis (theory, content and methods) of readings and media on racial and ethnic health disparities/inequities. Readings and media include a variety of disciplinary and professional frameworks and perspectives (e.g., epidemiology, sociology, urban planning). |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host) |
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| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | Everyone has a sexuality, and so social workers need to be prepared to support clients and communities across a variety of sexual identities, experiences, and behaviors. This course integrates a basic introduction into the spectrum of human sexuality along with foundational pieces supporting the theory and practice of social work. By viewing many facets of sexuality from a social work perspective, students will be prepared to assume serve individuals, groups, and communities regarding various issues connected to human sexuality. We will focus definitions surrounding sexuality, the ethics of sexuality and social work, ways to integrate sexuality information into different types of social work practice, and conversations on how complex feelings around controversial topics may impact both practitioners and their clients. Much of this class will include a more in-depth view on communities often marginalized around sexuality, including LGBTQIA+ individuals, older adults, people with disabilities/impairments, youth, people of color, those who have experiences sexual abuse, those who participate in kink/BDSM practices, and those who chose to be consensually non-monogamous. No previous sexuality education experience required, but an open mind and willingness to engage in the grey areas outside of binaries is strongly encouraged. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host) |
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| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course presents advanced topics in Management & Leadership. The topics may include emerging practice issues and advanced application of specific methods. |
| Credits: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This mini-class offers students an overview of the field of couple therapy. This course will teach students indications for working with couples in a variety of clinical settings. An array of evidence-based models are introduced. There is a major focus on the John Gottman method given this model is based on research findings and integral to the field of couple treatment. The course reviews other evidence-based models (CBT, behavioral, emotion focused therapy, etc) relevant to working with specific clinical situations (i.e. depression, substance use disorders, medical illness, trauma). Theories will be taught and critiqued. Evidence-based models will be emphasized and models that do not have a research base will be assessed in terms of their efficacy and appropriateness. This five-week class has a goal of teaching students about the field of couple therapy including discussing indications and contraindications, the essential facets of completing an evaluation and basic treatment techniques (handling of conflict, communication skills training, improving connection, addressing sexual problems, handling the aftermath of infidelity). State of the art, evidence-based practice will be emphasized as related to different settings (i.e. psychiatric, medical, community, substance abuse, geriatric, etc). The course will address barriers that affect client’s access to care (insurance, health care constraints, other access problems). Poverty, unemployment, illness negatively impact family functioning and seriously erode relationships. Ethnicity, gender, race, class will be addressed as important factors in the models and case presentations. The foremost clinical models will be reviewed with an emphasis on evaluation. The class content will include non-traditional couples, samesex and transgender couples, interracial/inter-ethnic couples. There will be an emphasis on 2 life-cycle and case vignettes and clinical presentations will reflect the life-span. Interviewing techniques will be practiced in some role plays. Lectures, video-tapes, guest speakers will be integrated throughout the mini-class. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | Students will learn about comprehensive assessment and evidence based interventions with pre-school children (ages 3-5). This course aims to increase developmentally relevant and effective practice with preschool children and their families. A particular lens will be assessment and intervention in the context of school, however, assessment and intervention strategies within other settings will also be discussed. Special attention will be paid to the needs of preschool children most likely to be under-served by, or expelled from, preschool (e.g. children with behavior problems, children of color, children impacted by trauma, and children with developmental delays.) |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse, Welfare of Children & Families (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This is an advanced methods mini-course focused on forensic interviewing of children. The mini-course is particularly relevant to interviewing children alleged to have been sexually abused, but also relevant to gathering information from children about a spectrum of traumatic maltreatment experiences. This mini-course will provide a critical review of the research evidence that is relied upon in forensic interviewing of children, and will provide information about best practice. The course takes child-centered, social justice, and culturally responsive approaches that is inclusive of the child’s needs, developmental stage, and level of cognitive – emotional functioning, throughout the forensic interview process. Documenting the child’s disclosure about the specifics of the allegations will also be discussed. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Welfare of Children & Families (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course focuses on a specific parenting issue - the use of discipline and punishment in child-rearing. This course examines research on the effectiveness of wide range of parental disciplinary approaches, and introduce numerous evidence-based parenting interventions, and their recommendations and approaches to child discipline. The course content will be embedded within a child development framework that considers the child’s age and development stage, in conjunction with family and community-level factors. We will discuss how cultural norms and beliefs may influence parents’ discipline choices and how social workers can best dialogue with parents help them achieve their parenting aims. This one credit course addresses micro- and macro- social work issues. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Welfare of Children & Families (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This minicourse focuses on trends and issues of contemporary philanthropy and their approaches to evaluation to inform allocation models. The ways in which both philanthropic entities and their grantees evaluate the efficiency, effectiveness, and impact of the programming will be explored. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Management & Leadership, Program Evaluation and Applied Research (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course provides an experiential opportunity for students to explore an array of animal assisted therapeutic activities specifically designed to further a wide range of therapeutic goals with children, adolescents, families and adult clients. Like play therapy and art therapy, animal assisted interventions, when integrated with evidence-based methods including (but not limited to) CBT and mindfulness, trauma recovery, family systems, cultural-relational and psychodynamic approaches, offer opportunities for people to work through a variety of issues and insecurities related to attachment, trauma, self-esteem and identity concerns, dysregulation, behavioral difficulties, mental illness, developmental disabilities, and family and relational problems. With selected animals as therapy partners, the therapeutic team helps people of all ages and positions foster new alliances, understand more fully existing problems and build practical life-skills to enhance confidence, effectiveness and joy. Presently, animal assisted therapy is gaining acclaim in the field of mental health intervention and there is a growing body of evidence supporting its efficacy to be explored. This course specifically teaches the theoretical foundations, standards, ethics, evidence, certifications, integration of methods, case examples, evaluation and practical skills involved in partnering with a variety of animals – dogs, cats, goats, pigs, horses and chickens (yes, chickens!)- to provide engaging and effective interventions. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse, Welfare of Children & Families (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course was designed to increase the knowledge base and competency level of social workers who plan to work with (or are interested in) military service members, veterans, and their families. This will be accomplished by introducing students to basic military background and structure, the common problem-areas experienced by this community, and the diverse subgroups that exist within this unique population. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate improved cultural competency in the areas of the military, veteran and family populations. Students will also be able to identify specific evidence-based interventions for engaging this population in a community-based or clinical setting. The practice area of this course will be identified as Interpersonal Practice and Mental Health. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host) |
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| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This course presents advanced topics in Program Evaluation and Applied Research. The topics may include emerging practice issues and advanced application of specific methods. |
| Credits: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | The Language Translation and Interpretation is a one-credit mini-course that aims to prepare students to identify, address, and evaluate the language translation and interpretation needs of individuals, families, and communities whose native language is not English. The course will focus on strategies and evidence-based practices for engaging with individuals, families, and communities with or without the aid of an interpreter. Examples of topic issues include gender, class, race/ethnicity, and how these factors influence translation and interpretation in social work practice. The course is recommended for both monolingual and multilingual students working with populations in the U.S.A. and/or other countries. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Community Change, Global Social Work Practice (Host), Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | The Understanding and Organizing Against Inhumane Immigration Policy mini-course focuses on the impact of immigration-related public policy on individual, families, and communities. In this course, we will identify and address sweeping national controversies around immigration and significant questions about social justice and racial discrimination. This course will focus on the problems undocumented immigrants face and the public policy strategies of enforcement, particularly at the border and in the interior of the country. Along with discussion of the policies and practices of enforcement, we will explore local enforcement consequences to individuals, families, and local communities. Discussions will include global, national, state, and local components. Students in this course will acquire the skills to critically analyze and address this aspect of immigration policy, its controversies, and strategies for organizing for change within local communities. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Community Change, Global Social Work Practice (Host), Policy & Political Social Work |
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| Credits: | 1-2 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | The Global Course Extension (GCE) mini-course builds off a 3-credit on-campus Advanced Global Topics in Social Work course. This course focuses on a specific global social work-related topic, such as migration, displacement, poverty, climate change, indigeneity, etc. This mini-course involves a 2-4 week trip to a pertinent international location that will allow students to further engage and explore the themes and topics introduced in the on-campus course. Participation in this mini-course requires that students satisfactorily complete the associated 3-credit Advanced Global Topics in Social Work course. Additionally, students must apply and be accepted to participate in a GCE course through an application process. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Global Social Work Practice (Host) |
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| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | This mini course addresses LGBTQ+ concerns across the globe – sexual and gender identity and expression, family of choice, community building, social justice, advocacy, and policy affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer “plus” (LGBTQ+) people and communities. Students from all pathways will obtain knowledge by using a diversity and critical intersectionality framework. They will gain practice skills in critical thinking, reflexivity, research, advocacy, policy analysis, and culturally responsive practice. Students will work in small groups organized around specific themes (e.g., marriage equality, suicide, safer schools, adoption, etc.) matching their pathways requirements and/or social work interests. The work for each group includes detailed research and discussions on their chosen themes and how such themes affect people in different global environments. For example, how does marriage equality affect people of different social classes in developing countries? Students will identify and collect facts, opinions, statistics, and anecdotal data on the themes they choose from books, magazines, interviews, photographs, and the World Wide Web. They will organize the material as an artifact (e.g., poster, assemblage, installation), which will be shared using presentations, performances, discussions. |
| Credits: | 1 |
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| Prerequisites: | SW 515, Advanced Standing, or an exemption from SW 515 |
| Course Description: | This course will teach social work students to achieve positive client outcomes through interdisciplinary teamwork and interprofessional communication while utilizing social work values, methods, and skills at a multi-disciplinary student-run health clinic that includes student-practitioners from schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacology, dentistry, and social work. The course will help students understand the roles and responsibilities of each discipline on the healthcare team, the importance of effective communication, and the role of team collaboration in clinical decision making. Students will also learn about how the unique lens of social work adds tremendous value to other members of the interdisciplinary team. Students will participate at the student-run health clinic in Pinckney, MI a minimum of 3 times during the term, with individual on-site supervision and group supervision meetings with the course instructor throughout the term. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse (Host) |
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| Credits: | 3 |
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| Prerequisites: | None |
| Course Description: | The Advanced Global Topics in Social Work course is taught by various members of the program faculty and is typically offered during the winter semester. Each version of the course has its own subtitle, some being offered one time only while others may be repeated. Advanced Global Topics in Social Work courses provide an in depth focus on a global social work issue, such as migration, displacement, poverty, climate change, indigeneity, etc. Additionally, students in the Advanced Global Topics in Social Work course have the opportunity to apply for the Faculty-Led Global Course Extension (GCE) mini-course that includes a 2-4 week trip to a pertinent international location that will allow students to further engage and explore the themes and topics introduced in the on-campus course. |
| Pathway Elective For: | Global Social Work Practice (Host) |
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University of Michigan
School of Social Work
1080 South University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106