Course Descriptions By Program

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SOW150 - Introduction to Social Work

This course explores the social, political, economic and historical dimensions of poverty and welfare services in the United States. It complements other beginning courses in the social sciences by integrating this knowledge in a fashion which aids in the comprehension of welfare services while establishing a basis for movement toward higher level courses.

SOW201 - Interviewing for the Human Services

This class introduces students to the theory, value and skill components necessary for effective interviewing with diverse client systems. Communication techniques and personal attributes that enhance problem solving are explored. Demonstration and practice of core skills are thoroughly integrated in the classroom and skills lab.

SOW208 - Diversity in a Changing World

This course provides an analysis of the historical, economic, and political relations of American religious, ethnic, and racial minorities in terms of social change and social structure. Special attention is given to Puerto Rican, Chicano, and Indian subcultures, as well as minority experience in the rural environment. Sources of prejudice and discrimination and social processes, including conflict, segregation, assimilation, accommodation, and cooperation, are examined.

SOW215 - Human Behavior and the Social Environment: The Life Course

Human Behavior and the Social Environment: The Life Course is the first of a two-semester course content area that is designed to provide the perspectives, frameworks and theories necessary to understand human behavior in the social environment from a social work perspective. This course emphasizes ecological, systems, and life course perspectives to work effectively with individuals and families across the lifespan. Approaches to understanding human and family growth and behavior are presented, with an emphasis on diversity and difference and the impacts of oppression and discrimination across the life course. Person-environment transactions and person-environment fit are stressed as the basis for understanding individuals and families from a social work perspective.

SOW300 - Dialogue and Differences

Communicating across differences of age, gender, language, culture, and political orientation, and in different contextual situations is a useful skill for every individual. It is also integral to the success of any attempt to resolve conflict, whether individual, group/institutional, or global. By offering a context for students to learn with individuals from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, we will all gain insight into the role of culture in dialogue. An understanding of culture and its influence on our perspectives is essential for effective communication. Through interactive exercises, students will develop an understanding of the challenges of inter-group dialogue across differences and the skills required to communicate effectively. Students will engage in a workshop on dialogue skill-building and multiple dialogue sessions with classmates and other students, first learning the theory and skills that underlie successful participation and facilitation of dialogue and then applying them in the exploration of issues such as gender, religion, and international affairs.

SOW302 - Social Work Practice with Individuals

This course assumes that generalist social workers perform varied tasks with basic skills, attitudes and knowledge, and that this development will increase self-awareness with subsequent emergence of a professional self. Students learn problem assessment, caseload management, and a variety of counseling theories and intervention strategies, with special emphasis on the unique characteristics of the rural client.

SOW303 - Human Sexuality and Society

Humans evolve as sexual beings from a continual interplay among biological, cultural and psychosocial factors. This course provides content on enhancing personal well being, establishing psychologically healthy relationships, making responsible sexual choices, protecting reproductive health, preventing sexual dysfunction and trauma. Included in the course is accurate information and open discussion regarding the ways in which sexuality both contributes to and affects overall health and well-being. The course covers diverse groups and the human lifespan including sexuality and sexual expression among the elderly.

SOW304 - Social Work Practice with Families

This course is the second in a four-course practice methods sequence. It builds on the skills developed in Social Work Practice with Individuals, utilizing the ecological-systems approach to assessment and problem solving. The course covers the history of social work with families, the stages of family development, assessment of goals and objectives for families, and the principles and values for intervention and problem solving with families.

SOW310 - Trauma Informed SW Practice

This seminar focuses on selected topics of particular significance or current importance and interest to the social work profession. Students can receive credit for more than one seminar provided that each seminar focuses on a different topic. Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors only. This course provides knowledge, skills and values needed to engage in family work as a generalist social worker. This course is a special interest course in the social work curriculum that provides opportunities to explore the role and function of the generalist social worker learning about trauma-informed practice. Trauma across the lifespan is essential knowledge for social workers because it is a risk factor increasing the overall quality of life for both those who experience or work with populations who have been a survivor of traumatic experiences. Given that most people from poorer countries migrate to more prosperous countries, individual who are from the lower socioeconomic income are increasingly vulnerable. As articulated by CSWE: “A reciprocal interaction exists between social, political, and legal systems and the individuals and families traumatized. It affects the systems’ capacity to respond effectively to the needs of affected individuals or families and the capacity of the systems themselves to adjust and recover. Inequities embedded in these systems lead to accumulated disadvantages in access to tangible and intangible sources of social support. The resulting inequality contributes to the overrepresentation of individuals who are traumatized among the populations affected by major social problems, such as homelessness, substance abuse, low educational attainment, joblessness, and chronic poor health.”

SOW315 - Human Growth and Behavior: Birth to Young Adult

This course provides foundation knowledge, contribution of studies, research, and theory in understanding human development. SOW 315 begins the life cycle from prenatal influence through young adulthood. Emphasis is on both normal development/behavior and on differences. The course illustrates how diverse groups are affected in their development through the life cycle, with examples from rural experience.

SOW316 - Human Behavior and the Social Environment II: Groups, Organizations and Communities

Human Behavior and the Social Environment II: Groups, Organizations and Communities is the second of a two-semester content area that is designed to provide perspectives, frameworks and theories necessary to understand human behavior in the social environment from a social work perspective. Approaches presented emphasize diversity and difference and the systemic impacts of oppression and discrimination at the group, organizational and community levels. The nature of systems, environmental transactions, and goodness-of-fit are stressed as the basis for understanding groups, organizations and communities from a social work perspective. A strengths-based, empowerment perspective is also used throughout the course to better understand reciprocal relationships at the group, organization and community levels.

SOW325 - Social Services Internship & Seminar

Under the supervision of a qualified social services provider, students will gain experience in an area of interest relevant to work in social and human services. In this semester-long class, students will discuss ethical and current practice issues related to work in the human services field. The importance of professional behavior and the value of networking within the human services field are emphasized. Students complete 100 hours of service in addition to completing weekly assignments related to the core competencies in social work experiences. All students will be required to complete 100 hours of service. Students must also meet the local requirements of their field or community placement. Internship settings are obtained for the student based on their professionalism, dedication to working with a specific population and match in terms of agency population and student adaptability.

SOW330 - Child Welfare

In this class, students learn about societal efforts to insure the welfare of children, the rights of children and parents, child welfare policies, programs, and service delivery problems. Students examine historical and current practices, working with natural parents, supportive services, substitutes, and residential care.

SOW340 - Poverty and Related Social Problems

This course examines poverty as a dependent and independent variable in its relationship to other social problems and human behavior. Social policy and programs that attempt to respond to the variety of conditions that are both causes and effects of poverty and related behavior will be studied.

SOW345 - Social Work Practice with Groups

This course is the third in a four-course practice methods sequence. It builds on the skills developed in Social Work Practice with Individuals, utilizing the ecological-systems approach to assessment and problem solving. The course covers the history of social group work, the stages of group development, assessment of goals and objectives for groups, and the principles and values for intervention and problem solving with groups.

SOW349 - Social Work Practice with Organizations and Communities

Macro practice methods refer to those skills that enable the generalist social worker to act at an organizational and community level to effect change in larger social systems. These skills encompass planning, organizing and administrative tasks. Proficiency at the macro level is particularly important for the rural practitioner who may be relatively isolated from other service providers. Through a semester-long class project, students gain hands-on experience in committee work, program development, action, research, budgeting and many other specific skills.

SOW350 - Social Work with the Aging

This course examines the development and current status of policies and services related to the elderly, the service delivery systems, and implications for social work practice concepts for working with the elderly.

SOW360 - Social Welfare History, Policy Analysis & Social Service Delivery

This course examines the history and philosophy of social welfare policy and the basic process of policy development. Students apply a conceptual framework to analyze and evaluate policies and their consequences. Students pay particular attention to the impact of social policy on people and human service organizations. Built on an interdisciplinary base (economic, political, science, and sociological theories), the course prepares students for policy practice skills taught in Policy Practice in Social Work.

SOW370 - Policy Practice in Social Work

In this class, students learn about the social change process, strategies, reactions to change, the impact of change on social policy and social welfare institutions.

SOW405 - Social Work Research Methods

This course prepares the student to understand social work research methods and the use of research methods. The student will be able to understand the philosophy of research, the reasons for doing social work research and the components of the research process including strengths, limitations, ethics and interpretation of research findings. The course will progress from the general discussion of research principles and methods to the more specific elements of professional social work research.

SOW410 - Social Work in Mental Health

This course builds on psychosocial study, assessment, and treatment introduced in Social Work Practice with Individuals. It acquaints students with DSM-IV-R terminology and its uses for generalist social-work practice. It also explores the scope and depth of individual psychopathology, community concerns, prevention, and intervention approaches.

SOW425 - Field Education

This course provides a supervised placement in a practice setting under the supervision of a MSW social worker. The application of theoretical knowledge and skills, along with demonstrated competencies in working with various client systems, is emphasized. The course requires a minimum of 480 clock hours.

SOW435 - Field Education Seminar

This capstone seminar is paired with a supervised placement in a practice setting (SOW 425) under the supervision of a MSW social worker. This seminar is focused on professional reflection and synthesis of prior coursework with praxis in a field setting. The application of theoretical knowledge and skills, along with demonstrated competencies in working with various client systems, is emphasized. Ethical professional practice is emphasized.

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