Social Work (BSSW)

Courses will focus on some characteristic ways in which literature addresses and explores the ethical dimensions of human society and the relationships between works and their cultural contexts. Emphasizes critical thinking, reading and writing. May be repeated as topics change.

Prerequisites: ENG 101 

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-09

Traditional syllogistic logic and an introduction to the elements of modern symbolic logic.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-02, GE-04

Discussion of theories of value and obligation.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-09

Ethical perspectives relevant to issues such as euthanasia, genetic engineering, organ transplant, patients' rights, abortion, etc.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-09

Consideration of the basic philosophical approaches to the idea of justice and how this idea relates to other fundamental ideas in political philosophy, ethics, and law.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-09

Introductory course designed for students not majoring in science. Focuses on basic biological principles with special emphasis on the human species. Includes scientific problem solving, biodiversity, human and social aspects of biology, ecology, cellular processes and organ function, human reproduction, pre-natal development, and heredity. Lecture, laboratory, and small group discussions.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-03, GE-08

An introduction to biological topics of special interest to women with emphasis on anatomic and physiologic changes over the course of a woman's lifetime. Designed for students not majoring in science. Presents fundamental biologic concepts within this specialized context and provides opportunity to collect, evaluate, and analyze data.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-03

This introduction to cultural anthropology covers cultural diversity and organization by examining several examples in detail. Both anthropological methodology and theory will be important parts of this course.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-08

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Language provides not only communication but identification of oneself and one's group. Humans are extremely sensitive to language, dialect, jargon, and slang. An understanding of language and its relationship to culture is basic to any understanding of human beings.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-08

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Language is powerful. What we say, how we say it, where we say it, and to whom we say it matters. This course explores the connection between power, language, performance, and identity. The relationships between language, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class are explored by investigating historical and present day sources of language practices and events.

Prerequisites: none

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Courses will explore literary representations of, and literary contributions made by, under-represented peoples. Students will develop critical thinking, reading, and writing skills, and increased appreciation of the diversity of human experience. Potential topics include: Multi-Ethnic Literature, Literature and Disability. May be repeated as topics change.

Prerequisites: ENG 101 

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

A study of American racial/ethnic minorities, especially the histories of Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. Their roles and contributions to American society will be emphasized.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course introduces students to multicultural and ethnic knowledge and values in and outside the United States. Students are exposed to such issues as race, culture, ethnicity, dominance, immigration, stereotypes, discrimination, and intergroup relations through interdisciplinary approaches-anthropological, economic, historical, political, psychological and/or sociological.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Students will participate in field trips, activities, and guest discussions that will enable them to interact with people ethnically (race, religion, lifestyle, etc.) different from the students, to understand their perspectives and to appreciate their unique experiences and/or contributions to the U.S. pluralistic society. Students are expected to learn actively in and outside the classroom by experiencing events or people from diverse cultural groups.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Gold

Cultural aspects of interactions between people and their environment focusing on spatial patterns of population, agriculture, politics, language, religion, industrialization, and urbanization. Emphasis is placed on the processes that create the cultural landscape and on management of land and natural resources.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-08

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Cultural and artistic traditions of groups that have experienced discrimination or exclusion in U.S. society and how these groups express themselves through the visual, literary and performing arts and other forms. May be repeated when topic changes.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Study of interpersonal skills, motivation, and group skills. Applied to educational settings. Requires 18 hours clinical service learning experience (out of class). Meets State of Minnesota human relations requirement for teacher licensure.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-07, GE-11

Diverse Cultures: Gold

To what extent do the differences among races and between genders represent biological differences, and to what extent are they constructed by society? Is racism best conceptualized as an additional burden to sexism or as one different in kind?

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-07

Discussion of the ways that a culture both creates human community and shapes self-identity. Exploration of similarities and differences between and interdependence among cultural traditions, and of vocabularies for assessing traditions.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-08

Class introduces students to history of the discipline and surveys both historic and contemporary topics of importance to American Indian Studies including gender roles, education, sovereignty, treaties, and oral traditions.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Oral traditions are at the base of all American Indian cultures. This class will provide students with the necessary tools for a better understanding of traditional knowledge and its importance within diverse traditional cultures.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course will provide overview of Minnesota Indian nations and their relations to each other and the effects of European incursion. Subsequent relations will focus on the US-Dakota war and its aftermath.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Being American Indian and being woman creates a unique situation for women who have been directly influenced by the differences of gender roles from two intersecting cultures. This course will focus on how those differences have affected American Indian Women.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Classification and management of speech, language, and hearing disorders and how their effects can marginalize a population.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course will explore the historical, social, political, and cultural experience of African Americans. It will also examine the contributions of African Americans to the growth and development of the United States.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Introduction to the history and cultures of the major Asian American ethnic groups with a comparative approach to their similarities and differences.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

A survey of the history and present status of Hispanics/Latinos in the United States from 1848. Emphasis will be on culture, history, and socio-political patterns.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course familiarizes students with the field of Gender and Women's Studies. It focuses on major questions and approaches to understanding gender alongside race, class, and sexuality, among other identity categories.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course familiarizes students with the field of Gender and Women's Studies. It focuses on major questions and approaches to understanding gender alongside race, class, and sexuality, among other identity categories.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course will examine women's lives and activism, past and present, throughout the world. We will explore and evaluate individual and collective efforts to achieve social justice in the context of interlocking systems of oppression. Fall, Spring, Summer

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-08, GE-09

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course will examine women's lives and activism, past and present, throughout the world. We will explore and evaluate individual and collective efforts to achieve social justice in the context of interlocking systems of oppression. Fall, Spring, Summer

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-08, GE-09

Diverse Cultures: Purple

An introduction to the study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities and identities, including challenges to homophobia and heterosexism. We will explore social and historical constructions of LGBT identities as they vary across ethnic, class, and gender lines.Fall, Spring

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Gold

An introduction to the study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities and identities, including challenges to homophobia and heterosexism. We will explore social and historical constructions of LGBT identities as they vary across ethnic, class, and gender lines.Fall, Spring

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Gold

Promotes an understanding of the impact of physical and mental disabilities on people in their daily livesthrough in-class contacts and exercises with and about persons with disabilities.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Gold

Brief description of the operation of the US economic system illustrated by a discussion of current economic policies, issues, and problems. No credit toward a major, minor, or area with economics as a core, or if credit has been earned in ECON 201 and/or ECON 202, or equivalent.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05

Emphasis on forces influencing employment and inflation. Current problems of the economy are stressed along with tools government has to cope with them.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05

Examines decision making by the individual firm, the determination of prices and wages, and current problems facing business firms.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05

Combine study with action to remake yourself into a democratic citizen. Consider your beliefs, debate issues and learn political skills. Integrate these in practical public work on a real issue or project in a student group or community organization.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-09, GE-11

Rejoin the political debates of 1787 to understand the US Constitution. Compare the founding document with amendments, later usage and Supreme Court interpretations. Examine controversies over the meaning of the Constitution using the methods of political philosophers, historians, and legal scholars.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05

This introductory course examines key concepts and issues in contemporary world politics. It is a survey course covering topics including political culture, the political impact of economic globalization, the changing role of the state, nationality and ethnic identity, and issues of oppression and empowerment.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-08

Become informed enough to play your part in governing the United States. Start by learning about the Constitution, our rights and freedoms, how the national government works and the opportunities and challenges of citizen influence. Political Science methods, and the challenges of citizenship are emphasized.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-09

Overview of the nature and characteristics of human societies; the structure and processes of social life; impact of social forces on individuals and groups; interdependence of society and the individual; emphasis on cultural diversity and globalism.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-08

Diverse Cultures: Purple

A critical description and analysis of selected social problems, with an emphasis on the sociological perspective, critical thinking, roots of group inequality, and exploration of solutions and alternatives to existing social problems.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-07

Diverse Cultures: Purple

This course will identify and analyze global social, economic, political and environmental problems impacting community viability and explore the full range of solutions to these problems. The course will view communities as complex, sustainable organisms and bring together the works of the great minds working on sustainability.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05, GE-10

Basic statistical methods including measures of central tendency and dispersion, probability, probability distributions, sampling, problems of estimation and hypothesis testing in the case of one and two sample meaans and proportions. Chi-Square, one-way analysis of variance, simple regression and correlation analysis, and brief introduction to multiple regression analysis. Use of computer statistical packages required.

Prerequisites: MATH 112 or equivalent

Goal Areas: GE-02, GE-04

Basic descriptive and inferential statistics used in the analysis of sociological data.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-04

An introduction to statistical concepts and methods that is applicable to all disciplines. Topics include descriptive measures of data, probability and probability distributions, statistical inference, tests of hypotheses, confidence intervals, correlation, linear regression, and analysis of variance. The use of statistical software will be emphasized. Prereq: ACT Math sub-score of 19 or higher, successful completion of MATH 098 or appropriate placement scores (see Placement Information under Statistics) Fall, Spring, Summer GE-4

Prerequisites: Satisfy Placement Table in this section, or MATH 098 with grade of P. 

Goal Areas: GE-02, GE-04

Study of the family from a historical perspective; in terms of the family system and the broader ecological system; in terms of stresses faced and coping responses. This course will address issues at each of four life stages: infancy and early childhood; the school years; transition from school to adult life; and the adult years.

Prerequisites: none

Designed for non-teacher education students, this is a general education course considering human development from a life span perspective.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05

This course examines changes in human behavior over the entire lifespan from conception to death. Topics cover developmental changes in physical, cognitive, and social domains. Traditional theories are integrated with current findings of developmental researchers.

Prerequisites: PSYC 101 

This course is designed to provide a thorough introduction to the broad spectrum of theories and applications that make up the field of psychology

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-05

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

he 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

This course provides opportunities for students to learn SOWK professional skills and behaviors, including professional communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, self-reflections, and professional presentation. The course provides opportunities to examine personal values and biases when considering the practice of social work in a diverse world. In addition, the course provides opportunities to learn about local social service agencies and offers students the skills needed to develop their sense of who they are and what they bring to the social work profession.

Prerequisites: SOWK 212, SOWK 215

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.

Explores research issues and techniques, needs assessments, and program and practice evaluations. In addition, there is a lab designed to supplement class discussions and to assist students in understanding some of the technical details and specific skills associated with conducting research and writing a research proposal. The lab enhances skills in developing questionnaires, reviewing previous studies, using American Psychological Association (APA) citations and data analysis using SPSS. Another Statistics course may meet the course prerequisite with approval of the BSSW Program Advisor.

Prerequisites: Select one course from STAT 154, PSYC 201, SPC 202, ECON 207, HLTH 475. Or other statistics course as approved by BSSW Program Advisor.

Overview of generalist social work practice including assessment and intervention methodology and strategies; social work with diverse populations; ethical issues/dilemmas; importance of social work research. Admission to the BSSW Program/Major required. Permission to register given by BSSW Program.

Prerequisites: Admission to the BSSW Program/major. Permission to register given by BSSW Program.

Intervention skills for working with individuals, families, and groups. Permission to register given by BSSW Program.

Prerequisites: SOWK 441. Permission to register given by BSSW Program.

This course prepares students for direct and indirect macro generalist social work practice in organizations and communities. Students will learn: 1) to recognize characteristics and assets of organizations and communities, 2) to identify and respond to changing community and organizational needs, and 3) strategies for planned change process in organizations and communities. Emphasis is placed on engaging, assessment, intervening and evaluating consumer services across mezzo and macro systems through the process of participating in task-oriented groups. Permission to register given by BSSW Program.

Prerequisites: SOWK 441. Permission to register given by BSSW Program.

Integration of senior field practicum with academic content and concepts. Serves as the capstone experience. Taken with SOWK 455. Prereq: SOWK Foundation, Practice Sequence, and permission

Prerequisites: SOWK Foundation, Practice Sequence, and permission

Culminating practicum experience with 32 hour per week placement in a social service setting with supervision provided by a degreed social worker. Taken with SOWK 450. Prereq: SOWK Foundation, Practice Sequence, and permission

Prerequisites: SOWK Foundation, Practice Sequence, and permission

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

Co-morbid substance abuse and mental health disorders will be encountered by social workers in all areas of practice. Current research on dual diagnosis indicates integrated treatment of substance misuse and mental illness is the most effective approach to treatment. This course will provide an understanding of the intersection of multiple diagnoses, and enable social worker professionals to effectively treat multiple diagnoses in their area of practice. This course examines the interaction of addictive and other mental health disorders. Particular focus is placed on case-conceptualization, assessment, and intervention with multiply diagnosed clients in specific populations.

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