School of Social Work

7085 Problems in Social Work (1-6)

Intensive study of an area of social welfare related to special interest of student. Prerequisites: graduate standing, consent required.

7001 Topics in Social Work (1-3)

Special and emerging topics in social work and social welfare. Subject, content, and credit vary depending on available faculty and student interest. Prerequisite: graduate standing.

7310 Social Statistics (3)

Descriptive, analytic techniques applied to qualitative and quantitative social data. Prerequisite: graduate standing; Counts as a free elective.

7320 Rural Human Services (3)

A study of the effect of rural and small community environments on the planning and delivery of social and health services. Emphasis on policy and program analyses relevant to rural issues and concerns. Prerequisite: graduate standing; Counts as a free elective.

7330 Addiction Treatment and Prevention (3)

Provides knowledge from social work and other disciplines involved in substance abuse treatment. Integrated approach to problems of substance abuse and development of self awareness are emphasized. Prerequisite: graduate standing; Counts as a free elective.

7340: Military Culture: Issues for Helping Professionals (3)

An introduction to the branches of the military and related cultural issues.  Examines the historical and contemporary complexities of military service and personal and professional values and ethics related to practice with military personnel, families, and veterans. Counts as a diversity elective or free elective.

7350 Deaf Culture: A Social Work Perspective (3)

An introduction to the deaf community as a linguistic and cultural minority. Examines the complexities of Deaf culture from a historical and contemporary perspective. Addresses cultural identity, communication, education, social services, civil rights, and advocacy. Prerequisites: graduate standing; Counts as a diversity elective or free elective.

7360 Working with Minority Youth (3)

(same as Black Studies 4360) Develops awareness and understanding of social/psychological and cognitive realities influencing the behavior of minority youth. Content draws upon theories, research and practice skills relevant to understanding and counseling minority youth. Prerequisite: graduate standing; Counts as a diversity elective or free elective.

7370 Delinquency, Corrections and Social Treatment (3)

Focuses on problems and causative factors in developing and maintaining delinquent and criminal behavior and attitudes: addressing critical and comparative understanding of social change strategies employed in this field. Prerequisite: graduate standing; Counts as a free elective.

7380 Social Work Practice With Minorities: African-American Emphasis (3)

(same as Black Studies 4380) Provides students with an appreciation of the African-American experience in the United States on a knowledge and feeling level. Prerequisite: graduate standing; Counts as a diversity
elective or free elective.

7390 Helping Strategies With Children and Adolescents (3)

This course is an introduction to social work practice with youth. Content draws on theories, policies, research and practice skills relevant to understanding and helping children and adolescents. In addition, SW4390/7390 assists the student in applying the core values and ethics of the social work profession to practice in the contemporary systems of care for children and adolescents. Prerequisite: graduate standing; Counts as a diversity elective or free elective.

7400 Contemporary Issues in Domestic Violence (3)

(same as Women's and Gender Studies 7400) This 3-hour course covers history of battered women's movement, violence theories, policy issues, prevention and intervention practice models for working with battered women, their children, and abusers. Prerequisite: graduate standing; Counts as a diversity elective or free elective.

7410 Law and Social Work Practice (3)

Legal processes relevant to Social Work Practice and Court procedures and study of decisions affecting social work across concentrations. Prerequisite: graduate standing; Counts as a free elective.

7420 Social Work and Disasters (3)

Focuses on social work practice, policy and research related to response, recovery and mitigation of technological and natural disasters. Prerequisites: graduate standing; Counts as a free elective.

7450 Critical Issues in Child Welfare (3)

Intensive seminar on current developments in child welfare practice. Addresses controversies in assessment, intervention, and policy making for children and their families. Examine intervention for prevention, protection, placement and reunification for children in high-risk situations, Prerequisites: graduate standing; Counts as a free elective.

7455 Latino/a Immigrants and Receiving Communities (3)

This course is designed to educate students about the Latino/a immigrants who come to communities America to work and to seek better lives for themselves and their families whether in the U.S. or in their sending communities. It is also designed to examine the impacts of this immigration on long-time residents of these receiving communities. Special attention will be given to rural areas and social justice issues as they pertain to the newcomers as well as the long-term residents. It will examine the historical and current issues related to Latino/a immigration in the U.S. and in receiving communities in particular. The content will draw on research, policy, and practice theories and skills relative to the social and environmental context of this phenomenon. This course will address issues related to micro, mezzo, and macro systems pertaining to the Latino/a immigrants and their receiving communities. Prerequisite: graduate standing; Counts as a diversity elective or free elective.

7460 Advanced Social Group Work (3)

An intensive exposure to the theories and models of social group work practice through cognitive, affective and experiential (laboratory) methods of teaching/learning. Prerequisites: graduate standing; Counts as a free elective.

7470 Organizational Issues in Social Work Practices in Child Welfare (3)

Intensive seminar in meso-level practice in the field of child welfare. Examines communication theory, team building, and inter-organizational dynamics as they affect professional practice in child welfare. Prerequisites: graduate standing; Counts as a policy elective or free elective.

7480 Helping Strategies with Older Persons (3)

Focus on interdisciplinary methods of assessment and intervention strategies designed to optimize healthy functioning for older persons and their families. Prerequisites: graduate standing; Counts as a diversity elective or free elective.

7485: Military Social Work (3)

An introduction to social work practice with military personnel, veterans, and their families. Content draws on theories, strategies, and research relevant to effective social work practice with this population. Counts as a free elective.

7490 Family Treatment (3)

Comparative study of theories and methods required for work with problems of family functioning. Both conjoint and subsystem approaches to family treatment are examined. Prerequisite: graduate standing in social work and 7770; counts as a clinical selective.

7500 Child Custody and Visitation Mediation in Social Work (3)

The course will focus on the social work skills and knowledge required for effective mediation in child custody and visitation. Prerequisites: graduate standing; Counts as a free elective.

7510 Supervision, Consultation and Staff Training (3)

Philosophy, objectives, principles and methods of social work supervision, staff development and consultation with emphasis on the commonality of the teaching-learning-evaluating functions. Prerequisite: graduate standing in social work; Counts as a free elective.

7710 Social Policy and Service Delivery in Social Work (3)

Covers historic and contemporary issues in social welfare policy. Focuses on relationships among social problems, public policies, private actions, poverty, racism, sexism and social work practice/values. Prerequisites: graduate standing in social work; Foundation level course.

7720 Foundations of Human Behavior (3)

Substantive sources from behavioral sciences used in social work toward understanding the biosocial processes and constraints of human development. Prerequisite: graduate standing in social work; Foundation level course.

7730 Direct Practice (formerly Generalist Practice) (3)

Introduces theory and application of strengths-based generalist practice. Develops knowledge, values, and techniques of professional social work practice at micro, mezzo, and macro levels, emphasizing assessment and interaction skills with individuals and families. Prerequisite: graduate standing in social work; Foundation level course.

7740 Community and Organization Dynamics (3)

Examination of social environment in which social work is practiced with particular emphasis on development of analytic framework for understanding formal organizations and communities. Prerequisite: graduate standing in Social Work; Foundation level course.

7760 Foundations of Social Justice (3)

This class will examine the impact of power, oppression and discrimination upon individuals, families, communities, and cultures within a historical and contemporary context and will assist students in examining personal and professional values and ethics related to justice. Prerequisite: graduate standing in social work; Foundation level course.

7770 Strategies of Clinical Social Work Intervention (3)

Strategies of social treatment with individuals and small groups applicable to practice in public and private social agency settings. Prerequisites: graduate standing in social work; Clinical concentration course.

7780 Fundamentals of Social Work Administration (3)

Basic managerial skills which social workers need for supervision, planning, staff development and administrative positions in social agencies; focus on individual management functions and skills associated with them. Prerequisite: graduate standing in social work; PP&A concentration course.

7820 DSM IV & Psychopathology: A Social Work Perspective (3)

Examines psychopathology of human behavior within social work context, prevailing diagnostic models (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV), and historically oppressive categorizations. Prerequisites: graduate standing in social work; Clinical concentration course.

7920 Advanced Foundations of Human Behavior for Administrators (3)

Examination of relevant theoretical and behavioral foundations in order that students can acquire the knowledge to function as a social work administrator. Prerequisites: graduate standing in social work; PP&A concentration course.

7952 Research Methods in Social Work (3)

Examines research methodology and design as applied to the study of social work techniques and problems. Emphasizes differential uses of scientific observation and techniques for developing knowledge and improving practice. Prerequisite: graduate standing in social work; Foundation level course.

7971 Graduate Field Practicum I (6)

Supervised social work practice in a school-approved agency providing a full range of intervention experiences. Winter semester, two or three days per week. Graded on S/U basis only. Prerequisites: graduate standing in social work; 7710, 7720, 7730, 7760; Prerequisites or Co-requisite: 7740, 7770 or 7780, 7820 or 7920; 7952; consent required; Foundation level course.

8000 Issues in Health Care Policy (3)

Graduate seminar focusing on development of skills in social policy analysis. Emphasizes knowledge and analytical perspectives about social policies and health and impacts on various populations. Prerequisites: second year graduate standing; Counts as a policy elective or free elective.

8010 Child Abuse and Neglect Assessment and Intervention (3)

In-depth exploration of identification of and interventions with abused/neglected children and their families. Examines roles for social work with both victims and perpetrators. Examines how environmental factors affect successful intervention. Prerequisite: graduate standing; Counts as a free elective.

8020 Children's Mental Health and Social Services in Schools (3)

Focuses on diagnosis and assessment of childhood disorders in the DSM-IV-R and appropriate intervention strategies for these disorders. Focuses on interventions in educational settings. Prerequisites: graduate standing; Counts as a free elective.

8030 Client Case Management, Networking, and Advocacy (3)

Examines the key role of clinical case management across all social work client populations. Models of case management for and techniques applicable to those populations will be developed for effective practice. Prerequisite: graduate standing in social work and 7770; Counts as a clinical selective.

8040 Narrative Approaches to Social Work Practice (3)

This class will enable students to gain knowledge of theory and basic practice skills grounded in narrative therapy. The use of narratives with vulnerable and oppressed populations and creative strategies to evoke narratives are highlighted in this course. Prerequisites: graduate standing in social work and 7770; Counts as a clinical selective.

8050 Resiliency and Solution-Focused Practice (3)

Focuses on brief therapy approaches to dealing with clinical problems in a time-efficient, clinically effective method. Various approaches to solution-oriented work based in resiliency theory are presented. Stresses client empowerment across the lifespan. Prerequisites: graduate standing in social work and 7770; Counts as a clinical selective.

8060 Trauma Practice and Crisis Intervention (3)

Focuses on clinical techniques for social work with trauma survivors. Addressing effects of disasters, personal violence and war are included. Resiliency in survivors is presented as basis for interventions. Prerequisites: graduate standing in social work and 7770; Counts as a clinical selective.

8070 Cognitive Behavioral Practice (3)

Focuses on the theory, concepts, and techniques of cognitive behavioral therapies, with a particular emphasis on clinical intervention methods that may be used by the social worker to address specific client needs. Prerequisites: graduate standing in social work & SW7770 Strategies of Clinical Social Work Intervention; Counts as a clinical selective.

8210 Disability Rights Advocacy (3)

Highlights historical views of disabilities in relationship to contemporary policies, programs and services. This cross-disability focus examines the shift in focus from cure, care, and treatment to participation, capabilities, adapting environments, and building community. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; SW7710 recommended; Counts as diversity elective, policy elective or free elective.

8230 Women, Poverty, and Mental Health (3)

Highlights the historical regulation of women’s lives in the U.S. Examines women’s poverty, mental health, and work, particularly the impact mental health has on the ability of poor women to be breadwinner and nurturer. Compares and contrasts related social welfare policies. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; SW7710 recommended; Counts as a policy elective or free elective; Counts as diversity elective, policy elective or free elective.

8350 Management of a Social Agency (3)

Basic resource management and control techniques common to social agencies with emphasis on personnel management, information and data management, and fiscal management. Prerequisites: graduate standing in social work; PP& A concentration course.

8952 Evaluative Research in Clinical Social Work Practice (3)

Develop ability to systematically evaluate effectiveness of intervention strategies designed to produce positive change in clients' environment and/or cognitive, affective and behavioral functioning. Prerequisite: graduate standing in social work and 7952; Clinical concentration course.

8953 Evaluative Research in Social Work Planning and Administration (3)

Develop ability to design and implement appropriate evaluative research methods and strategies employed in social and human service program planning and management. Prerequisite: graduate standing in social work and 7952; PP& A concentration course

8955 Independent Study in Social Work (1-6)

Intensive investigation of phenomena germane to area of concentration carried out with guidance of faculty. May include data collection; leads to a written report in publishable format. Prerequisite: graduate standing; counts as a policy, diversity, or free elective; consent required.

8970 Professional Practice Seminar I (3)

Provides integrative learning experience in social work practice in an area of beginning specialization in autonomous social work practice. Prerequisites: graduate standing; consent required. Co-requisite: 8971.

8971 Graduate Field Practicum II (cr.arr.)

Field instruction tailored to concentration interests, developing depth in clinical skills in direct service or in planning and administration. Graded on S/U basis only; Prerequisites: graduate standing in social work; successful completion of all required graduate coursework except 8970; Co-requisite: 8970.