Course Descriptions

Foundation Courses

SWK 500 Human Behavior and the Social Environment
This course provides the knowledge basic to an understanding of human growth through the life cycle. It explores the interplay of sociocultural, biological, spiritual, and psychological factors that influence the growth of individuals and families in contemporary world society. Basic knowledge of biological systems is required.

SWK 501 History of Social Welfare Policy
This course analyzes the history of social welfare policy in the United States and its impact on current social systems and social policy. It examines the major assumptions, values, ideas, and events that contribute to the rise of the welfare state and the profession of social work. Social welfare policies of other countries are also explored.

SWK 504 Research Methods 1
This course provides an introduction to social science research methods and ethics, including practice and program evaluation. The course presents research designs, both quantitative and qualitative approaches, and various ways to organize, compare, and interpret findings. Students will be introduced to the use of computers in data analysis. Basic knowledge of statistics is required.

SWK 505 Practice Methods and Skills 1: Individuals
This course introduces students to social work practice. In sequence with SWK 506, it prepares students to apply the generalist perspective for practice with systems of all sizes. Students begin by learning about social work with individuals, with a dual focus on the person in the environment. In this context, they learn about direct services as well as social change.

SWK 506 Practice Methods and Skills 2: Groups
This course prepares students for generalist social work practice with larger client systems. The strengths perspective is emphasized, and students learn to complete assessments and formulate intervention strategies in partnership with groups, organizations, and communities.

SWK 509 Assessment and Diagnosis in Mental Health Practice
This is a foundation Human Behavior and the Social Environment course which explores psychopathology and mental disorders from a developmental and strengths perspective. Emphasis is placed on understanding biopsychosocial influences on the incidence, course, and treatment of the most commonly presented mental disorders and the differential effect of these factors on diverse populations at risk.

SWK 510 Advanced Practice Methods
This course is for advanced standing students only and is designed to provide a transition from their BSW program to advanced placement in the MSW program. It provides knowledge and skill building in the latest approaches to social work practice, contemporary theories, and current research on effectiveness. The program’s approach to graduate level social work practice with individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities will be covered, with opportunities to build on students’ BSW background and post-graduate experience.

SWK 516 Community Development for Social Change
This course applies the ecological premise that what is personal is also political. The course focuses on knowledge and skills necessary to practice at the community level of social work practice. Students will analyze social organizations, policies, and community development.

SWK 530 AND SWK 535 Integrative Field Seminar 1 and 2 (.5 credit each)
The integrative field seminars are courses where field practice and classroom theory meet. The goal is to strengthen the connections between social work theory and practice. Students are expected to spend 420 hours in a fieldwork practicum during enrollment in these two courses and to be enrolled in the corresponding practice methods courses.

SWK 531 Methods Skills Lab (.5 credit)
This half-credit course places an emphasis on active learning and the application of content presented in SWK 505. The skills lab is an integral part of the required graduate school core curriculum. All students in field placements must participate in the skills lab and Integrative Field Seminar 1.

SWK 536 Human Behavior and the Macro Social Environment (.5 credit)
This course builds on HBSE, moving from the individual life span focus to emphasizing the impact of the environment in all relationships, stressing the link between social issues and individual problems plus defining the common human condition.

Multicultural Clinical Practice Concentration Courses

SWK 610, 611, and 612 Integrative Field Seminar 3, 4, and 5: MCCP (.5 credit each)
The field seminars are designed to address issues and experiences from the student’s field practicum through rigorous application of different theoretical concepts and social work principles using a culturally sensitive approach grounded in a clear ethical foundation. The goal is to strengthen the students’ sophistication in understanding the interconnections between culturally appropriate theory and practice skills related to a specific client system, and the students’ inherent and inescapable contribution based on the students’ use of self. Secondly, the field seminars are the courses where students reflect on the evolution of their practice and document their progress. All students in field placements must participate in the appropriate concurrent field seminar.

SWK 615 and 616 Diversity and Inequality 1 and 2: MCCP (.5 credit each)
These courses are based on a dual focus of valuing diversity and understanding social justice. This two-course sequence studies the history, demographics, and cultures of various disenfranchised groups as well as the dominant culture. It examines the impact of inequality on people of all backgrounds. In the second trimester, students will participate in dialogue group: a stage-based, cofacilitated, face-to-face group that focuses on dialogue skills within the context of one’s race, ethnicity, age, religion, disability, country of origin, gender identity and sexual orientation. The two-sequence course is based on several assumptions: social inequality is an overarching phenomenon related to
diversity, with individual manifestations within different social identity categories; social injustice occurs and is present at individual, institutional, and societal/structural levels; and, professional social work ethics and values demand cultural competence and culturally sensitive practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

SWK 628 MCCP with Individuals
MCCP with Individuals is a required methods course in the MCCP concentration. The course prepares social work clinicians who are competent to assess, intervene and monitor clinical interventions that are culturally sensitive and consistent with social work values and ethics. Although focused on individual intervention, clients are viewed within the context of their families and social context. The therapeutic process and treatment strategies are examined, incorporating content from psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and post-modern models. These content area are compared from a multicultural perspective in terms of their theoretical assumptions, intervention methods, and
empirical evidence regarding treatment outcomes. Application of the models is placed within the problem-solving model and guided by an ecosystems, strengths, and empowerment perspective. Particular attention is given to the development of self-reflective practitioners.

SWK 629 MCCP with Families
MCCP with Families is a required methods course that focuses on the family as a unit of assessment and intervention in clinical social work practice. This course examines theory, knowledge and skills for clinical practice with families within a multicultural context. Students apply major family therapy models to assessing and intervening with families experiencing problems. The models are compared from a multicultural perspective in terms of their theoretical assumptions, intervention methods, and empirical evidence regarding treatment outcomes. Application of the models is placed within the problem-solving model and guided by ecosystems, strengths and empowerment perspectives. The course emphasizes family work that is appropriate to individual and family developmental stages and to diverse family types. Attention is given to family-centered practice in different social work fields of
practice and settings and to the development of self-awareness of the practitioner.

SWK 630 MCCP Policy Practice
In this course, MCCP students learn how organizational and social policies affect the delivery of clinical social work services in multicultural contexts. Students build upon the core policy practice competencies gained in their MSW foundation courses. Clinical social work practice is distinguished from other professional clinical practice by this use of the person-in-environment perspective. The multicultural lens sharpens focus on both the strengths that come with diversity and the discrimination and oppression, such as racism, that policies can uphold or undo.

SWK 631 MCCP with Groups (.5 credit)
This course prepares students for advanced multicultural group work within a clinical practice. It builds on the foundational curriculum with particular attention to clinical practice skills. Students will focus on the process of individual empowerment and change in the context of clinical group processes. Applied theories of human development, change, and resilience are integrated with theories of group processes, group leadership, and group communication as a critical knowledge base for planning, intervention, and leadership. Students will develop an understanding of phases of group practice, intervention skills, and ethical practices applied in a groupwork environment. In this course, the reflexive use of self and the cautious use of evidence based practice serve as the foundation for culturally responsive group work. Students will consider how their social identity and position
influences similar and mixed social identity groups and their processes.

SWK 634 MCCP Supervision (.5 credit)
Building upon the research to date on social work supervision, this course presents the functions of supervision (administrative, educational, supportive) as they interrelate in achieving the primary purpose of clinical supervision: assuring that client services prevent difficulties in client functioning and restore or enhance the biopsycohosocial and spiritual functioning of individuals, families and groups served by supervisees. Students hone skills necessary for each of the stages of the supervisory process (planning, beginning, work, and ending), and they build a repertoire of supervisory questions that have been associated in research with fostering success in meeting clients’ goals. Students learn to differentiate supervision with its dimensions of hierarchical power, responsibility, liability, and authority from peer consultation. They gain competencies in both individual and group supervision, as well as  competencies related to consultation with a multicultural lens to advance the application of theories and models of clinical social work practice.

SWK 635 and 636 MCCP Evaluation 1 and 2 (.5 credit each)
The values and skills of advanced clinical practice combined with research methods guide the creation of culturally appropriate approaches to monitoring and evaluating clinical practice. Multicultural evaluation is built on the values of social work, “dignity, self-determination, equity, empowerment, and social justice” (Gutierrez, 2004, p. 127). Monitoring and evaluating clinical practice requires the integration of evidence-based practice knowledge,  multicultural clinical skills and multiepistemological research skills. This approach to evaluation critically applies the fundamental tenants of social science research, including both modern and post-modern methods.

SWK 639 MCCP Elective (.5 credit)
Courses in MCCP electives are opportunities for students to practice with a focus on a particular field or aspect of social work practice. Examples include Ethics, Substance Abuse and Social Work, and Trauma Therapy and Treatment.

Program Development, Policy, and Administration Concentration Courses

SWK 651 AND 652 Integrative Field Seminar 3 and 4: PDPA (.5 credit each)
The goal of these two courses is to strengthen the connections between theory and practice. All students in field placements must participate in the appropriate concurrent field seminar. As part of this integrative function, the seminar also serves as a means for making connections among course components and the expansion of classroom content—particularly as relating to dynamics of groups, communities, and organizations; human behavior; policy analysis; and research.

SWK 657 AND 658 Diversity and Inequality 1 and 2: PDPA (.5 credit each)
These courses explore diversity and social inequality related to race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexual orientation, age, and disability with application to the social service setting. Students focus on the structural and institutional processes through which social inequality is created and perpetuated. Institutional remedies for inequality are studied, such as affirmative action and equal opportunity policy, culturally competent supervision, administration, program development, and advocacy.

SWK 660 Research 2: Program Evaluation
Building on the basic research skills developed in Research 1, this course offers a program-oriented exploration of the range of research methods used in social work. There will be a particular focus on evaluative research, a critique of the role of research in assessing efficiency and effectiveness in social service delivery, and identification with the responsibility of social workers “to expand the knowledge base” of social work. The course emphasizes research as a tool at all levels of social work and will be concerned with strengthening the linkages between research, theory, and program evaluation.

SWK 667 Organizations/Social Administrative Practice 1
This course examines organizational theory and structure; processes of development, research, and evaluation; and social work values and ethics in the workplace. The need to work effectively within an organizational context means that social work practitioners must acquire a level of expertise in organization theory, dynamics, structure, and behavior, as well as an understanding of how organizations provide practice opportunities and constraints. This course provides opportunities for students to build the necessary skills to become effective service providers or change agents in the context of their work in social service organizations.

SWK 668 Organizations/Social Administrative Practice 2
This course builds on the theoretical knowledge base of SWK 667 and is intended to provide students with opportunities to apply those critical skills used in supervision and management. These skills are intended as a base for the beginning administrator. This course expects the student to develop specific skills in budgeting and personnel/human resource functions (e.g., recruitment, selection, hiring, training, and evaluation). Prerequisite: SWK 667

SWK 669 Organizations/Social Administrative Practice 3
This course explores strategies and methods for working effectively with other service agencies, legislative and policy-making bodies, regulatory agencies, and advocacy groups. Prerequisite: SWK 668

SWK 675 Planning and Policy Practice 1
This course examines theoretical and conceptual ideas concerning human services, their rationale in a market economy, and their relationship to public policy. Students will gain knowledge and build skills in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of services at various levels of system design, taking into account organizational, financial, and technological dimensions within an analytical framework of defined need and demand for service.

SWK 676 Planning and Policy Practice 2
This course examines theories, concepts, and analytical frameworks for analyzing policy. It addresses the role of economics, demographics, politics, values, and other relevant factors on policy design and implementation. The course emphasizes the analysis of selected existing or proposed policies in such areas as social insurance (e.g., Social Security), welfare reform, health care, long-term care, and tax policy including tax expenditures. Prerequisite: SWK 675

Both Concentrations

SWK 699 General Elective
Students in both concentrations complete at least one general elective course for graduation. The following are examples of elective offerings that are rotated each year:
• Parent and Professional Planning
• Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Aging
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Social Work Clinical Practice
• Spirituality and Social Work Practice
• Empowerment of Services Users in Mental Health

We also offer short-term electives abroad:
Exploring Human Services in International Settings (examples include Mexico, Slovenia, Namibia, South Africa, India, China, and Hong Kong)

SWK 698 Independent Study
Students may propose to complete an independent study project. Such directed study projects provide the opportunity for a student to explore a particular area of social work. A faculty sponsor must be secured and a proposal submitted to the Social Work Department. On rare occasions, an independent study may be used to satisfy the general elective requirement. Prior approval is required.  Courses that are part of the required curriculum may not be taken as independent study.