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 credit hours are required for the Bachelor of Social Work degree with a major in social work. Many courses are not offered online. The social work curriculum encompasses:
- 41 semester hours of specified University Studies requirements
- 1 semester hour of university-wide Freshman Seminar requirement
- 49 semester hours of Professional Social Work courses
- 9 semester hours of Social Work electives
- 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 must 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.
- SOC 1010 Introduction to Sociology
- PSY 1010 General Psychology
- BIOL 1040/1041 Human Biology (recommended) or BIOL 1010/1011
- SW 2110 Intro to Social Work
- SW 3410 Values, Ethics, and Diversity
- SW 3420 Human Behavior in Social Environment
- SW 3400 Generalist Practice
- SW 3450 Human Behavior in the Macro Environment
- SW 3770 Research Methods
- SW 4430 Social Policy
- SW 3620 Micro Social Work Practice
- SW 3630 Macro Social Work Practice
- SW 4400 Seminar for Field Instruction
- SW 4440 Law and Social Work
- SW 4410 Field Instruction
- SW 4411 Field Instruction Concurrent Seminar
- SW 4720 Senior Seminar
Must choose three:
- SW 3430 Elements of Rural Practice
- SW 3440 Crisis Intervention
- SW 3460 Community Mental Health Policy and Practice
- SW 3470 Techniques of Social Work with Groups
- SW 3480 Living with HIV
- SW 3490 Social Work and Aging
- SW 3495 Social Work and Addictions
- SW 3500 Youth Gangs and Juvenile Delinquency
- SW 3520 Professional Writing for Social Work
- SW 3550 Medical Social Work
- SW 3680 Child Welfare I
- SW 3700 Child Welfare II
- SW 3710 School Social Work
- 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
| Foundation Area | Social Work Courses | Term / Academic Year |
| Human Behavior & the Social Environment |
SW 3420 Human Behavior In the Social Environment (3 hrs) SW 3450 Human Behavior in the Macro Environment (3 hrs) |
Fall / Junior Spring / Junior |
| Social Policy / Welfare |
SW 4440 Law and Social Work (3 hrs) SW 4430 Social Policy (3 hrs) |
Fall / Senior Spring / Junior |
| Social Work Practice |
SW 3400 Generalist Practice (3 hrs) SW 3620 Micro Social Work Practice (3 hrs) SW 3630 Macro Social Work Practice (3 hrs) |
Spring / Junior Fall / Senior Fall / Senior |
| Research | SW 3770 Research Methods (3 hrs) | Spring / Junior |
| Field Practicum |
SW 4400 Seminar for Field Instruction (1 hr) SW 4410 Field Instruction (12 hrs) SW 4411 Concurrent Seminar (3 hrs) |
Fall or Spring / Junior For of Spring / Senior Fall or Spring / Senior |
| *SW 4720 Senior Seminar (3 hrs) | Fall or Spring / Senior | |
| Total Hours: 43 | ||
*SW 4720 Senior Seminar addresses each of the foundation areas
Suggested Program of Study
| Fall / Freshman (13 hours) | Spring / Freshman (16 hours) |
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| Fall / Sophomore (16 Hours) | Spring / Sophomore (15 hours) |
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| Fall / Junior (15 hours) | Spring / Junior (15 hours) |
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| Fall / Senior (13 hours) | Spring / Senior (18 hours) |
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Suggested Social Work Three Year Plan to Graduation
| Fall / First Year (18 hours) | Spring / First Year (22 hours) |
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| Fall / Second Year (22 hours) | Spring / Second Year (21 hours) |
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| Fall / Third Year (19 hours) | Spring / Third Year (18 hours) |
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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.
Eligibility
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
Components
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 actually "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 in 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.