Social Welfare Minor

An introduction to social work as a profession including the history of the profession, professional behaviors, values and Codes of Ethics, fields of practice, roles and tasks, and core theories and social work skills required for generalist social work practice. Students will develop skills in critical thinking, professional communication and behaviors, demonstrate self-awareness as they prepare to work in a diverse society, and apply values, ethics, and theories through group-based projects. Students are provided with information about the BSSW curriculum.

Prerequisites: none

The objective of this course is to explore social welfare as a social institution. Consideration will be given to formal and informal efforts to meet common social needs of diverse populations. This course emphasizes social challenges and impact of oppression facing American society and the program and policy prescriptions designed to minimize or eliminate these problems.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-09

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Applies theoretical frameworks for assessing and organizing knowledge of human behavior and the social environment in conjunction with social systems, to understand individual, family, group, organizational, and community systems. Attention is paid to human diversity, discrimination, and oppression.

Prerequisites: SOWK 212 AND SOWK 215 OR SOWK 215W

Exploration of the interrelatedness of social services, social policy formulation and analysis, and generalist social work practice. Presentation of contemporary social issues and social welfare policies, the introduction of a framework for policy analysis, and an overview of policy, practice, advocacy and action skills. Critical analysis of issues and policy from a social work perspective, drawing from the values and ethics of the profession, with examination of how issues differentially impact groups within our diverse society.

Prerequisites: SOWK 212, SOWK 310. Select one course from SOWK 215 or SOWK 215W.

This course exposes students to some of the major realities of life among the poor and socially deprived in all parts of the world, primarily developing countries. Students will confront conditions that impede development and keep people locked into poverty and despair, and will discuss how a person who sees her/himself as a global citizen can act in tangible ways to make that citizenship more meaningful.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-08

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course provides an overview of social services that support the well-being of children and families in a diverse society. Students, regardless of disciplinary affiliation, identify personal and professional values, develop a working knowledge of the theories that inform practice with children and families, and understand the roles and legal responsibilities of child welfare workers and professionals from multiple disciplines in the delivery of child welfare services.

Prerequisites: none

Service delivery issues and social work practice with older persons, their families and communities.

Prerequisites: none

This course is designed to provide upper level (junior and senior) undergraduate social work students with a comprehensive introduction to the epidemiology (scientific study of disease), etiology (cause of disease), history, policy, and treatment modalities of substance abuse from a person-in-environment and systems theory social work perspective.

Prerequisites: none

Service delivery issues and skills for working in hospitals, nursing homes, and community programs.

Prerequisites: none

Course provides an overview of intimate partner violence from a theoretical and evidence-based, social work perspective. Students learn about intervention strategies from direct practice to advocacy and policy change. Multiple systems are explored. The intersection of gender, class, sexual orientation, age, and culture with intimate partner violence is covered.

Prerequisites: none

Service delivery issues, knowledge and skills for providing social services within school settings.

Prerequisites: none

Course focuses on service delivery issues and skills, using a strengths-based, family systems, and empowerment approach for working with individuals with developmental and other disabilities and their families across the life span. Students hoping to do a practicum in a disability services setting should complete this course prior to beginning the practicum.

Prerequisites: none