Social Work (B.A.)
The mission of the undergraduate social work program at Ƶ is to prepare students with the knowledge, values, and skills needed to address and prevent the conditions that limit human rights and respect diversity. The undergraduate social work program is committed to fostering critical thinkers who identify as competent generalist practitioners with the goal of promoting social justice while valuing human well-being and scientific inquiry. We prepare our students to use a person-in-environment framework and global perspectives while serving diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Furthermore, the undergraduate social work curriculum, delivered in the context of a liberal arts foundation, prepares students to practice using a structure that includes social and economic justice needed to enhance the quality of life for all persons, local and globally, with the hope of eliminating poverty. The values of the undergraduate social work program include: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the individual, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence.
Provisional Admission to the social work program may be made by contacting the program director. Provisional admission requires:
- enrollment in SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work,
- a minimum grade point average of 2.50 overall, and
- completion of a provisional admission application.
Declaration of a social work major and provisional admission to the program does not guarantee acceptance into Full Admission status. Only those accepted for Full Admission status may continue on in the program.
Full Admission status requires:
- Declaration of social work as their major
- An earned 2.50 (minimum) GPA
- Successful completion of SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work and SOCWK 2270 Human Behavior in the Social Environment I and be concurrently enrolled in or completed SOCWK 2280 Human Behavior in the Social Environment II earning a C+ or better to pass. Students must have also completed or be concurrently enrolled in SOCWK 3080 Micro Practice and earn a B- or better to pass.
- Completion of the Full Admission application packet
- An interview (conducted in fall and spring semesters) with the Social Work Executive Council
- A determination by the Social Work Executive Council of full admittance, admittance on probation, or admittance denied
| Required SOCWK Courses | 30 hours |
|---|---|
| SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work* | 3 hours |
| SOCWK 2200 Social Welfare Policy, Services, and Delivery Systems* | 3 hours |
| SOCWK 2270 Human Behavior and the Social Environment I* | 3 hours |
| SOCWK 2280 Human Behavior and the Social Environment II* | 3 hours |
| SOCWK 3080 Micro Practice** | 3 hours |
| SOCWK 3090 Group Practice** | 3 hours |
| SOCWK 3100 Macro Practice** | 3 hours |
| SOCWK 4650 Research Informed Practice** | 3 hours |
| Social Work Electives* | 6 hours |
| Statistics | 3-4 hours |
|---|---|
Select one of the following Statistics courses: SOC 2910 Social Statistics | 3-4 hours |
| Capstone | 9 hours |
|---|---|
| SOCWK 4970 Field Practicum** | 9 hours |
*Grade of C+ or better required.
**Grade of B- or better required.
A Pre-Field Placement Consultation (which takes place with the Field Director) is required before students may enroll in SOCWK 4970 Field Practicum. Prerequisites for the Pre-Field Placement Consultation are:
- SOCWK 3080 Micro Practice completed with a grade of "B-" or better
- SOCWK 3090 Group Practice or SOCWK 3100 Macro Practice completed with a grade of “B-” or better.
- a minimum 2.67 overall grade point average
The social work program at Ƶ complies with the standards of and is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (C.S.W.E.).
Council on Social Work Education
1725 Duke Street, Suite 500
Alexandria, VA 22314-3457
info [at] cswe.org (info[at]cswe[dot]org)
An introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics. Topics include gathering, organizing, interpreting, and presenting data with emphasis on hypothesis testing as a method for decision making in the fields of business and economics. Procedures include z-tests, t-tests, ANOVAs, correlation, and simple regression.
Cross listed with ECON-2100.
Prerequisite(s): Demonstrated proficiency in high school algebra or permission of the instructor.
(Normally offered each semester.)
An introduction to statistics concepts with an emphasis on applications. Topics include descriptive statistics, discrete and continuous probability distributions, the central limit theorem, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and linear regression.
(Normally offered every semester.)
An introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics as decision-making guides in psychology and related fields. Topics include organization, analysis, presentation, and interpretation of data with emphasis on the hypothesis testing model of inference. Specific procedures include z-tests, t-tests, analysis of variance, and correlation. A laboratory section is required for computational experience.
Prerequisite(s): PSYCH 1010/PSYCH 1010FYW Introduction to Psychological Science and sophomore standing.
Recommended: College level mathematics course.
(Normally offered each semester.)
In this course students are introduced to descriptive and inferential statistics and their applications to sociological research. Statistical procedures include central tendency measures, variability, t-test, one-way ANOVA, correlation, regression, and chi square. The course also includes specific training in using SPSS for analysis.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 1110 Introduction to Sociology.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)
Survey of the field of professional social work, including the roles, philosophy, values, skills, and knowledge base needed. Students will explore the past, present, and future of the social work profession through an anti-oppressive lens. Areas of practice and career expectations are explored. Students will have the opportunity to participate in volunteer/shadowing activities within the realm of social work.
(Normally offered each fall and spring)
This course studies the historical development of social welfare policies, services, and institutions and addresses contemporary policy and service delivery. Students will learn how to analyze and advocate for policy change at the local, state, and federal levels using a rights-based approach. The social, political, and value systems that create policies are studied, including an exploration of the impact of systemic oppression on policy development and implementation. International perspectives on social policy are discussed for comparative purposes. Primary areas of focus are public welfare, aging, and mental health. Policy implementation and change are discussed.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)
A course to synthesize and examine the body of knowledge concerning how the individual, group, family, and community systems interrelate with each other and the larger social context from the lifespan stages of birth through adolescence. Content will be drawn from the biological, psychological, sociological, eco-political, and cultural-environmental systems. Students will examine how issues of racial identity and intersectionality affect one's experience of power, privilege, and oppression, and how these issues have impacted the profession of social work more broadly. The importance of professional ethics in the assessment process is also examined.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)
A course to synthesize and examine the body of knowledge concerning how the individual, group, family, and community systems interrelate with each other and the larger social context from the lifespan stages of early adulthood through aging and death. Content will be drawn from the biological, psychological, sociological, eco-political, and cultural environmental systems. Students will examine how intersectionality affect one's experience of power, privilege, and oppression, and how these issues have impacted the profession of social work more broadly. The importance of professional ethics in the assessment process is also examined.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)
Students will explore and apply theories of human behavior and the social environment, the strengths perspective, and person-in environment perspective when working with individuals and families. Role plays, as a form of experiential learning, will be used to help students practice basic attending skills, empathic responses, and apply the generalist intervention model when working with individuals and families from diverse backgrounds. Students will learn how to practice in alignment with the social work professional values and ethics. In addition to role plays, students will observe, discuss, and provide feedback to each other about the application of micro-practice skills as an integral aspect of learning throughout the course. Finally, students will examine how a person's lived experiences is often an intersection of multiple factors. Self-reflection and evaluation of the student' own life experiences and their impact on their work with individuals and families will facilitate this understanding
Prerequisite(s): SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work and declared Social Work major.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)
Students will identify the theoretical underpinnings as well as practical applications of group work as a vehicle for social work. Students will also explore how and why groups function and develop skills and techniques of membership and leadership. Students will role-play group facilitation to practice engagement, assessment, planning, intervention, and termination with and on behalf of diverse individuals. Students will explore how to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to improve service provision. Prerequisites: Full admission to the social work program, or permission of the social work program director.
Prerequisite(s): SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work and full admission to the social work program, or permission of the social work program director. (Normally offered each spring semester.)
Students will explore the three primary areas of macro social work practice: policy, organization, and community practice and the application of the Generalist Intervention Model in these arenas. Major emphasis upon community and organization assessment, program planning, and evaluation, through a human rights lens. This practice-oriented course will provide students an opportunity to collaborate in the assessment of a community and to create a project or program to address an identified need, while applying social work theories, concepts and professional values. Prerequisites: Full admission to the social work program, or permission of the social work program director.
Prerequisite(s): SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work and SOCWK 2200 Social Welfare Policy, Services, and Delivery Systems and full admission to social work program, or permission of the social work program director.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)
Students will be introduced research methods used in generalist social work practice. Course content emphasizes critiquing research methodology, including data collection, sampling and analysis. Students will engage in a single-subject design study where they will identify and implement an intervention and evaluate its outcomes for practice effectiveness. Students will explore ethical and anti-racist research practices and the application of evidence-based practice to improve policy and social service delivery. Prerequisites: Full admission to the social work program, or permission of the social work program director and a statistics course.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing, SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work, full admission to social work program, and one of the following Statistics courses: SOC 2910 Social Statistics or PSYCH 2100 Psychological Statistics or ECON-2100/ BUSAD 2100 Business and Economic Statistics or MATH 1300 Statistics.
(Normally offered fall semester.)
Supervised learning experiences in selected social work agencies. The experience introduces a variety of social work practice roles and enables the student to apply social work knowledge, skills, and values in a real practice situation. May be taken as block placement for 9 credit hours or as a concurrent placement over two semesters for a total of 9 credit hours.
Prerequisite(s): SOCWK 3080 Micro Practice, SOCWK 3090 Group Practice, SOCWK 3100 Macro Practice, and SOCWK 4650 Research Informed Practice with grades of "B-" or better, and approved Pre-Field Placement Consultation.
Corequisite(s): SOCWK 4650 Research Informed Practice
(Normally offered fall, spring and summer semesters)