Upon graduating from the MSW foundation year curriculum, students will:

1. Advocate for clients' access to the services of social work.
2. Practice personal reflection and self-correction to assure continual professional development.
3. Attend to professional roles and boundaries.
4. Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior, appearance, and communication.
5. Engage in career-long learning.
6. Use supervision and consultation.
7. Recognize and manage personal values in a way that allows professional values to guide practice.
8. Make ethical decisions by applying standards of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and, as applicable, of the International Federation of Social Workers/International Association of Schools of Social Work Ethics in Social Work, Statement of Principles.
9. Tolerate ambiguity in resolving ethical conflicts.
10. Apply strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at principled decisions.
11. Distinguish, appraise, and integrate multiple sources of knowledge, including research-based knowledge, and practice wisdom.
12. Analyze models of assessment, prevention, intervention, and evaluation.
13. Demonstrate effective oral and written communication in working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, and colleagues.
14. Recognize the extent to which a culture's structures and values may oppress, marginalize, alienate, or create or enhance privilege and power.
15. Gain sufficient self awareness to eliminate the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse groups.
16. Recognize and communicate their understanding of the importance of difference in shaping life experiences.
17. View themselves as learners and engage those with whom they work as informants.
18. Understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination.
19. Advocate for human rights and social and economic justice.
20. Engage in practices that advance social and economic justice.
21. Use practice experience to inform scientific inquiry.
22. Use research evidence to inform practice.
23. Utilize conceptual frameworks to guide the processes of assessment, intervention, and evaluation.
24. Critique and apply knowledge to understand person and environment.
25. Analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance social well-being.
26. Collaborate with colleagues and clients for effective policy action.
27. Continuously discover, appraise, and attend to changing locales, populations, scientific and technological developments, and emerging societal trends to provide relevant services.
28. Provide leadership in promoting sustainable changes in service delivery and practice to improve the quality of social services.
29. Substantively and effectively prepare for action with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
30. Use empathy and other interpersonal skills to develop a mutually agreed-on focus of work and desired outcomes.
31. Collect, organize, and interpret client data.
32. Assess client strengths and limitations.
33. Develop mutually agreed-on intervention goals and objectives; and select appropriate intervention strategies.
34. Initiate actions to achieve organizational goals.
35. Implement prevention interventions that enhance client capacities.
36. Help clients resolve problems.
37. Negotiate, mediate, and advocate for clients; and facilitate transitions and endings.
38. Critically analyze, monitor, and evaluate interventions.

Upon graduating from the Concentration/Advance Standing curriculum, students will demonstrate the above behaviors in more complex, dynamic and multi-systemic content.

The following course of study is a typical schedule for a full-time student. A student must complete all foundation level courses before taking any electives and  concentration level courses. The plan of study is subject to change.

 

Regular Program   Foundation Level Courses

SOC-WK 5510: Foundation Field Practicum I

SOC-WK 5511: Foundation Field Practicum II

SOC-WK 5532: Foundations of Social Work Practice I

SOC-WK 5533: Foundations of Social Work Practice II

SOC-WK 5530: Human Behavior: Individuals in the Social Environment

SOC-WK 5531: Human Behavior: Families, Groups, Organizations, Communities

SOC-WK 5534: Social Welfare Programs and Policies

SOC-WK 5535: Social Welfare Policy Practice

SOC-WK 5536: Social Work Research Methods

SOC-WK 5537: Statistical Applications in Social Work Research

Concentration Courses

SOC-WK 5512: Advanced Field Practicum I

SOC-WK 5513: Advanced Field Practicum II

SOC-WK 5540: Advanced Social Work Practice I

SOC-WK 5541: Advanced Social Work Practice II

SOC-WK 5550: Program Evaluation and Management

SOC-WK 5579: Integrative Seminar of Advanced Generalist Practice

 

Integrative Content Electives: (Open only to Concentration Year Students):

SOC-WK 5542: Aging Seminar

SOC-WK 5544: Families, Communities and Child Welfare

SOC-WK 5546: Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Social Work Practice

SOC-WK 5568: School Social Work

LAW 8815S: Leadership in Disability Studies: Multidisciplinary Approach

(Course taken with Institute for Human Development students and approved by the School of Social Work as meeting the knowledge, values, and skills content requirements of a masters level social work elective course)

SOC-WK 5563: Life Span Issues in Developmental Disabilities

(Course taken with Institute for Human Development students and approved by the School of Social Work as meeting the knowledge, values, and skills content requirements of a masters-level social work elective course)

SOC-WK 5580: Aging in the Family

SOC-WK 5580: Grief and Loss in Social Work Practice

SOC-WK 5590: Readings and Investigations in Social Work

 

Advanced Methods Electives: (Open only to concentration year students)

SOC-WK 5560: Psychopathology: A Competency Based Assessment Model in Social Work Practice

SOC-WK 5562: Family Organizations and Development: Multi-systems Interventions

SOC-WK 5564: Advanced Group Interventions in Social Work

SOC-WK 5565: Systemic Oppression and Social Justice Advocacy

SOC-WK 5566: Family and Community Violence

SOC-WK 5567: Collaborative Strengths-Based Practice: Multi-Systems Interventions

SOC-WK 5575: Advanced Community Practice

SOC-WK 5590: Readings and Investigations in Social Work

PUB-ADM 5526: Politics of Administration

(Course taken with Public Administration students and approved by the School of Social Work as meeting the knowledge, values, skills and content requirements of a masters level social work elective course)

PUB-ADM 5548: Leadership for Public Service

(Course taken with Public Administration students and approved by the School of Social Work as meeting the knowledge, values, and skills content requirements of a masters level social work elective course).

 

Advanced Standing Program

Advanced standing students must enroll in the following required spring or summer courses:

SOC-WK 5538  Advanced Standing Seminar: Contemporary
            Trends in Social Work Practice (3)
SOC-WK 5539  Advanced Standing Seminar: Emerging Issues
            in Social Welfare Policy and Research (3)

Advanced standing students then complete concentration level courses.

The graduate social work program grants the M.S.W. degree when students have completed the following degree requirements:

1. 60 credit hours of class (48 hours) and field (12 hours) for regular program students.
2. 36 credit hours of class (30 hours) and field (6 hours) for advanced standing students.
3. To remain in good standing, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
4. Part-time students must complete the program within four years.
5. Students take four electives in the concentration year, with at least one course from Integrative Content electives, Substance Abuse, Children, Youth and Families and one course from Advanced Methods electives.

Note: For students with disabilities or special learning needs, the program works closely with the Office of Disabled Student Services regarding special accommodations.