Social Work

Undergraduates in the School of Social Work receive a liberal arts education in the social and behavioral sciences and their application to human problems that prepares them to be informed citizens involved in human services or social welfare problems and policies. Students take courses in a variety of social sciences to enable them to view social welfare in its broad social, economic, and political contexts.


SOCW 512. International Social Work. 3 hours.
Introduction to the field of international social work; emphasis on social development theory and practice strategies to attack poverty and improve human well-being globally and locally. Prerequisite(s): Credit or concurrent registration in SOCW 411 and SOCW 420; or consent of the instructor.
SOCW 517. Practice with Family Violence, Neglect, and Abuse. 3 hours. Ecological approach to family violence: physical, psychological and sexual abuse of children, women and elders at practice and policy levels; urban vulnerable population. Course Information: Prerequisite(s): SOCW 430; or consent of the instructor.

SOCW 519. Practice III: Organization and Community Practice. 3 hours.
Provide students with the tools needed in order to build effective, culturally-relevant, community based organizations to combat structural violence, promote social justice, and improve the quality of and access to the social determinants of health.

SOCW 568. Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice in Integrated Healthcare. 3 hours.
Prepares students with an understanding of social work's role in health care settings (e.g. primary care, specialty clinics, hospitals) and the relationship between psychosocial health, illness and medical care. Prerequisite(s): Specialization year standing or consent of instructor.

SOCW 569. Independent Study in Research. 1-3 hours.
Independent study in research methodology or areas not covered by existing course offerings. Course Information: May be repeated to a maximum of 6 hours. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor and approval of the college.

SOCW 570. Field Instruction I. 5 hours.
Students are assigned to social agencies where, under the supervision of an agency field instructor, selected micro and macro system cases are carried for social work services. Course Information: Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

SOCW 571. Field Instruction II. 5 hours.
Students are assigned to social agencies where, under the supervision of an agency field instructor, they carry selected cases or groups for social work services. Course Information: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): SOCW 570 and consent of the instructor.

SOCW 572. Field Instruction III. 8 hours.
Students are assigned to social agencies where, under the supervision of an agency field instructor, selected micro and macro system cases are carried for social work services. Course Information: Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): SOCW 571 and consent of the instructor.

SOCW 573. Field Instruction IV. 8 hours.
Students are assigned to social agencies where, under the supervision of an agency field instructor, selected micro and macro system cases are carried for social work services. Course Information: Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): SOCW 572 and consent of the instructor.

SOCW 574. Special Studies in Field Instruction I. 2-4 hours.
Practicum experiences in approved social agencies/organizations where students carry selected cases applying knowledge to skill applications under the supervision of an agency field instructor. Course Information: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

SOCW 575. Special Studies in Field Instruction II. 2-4 hours.
Practicum experiences in approved social agencies/organizations where students carry selected cases applying knowledge to skill applications under the supervision of an agency field instructor. Course Information: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor.

SOCW 578. Qualitative Methods in Social Work Research. 3 hours.
Theoretical foundations and methods for qualitative research in social work; consideration of issues of power, privilege, and oppression and their significance in research approaches and implementation. Course Information: Extensive computer use required. MSW students may enroll in this course and expect to have some differences in workload and assignments compared to PhD students enrolled. Prerequisite(s): Consent of the instructor. In addition, students need consent of academic advisor.

SOCW 582. Practice III: Practice with Children and Families. 3 hours.
Ecological and strengths-based practice with urban children and families using trauma-informed, culturally-grounded, family-centered framework; special focus on child welfare. Analysis of social welfare policies with particular attention to issues of social and economic justice; conceptual models for analysis; application of models to selected problems. Course Information: Prerequisite(s): Admission to the PhD in Social Work program or consent of the instructor.

SOCW 593. Social Statistics and Data Analysis. 3 hours.
Selected statistical and analytical methods as applied to social issues. Use of computerized tools, sampling, hypothesis testing, descriptive and inferential procedure, introduction to multivariate analysis. Course Information: Extensive computer use required. Prerequisite(s): Admission to Ph.D. in Social Work program or consent of the instructor.

SOCW 594. Dissertation Proseminar in Social Work. 3 hours.
Preparation in development of dissertation focus and planning of dissertation research. Readings are assigned and discussed in class. Emphasis on ideas for dissertation topic, its formulation, operationalization, and research design. Course Information: Prerequisite(s): SOCW 592 and SOCW 593.

SOCW 595. Seminar in Social Work Education. 3 hours.
Preparation for roles as social work educators. Historical development of social work education with special emphasis on relation between curriculum design and the accreditation process. Pedagogical issues such as selecting educational objectives, teaching methods, and evaluation of student performance. Students must participate in a teaching laboratory.