Social Work Curriculum

The department offers a distributive major in social work.  This means students are not required to have a minor.  One hundred twenty (120) semester hours credit are required for the B.S. degree with a major in social work.  The social work curriculum encompasses: 

• forty-one (41) semester hours of specified liberal arts requirements
• one (1) semester hour of university-wide freshman seminar requirement
• forty-nine (49) semester hours of professional social work courses
• nine (9) semester hours of social work electives
• twenty (20) semester hours of additional courses

Sequencing of Courses
The curriculum is designed to unfold in a particular way in order to ensure continuity and facilitate integration of content.  Students  follow a specific sequence of courses and prerequisites.  The following provides an overview of when courses are taken as well as the prescribed order for taking courses.

• Pre/Corequisites and Liberal Arts Foundation Courses
  SOC 2010 Introduction to Sociology
  PSY 1010 General Psychology
  BIOL 1040/1041 Human Biology
  These courses are taken in the first year.
       
• Required Social Work Courses in First Year
  SW 2110 Intro to Social Work
  SW 3410 Values, Ethics, and Diversity
  SW 3420 Human Behavior in Social Environment
     
• Required Social Work Courses in Second Year
  SW 3400 Generalist Practice
  SW 3450 Human Behavior in the Macro Environment
  SW 3770 Research Methods
  SW 4430 Social Policy
     
• Required Social Work Courses in Third Year
  SW 3620 Micro Social Work Practice
  SW 3630 Macro Social Work Practice
  SW 4400 Seminar for Field Instruction
  SW 4440 Law and Social Work

• Required Social Work Courses in Fourth Year
  SW 4410 Field Instruction
  SW 4411 Field Instruction Concurrent Seminar
  SW 4720 Senior Seminar
     
• Social Work Electives (must choose three)
  SW 3430 Elements of Rural Practice
  SW 3440 Crisis Intervention
  SW 3460 Community Mental Health
  SW 3470 Techniques of Social Work with Groups
  SW 3480 HIV and Social Work
  SW 3490 Social Work and Aging
  SW 3495 Social Work and Addictions
  SW 3680 Child Welfare I
  SW 3700 Child Welfare II
  SW 3710 School Social Work
  SW 4020 Human Sexuality
  SW 4030 Child and Adolescent Mental Health
  SW 4035 Social Work with Children and Families
  SW 4040 Social Work and Family Violence
  SW 4045 Spirituality and Social Work

Organization of the Social Work Foundation

*SW 4720 Senior Seminar addresses each of the foundation areas

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Suggested Program of Study

Field Practicum
The Field Practicum is an integral part of the social work curriculum.  It provides an educationally-directed, coordinated and monitored field experience for students.  Students engage in supervised, direct service activities to build on knowledge and skills and apply theory from all foundation areas.  Dr. Stephanie Hicks coordinates the field practicum.  For more information email her:  hickss@apsu.edu

The field practicum is offered both fall and spring semesters.  Students who are admitted to the program are eligible for admission to the field practicum upon successful completion of SW 4400-Seminar for Field Instruction and all courses in:

• the social work practice sequence
• the human behavior and social environment sequence
• the social welfare policy and services sequence
• research methods

The field practicum is a transforming experience for students.  It is an exciting time of integrating and applying knowledge, values, and skills of social work and developing the competencies for entry-level generalist practice.  Students move from "knowing" and "understanding" to actual "doing."  Field instruction engages students in experiencing, testing out, applying and integrating knowledge from the classroom.

The Field Practicum component consists of two courses:  

• SW 4410 Field Instruction
  Students receive 12 semester hours credit for the supervised field teaching-learning component within an approved agency setting.  Students do a one semester block placement for a total of 480 clock hours.
• SW 4411 Field Instruction Concurrent Seminar
  Students receive 3 semester hours credit for this classroom seminar.  The seminar focuses on integrating learning and skill development.  Students meet class for three hours once a week on campus.

The Department proudly offers a wide variety of practicum settings in rural and urban locations.  The Field Practicum Coordinator is able to work closely with students and field instructors in social service agencies to create a good match between students' interests and capacities and the field setting.  Placements are available in mental health, health care, home health, hospice, child welfare, alcohol and substance abuse, hospital social work,  sexual abuse, domestic violence, corrections, juvenile delinquency, behavioral health services for adolescents and adults, day care, aging, HIV/AIDS; and school social work.