B.S.W. Courses

S100 Understanding Diversity in a Pluralistic Society (3 cr.) This course covers theories and models that enhance understanding of our diverse society. It provides content about differences and similarities in the experiences, needs, and beliefs of selected minority groups and their relation to the majority group.

S141 Introduction to Social Work (3 cr.) Examination of characteristics, function, and requirements of social work as a profession. Emphasis on ideological perspectives of the profession and the nature of professional function and interaction.

S200 Introduction to Case Management (3 cr.) Students may use this course to fulfill requirements for the Certificate on Case Management, or as an elective. This course explores current models of case management. It addresses emerging case manager’s functions and roles within the contemporary network of human services.

S221 Human Behavior and the Social Environment I: Individual Functioning (3 cr.) P: S141 or consent of the instructor. Understanding of human behavior and the social environment as a basis for social work practice. Focuses on understanding the interaction between person and environment. Coverage of major theories of individual functioning, life cycle development, and the family context. Exploration of inequality, discrimination, and differential access to opportunities for diverse populations.

S231 Generalist Social Work Practice I: Theory and Skills (3 cr.) P or C: S221. Development of critical understanding of social work practice. It focuses on the beginning phase of the helping process and related skills. Topics include the nature of the helping relationship, NASW Code of Ethics, practice as it relates to oppressed groups, assessment, and practice evaluations.

S251 Emergence of Social Services (3 cr.)
P: S141 or consent of the instructor. Examination of the evolution of social services in response to human needs and social problems as related to economic, political, and social conditions.

S280 Introduction to Field Experience (1-3 cr.) P: Consent of the instructor. Introductory field experience for testing interest in a social work career.

S300 Computer Technology for Social Workers (3 cr.) Students may use this course to fulfill the computer course requirement or as an elective. Students receive a broad overview of computer software applications and Internet and World Wide Web, with an emphasis on their utilization in the social work profession. The course addresses some of the ethical and social implications of computer technology for the social work profession, highlighting considerations specific to populations at risk.

S300 Crisis Intervention (3 cr.) Students may use this course to fulfill requirements for the Certificate on Case Management, or as an elective. This course focuses on the increasing number of complex and painful personal, couple, and family crisis situations encountered by social workers in the course of service delivery.

S300 Special Topics in Human Services (3 cr.) This course explores selected topics relevant to contemporary human services.

S300 Selected Topics in Social Work (3 cr.)
P: Junior standing. Study of selected topics in social work.

S322 Human Behavior and Social Environment II: Small Group Functioning
(3 cr.) P: S221. Examination of the significance of the small group as context and means for social development of individuals and as agent of change in the social environment. Discussion of the individual as a member of a variety of groups, including the family. The course considers the formal organization as a composite of groups.

S323 Human Behavior and Social Environment III: Community and Organizational Functioning (3 cr.) P or
C: S322. Provision of a theoretical and conceptual foundation on community and formal organizations necessary to social work practice. Topics include conceptual approaches for understanding communities and organizations; community research; institutional discrimination; distribution of community resources; power and control as they relate to oppressed groups.

S332 Generalist Social Work Practice II: Theory and Skills (3 cr.) P: S231, S251. P or
C: S352. C: S381. Examination of middle and ending phases of the helping process and related skills. Topics include the helping relationship with various client system sizes, impact of agency policies and procedures upon practice and resolution of clients’ problems; practice evaluation.

S352 Social Service Delivery Systems (3 cr.)
P: S251. Examination of policies, structures, and programs of service delivery systems at local, regional, and national levels with emphasis on relations among such systems as formal organizations. Students acquire knowledge of the policy development process, which helps them establish beginning capacity for policy analysis and policy practice.

S371 Social Work Research (3 cr.) P:Junior standing according to the social work curriculum. Examination of basic research methods in social work and the relevance of research for social work practice and selection of knowledge for use in social work.

S381 Social Work Practicum I (3 cr.) P: S231, S251. P or C: S352. C: S332. Guided field practice experience (12 hours per week) for application of generalist practice concepts and principles and development of basic practice skills. Students are to practice in a human service organization for a minimum of 192 clock hours, including a bimonthly seminar.

S400 Practicum Seminar (1 cr.) P: All junior-level social work courses. C: S433, S472, S482. Discussion of practice issues as experienced in S482.

S433 Generalist Social Work Practice III: Theory and Skills (3 cr.) P: All junior-level social work courses. C: S472, S482. Development of the ability to work differentially with selected situations and varied system sizes. It identifies clients’ needs as the primary factor influencing the choice of intervention. Special consideration is given to working with groups and communities. The impact of emerging technologies on clients is explored.

S442 Practice-Policy Seminar in Fields of Practice (2 courses required) (3 cr.) P: S433, S472, S482. Addresses practice and policy issues in specific fields of practice such as child and family, aging, addictions, and developmental disabilities.

S472 Practice Evaluation (3 cr.) P: S371 and all other junior-level social work courses. C: S433, S482. Develop the knowledge and skills necessary to evaluate own practice with individuals, groups, communities, and organizations. The use of selected software is explored.

S482 Social Work Practicum II (5 cr.) P: All junior-level social work courses. C: S433, S472. Guided field practice experience (20 hours per week) for application of concepts and principles and development of skills for generalist practice with selected social systems. Students are to practice in a human service organization for a minimum of 320 clock hours.

S510 Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Individuals, Families, Groups (3 cr.) Focuses on individual development and functioning at all system levels with particular emphasis on the interplay of individual, family, and group system needs and resources over time. Special attention is given to issues of values and ethics and to the impact of inequality, discrimination, and differential access to opportunity within society on the development and functioning of the individual and family and group systems.

S511 Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Organizations, Communities, Societies (3 cr.) Presents theoretical frameworks for understanding organizations, communities, and society as both targets and instruments of change, focusing on the ways that organizational, community, and societal structures and processes enhance or inhibit the well-being of people. Course content includes selected social problems. Special attention is given to the impact of inequality, discrimination, and differential access to opportunity on the larger systems as well as on individuals and groups within them.

S520 Evaluation Processes in Social Work
(3 cr.) Introduces students to the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate their own practice and the effectiveness of social service programs within which they work.

S530 Social Policy and Services (3 cr.) Examines the political and legislative processes as these influence the development of social policy and services. Included are legislative and political processes, models of policy analysis, service delivery, and policy implementation. The effects of these on people are considered from global, political, economic, and social policy perspectives.

S540 Social Work Practice I: Theory and Skills (5 cr.) Introduces students to knowledge, values, and skills for generalist social work practice. The course prepares students to enhance the well-being of people and to ameliorate environmental conditions that affect them adversely. Includes laboratory experiences to provide opportunities for students to develop basic social work skills through experiential and simulation activities. Focus is on the core interactional skills of social work practice differentially applied at all system levels and with diverse populations.

S541 Social Work Practice II: Individuals, Families, Groups (3 cr.) Focuses on generalist social work practice with individuals, families, and groups.

S542 Social Work Practice II: Organizations, Communities, Societies (3 cr.) This course is concerned with helping communities and other social units to empower themselves and eradicate oppressive situations and practices through networking, political participation, leadership development, mobilization, utilization of resources, and other strategies and techniques.

S550 Social Work Practicum I (4 cr.) This course is an educationally directed practice experience (16-20 hours per week) in social work practice settings with approved field instructors; 320 clock hours.

S621 Social Work Research: Interpersonal
(3 cr.) Course provides content from various research methodologies, including qualitative and quantitative designs, to support advanced interpersonal social work practice.

S622 Social Work Research: Macro Practice
(3 cr.) This course helps the student acquire knowledge and competence in quantitative and qualitative evaluation, research, and needs/resource assessment in relation to macro practice.

S631 Social Policy and Services II (3 cr.) A group of courses covering topics or content including social problems, special populations, particular social service delivery areas, and social indicators that predict areas of future social policy transformations.

S643 Social Work Practice III: Individuals
(3 cr.) Focuses on theory and skills needed for advanced social work practice with and on behalf of individuals.

S644 Social Work Practice III: Families (3 cr.) Focuses on theory and skills needed for advanced social work practice with and on behalf of families.

S645 Social Work Practice III: Groups (3 cr.) Focuses on theory and skills needed for advanced social work practice with and on behalf of natural and formed groups.

S646 Community Organization and Social Action (3 cr.) Focuses on theory and skills needed by social workers for advanced community organization and social action.

S647 Program Planning and Development
(3 cr.) This is a skills course in which the student learns how to develop a program plan and all components and the strategy for its implementation.

S648 Enhancing Task-Oriented Skills in Macro Practice (3 cr.) This is a skills course in which the student learns and uses a framework for social advocacy and social justice as applied to "community" and "organization and social development."

S651 Social Work Practicum II: Interpersonal (4 cr.) Agency-based field experience (16 hours per week) for interpersonal practice concentration students; 256 clock hours.

S652 Social Work Practicum III: Interpersonal (5 cr.) Agency-based field experience (16-24 hours per week) for interpersonal practice concentration students; 386 clock hours.

S653 Social Work Practicum II: Macro Practice (4 cr.) Agency-based field experience (16 hours per week) for macro practice concentration students; 256 clock hours.

S654 Social Work Practicum III: Macro Practice (5 cr.) Agency-based field experience (16-24 hours per week) for macro practice concentration students; 386 clock hours, usually over two semesters.

S680 Special Social Work Practicum (1-9 cr.) An educationally directed field experience in addition to the required practicum courses.

S690 Independent Study (1-6 cr.) An opportunity to engage in a self-directed study of an area related to the school’s curriculum in which no formal course is available. (In order to enroll in S690, approval from an academic advisor and the director of the M.S.W. program is required.)

S700 Integrative Seminar (3 cr.) P: completion of specialization requirements or consent of instructor. This seminar is scheduled at the conclusion of the didactic component of the program and is intended to provide an opportunity for students to examine within the context of a social work perspective the relevant research and practice issues that have emerged as a consequence of having participated in an educational program that includes content taken both within and outside the School of Social Work.

S710 Philosophy of Science and Social Work (3 cr.) This seminar focuses on the converging forces that have shaped the development, dissemination, and utilization of the human behavior knowledge base of social work. It specifically examines the social and behavioral science theory and research that provide the foundation for social work practice across a variety of system levels.

S720 Philosophy of Science and Social Work (3 cr.) This course examines the nature and sources of social work knowledge and considers a range of epistemological issues involved in the selection, development, evaluation, and use of knowledge for social work.

S726 Advanced Social Work Research Methods, Qualitative Research (3 cr.) This course provides an opportunity for students to initiate a research project using qualitative research methods. Topics covered will include developing the research question, exploring the literature, writing an interview guide, interviewing, analyzing data, computer analysis, writing reports, subjectivity and bias, ethics, role of theory, trustworthiness, and audits.

S727 Advanced Social Work Research Methods, Quantitative Research (3 cr.) This course on quantitative research explores the similarities and differences in the various research methods, and provides an opportunity to formulate and test a research question. Students will formulate and refine a research question based on interest and a thorough review of the literature. They will learn how to choose an appropriate design for answering testable problems, questions, or hypotheses. The role of theory, fundamentals of sampling, the role of informants, and steps of preparatory work will be explored. Students will generate, test, and refine interview questions or instruments appropriate to their chosen design. They will identify potential funding opportunities and current research through online data searches. Computer demonstrations and experiential computer exercises will expose students to research software and available databases. At the conclusion of the semester, students will have developed a research proposal and field tested their data collection instruments.

S725 Social Work Research Internship (6 cr.) P: S720, S721, Foundation statistics course, and at least one of the following: S710, S730, or S740. This supervised field internship provides practical experience in conducting research relevant to social work practice. Students participate in a new or ongoing faculty- supervised research project involving the design and implementation of a study, including the collection and analysis of data and the development of appropriate research reports. Internship may be registered for up to three times.

S730 Proseminar on Social Work Policy Analogies (3 cr.) This seminar focuses on the development and application of analytical tools necessary to critically examine and evaluate social policy theory and research germane to social work, including the values and ideologies that undergird social problem construction, social policy creation, and social program design. Specific attention is devoted to the application of this schemata for diverse populations.

S740 Interpersonal Social Work Practice: Theory and Research (3 cr.) This seminar provides an in-depth orientation to the place
of research in social work. It focuses on epistemological, methodological, practical,
and ethical issues that affect the way in which research relevant to the profession of social work is conducted and used.

S790 Special Topics in Social Work Practice, Theory, and Research (Var: 1-3 cr.) P: Approval by appropriate instructor. This course provides students with an opportunity to engage in focused study of a substantive area of social work practice directly related to the student‘s identified area of theoretical and research interest. It is completed with the approval and under the guidance of a member of the Ph.D. faculty.