Class Descriptions

SW663

Fundraising and Grant writing

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Community Change, Management & Leadership (Host), Policy & Political Social Work, Program Evaluation and Applied Research
Description:
Social impact organizations secure resources through a variety of methods, including fees, grants, contracts, financial gifts, in-kind (non-cash) contributions, and investments. This course involves assessing an agency’s resource mix and developing tactics and strategies to sustain or expand its revenue streams. Students will explore the range of possible income sources that organizations can allocate to advance social justice by expanding and improving services, empowering groups, reaching populations in need, improving social conditions or anticipating and responding to new challenges. The implications of using alternative approaches of income generation and of changing the income mix will be analyzed in terms of mission accomplishment, program viability, adherence to ethics and values, and organizational sustainability. Skill development will be emphasized in areas such as grant seeking, proposal writing, donor development, direct solicitation of gifts, service contracting, and strategically communicating missions. Students will learn how to identify prospective funding sources, build relationships with potential donors, funders and collaborators, write, package and submit grant proposals, and communicate strategically. This course will also address emerging and changing trends in philanthropy.
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SW664

Human Resource Development and Management

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Management & Leadership (Host)
Description:
This course will focus on how administrators of social impact organizations can increase their effectiveness by supporting quality staff performance and employee engagement through structured human resource practice methods. This course will present ways to develop an equitable, healthy, and viable workplace for employees and employers. It will explore the role of social workers as change agents within organizations and the societal level impact of those changes. Students will learn relevant skills in staff recruitment, hiring, retention and termination, staff development, compensation and performance, and the development of benefit packages. Relevant laws and legislation governing workplace relationships such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will also be reviewed. Students will learn about work organization and job design, personnel recruitment and selection, performance monitoring and improvement, and compensation management. Students will learn that personnel management and staff development within human service organizations involve shared responsibility and active participation. Issues pertaining to dimensions of identity (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) will be given special attention, particularly in the areas of recruitment, promotion, compensation, and benefits. Emphasis will also be placed on assessing and developing organizational cultures that are inclusive and maximize their positive impact.
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SW665

Social Impact Leadership and Governance

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Foundation Essentials Required
Pathway Requirement For:
Management & Leadership (Host)
Pathway Elective For:
Policy & Political Social Work, Children, Youth, and Families
Description:
This course will examine the attributes, skills, behaviors, problems, and issues associated with leadership in social impact organizations, both in the public and private sectors. Students will explore multiple styles of leadership, as well as the application of those styles in various settings. Some emphasis will be placed on the basic rudiments of executive positions and roles in relation to decision-making and facilitation, organizational governance, and relationships with boards of directors and external stakeholders. Issues pertaining to intersectional dimensions of identity (ability, age, class, color, culture, ethnicity, family structure, gender, gender identity and gender expression, marital status, national origin, race, religion, spirituality, sex, sexual orientation) will be given special attention, particularly as students develop their own identity as leaders and manage relationships and conflict in the workplace. Leadership will also be analyzed in relation to the stages of organizational development. Concomitant with the above executive roles and skills, this course will address strategies for organizational development that are directed toward advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as enhancing adaptability, effectiveness, and efficiency to serving populations that have traditionally experienced marginalization.
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SW670

Qualitative Methodologies for Socially Just Inquiry

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
SW507
Pathway Requirement For:
Program Evaluation and Applied Research (Host)
Pathway Elective For:
Global Social Work Practice, Policy & Political Social Work
Description:
This course is designed as an introduction to the process of qualitative inquiry with a particular focus on the challenges of engaging in anti-oppressive, socially just, culturally sensitive, and decolonizing research activities. It will introduce students to the philosophical underpinnings of qualitative inquiry as well as expose them to basic issues in designing and implementing qualitative research projects. Students enrolled in the Evaluation and Research Pathway must select from one of two required foundational courses before completing their specialized electives in methodologies and methods. This course will meet that foundational requirement.
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SW671

Quantitative Methodologies for Socially Just Inquiry

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
SW507
Pathway Requirement For:
Program Evaluation and Applied Research (Host)
Pathway Elective For:
Global Social Work Practice, Policy & Political Social Work
Description:
This course is designed to advance the foundational ideas of quantitative research in social work and the social sciences, with a particular focus on applied quantitative research dedicated to the study of social problems and the development of social interventions at the macro, meso and micro levels. The course will deepen students’ understanding of such issues as sample selection, measurement, and questionnaire design, research design, and basic analytic approaches.
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SW672

Data Visualization Applications

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Management & Leadership, Policy & Political Social Work, Program Evaluation and Applied Research (Host)
Description:
With today’s world increasingly revolving around data, skills in data management, analysis, and visualization have become essential and in demand across industries, especially social work. This course empowers students without a math or statistics background to work effectively with data and data management systems. Strong computer competencies are required. The course covers three major areas to help you acquire practical skills for working with data across various settings. - Data Preparation: Learn the challenges of dealing with messy, real-world data. Hands-on exercises teach you how to clean, organize, and manage data. - Data Visualization: Discover how to create charts and graphs to bring out key insights and patterns embedded in your data. You will learn to select optimal strategies based on your type of data and your audience’s information needs. - Data Storytelling: Tie together all the knowledge and skills by learning to design interactive dashboards with engaging data narratives. We'll explore essential design principles concerning layout, color, and typography. The course culminates with a capstone project, where you'll apply and display your new skills by building an interactive dashboard on a topic that interests you. This project will be a valuable addition to your professional portfolio, displaying a diverse set of in-demand skills.
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SW673

Advanced Statistics

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Policy & Political Social Work, Program Evaluation and Applied Research (Host)
Description:
This course is designed to introduce students to statistics and statistical methods. It is intended and designed for students who already have some familiarity with statistics. Students in this course will acquire the skills to create and comprehend statistical reports related to program evaluation and research practice. Students will be able to assess the value and limitations of measures of central tendency (means, medians and modes), rates, and statistical estimates such as correlations and regression parameters. This course will help students develop the ability to use advanced quantitative methods to describe and analyze real world situations in social work settings and to make ethical inferences and decisions based on the statistical results. Students will learn to choose methods of statistical analysis to improve social policy decisions, service delivery, and intervention programs. Students will learn to understand and use appropriate language with their statistical analyses to clarify meaning and to explain the inferences (e.g. causal inferences) that can be appropriately made from specific data. 
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SW676

Mixed Methods

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Management & Leadership, Program Evaluation and Applied Research (Host)
Description:
In this course, students will be introduced to mixed methods research in the social and behavioral sciences. Mixed methods, here, include both qualitative and quantitative inquiry and can be situated in either positivistic and constructivist paradigms. The course will explore the kinds of research questions that are best answered with mixed methods, and this understanding will enable students to determine if mixed methods are advantageous, given their problem statement and research questions. In this course, less attention will be given to the single methods alone, but rather, how they integrate during each stage of the research process for a mixed methods study. The focus of the course is to consider how each method can inform each step of the research process to answer complex research questions. The course is best suited for students with comfort and familiarity using one or both of the single methods (qualitative or quantitative).
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SW677

Community Engaged Research with Indigenous Communities

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Community Change, Program Evaluation and Applied Research (Host)
Description:
Indigenous communities in the U.S. are unique in their status as sovereign nations. This unique status creates particular opportunities and limitations for doing research. The course will identify different levels of engagement with Indigeous communities for developing and implementing research within them. Students will consider the underlying values, ethics, commitments, mutual respect and relationships from which these inquiry efforts are built and extended.
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SW678

Program Evaluation and Applied Research

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
SW507
Description:
This course will provide content on the logic of inquiry and the necessity for an empirical approach to social work practice. The process of formulating appropriate research questions, research design, sampling, methods of data collection, procedures to assess and improve the validity and reliability of data and measures, and the ethics of scientific inquiry will be addressed. As consumers of research, students will learn to locate, assess and critique research studies so as to draw appropriate inference, particularly as it affects diverse populations. In addition, this course will provide students with an introduction to evaluation practice as a method of assessing social work practice, strengthening clients, communities, and service systems. Students will have an opportunity to plan an evaluation project, collect, analyze, report and interpret results. This course will help students understand social work practice through the critical examination of methods and approaches associated with decision-making, critical thinking, and ethical judgment.
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