SWK1100 Careers in Social Work (4 semester hours)
Designed for the undergraduate student considering a major in the profession of social work or who holds an interest in volunteer community service. Explores the nature of helping relationships, social justice, and the empowerment of individuals, families, and communities. Covers the mission, values, philosophy, knowledge base, roles, and skills as well as the nature of professional education itself. Course includes a service learning component. This course, when completed along with SWK2100 Social Work in American Society constitutes the equivalent of SWK3100, Introduction to Social Work for social work majors.
No prerequisites.
Meets General Education "Knowing Ourselves and Others" Group A requirement.
SWK2050 Drugs and Behavior: Substance Abuse Evaluation and Treatment (4 semester hours)
Overview of the history of both the use and abuse of a range of psychoactive drugs based upon current research. Various mood altering substances as well as theories used to explain drug use and addiction are examined This course emphasizes the physical, emotional, and psychological dimensions of addiction, the impact of substance abuse on the individual, the family, and the community, and the con¬troversies regarding national and international drug policies.
No prerequisites.
Meets General Education "Knowing Ourselves and Others" Group A requirement
SWK2100 Social Work in American Society (4 semester hours)
Provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the profession of social work and its relationship to the social welfare system. Explores the history of the profession and distinguishes social work from other helping professions. Introduction to generalist social work practice grounded in the profession's Code of Ethics. Special attention is placed upon underserved and historically oppressed populations and relevant issues facing social workers today. This course, when completed along with SWK 1100 Careers in Social Work, constitutes the equivalent of SWK3100, Introduction to Social Work for social work majors.
No prerequisites.
Meets General Education "Knowing Ourselves and Others" Group A requirement.
SWK2150 Violence in America (4 semester hours)
An overview of the various aspects of violence in American society. Places violence in a historical context and emphasizes the causes and possible solutions. Violence related to family violence, including child abuse and spousal battering, police brutality, gun violence and gun control, media violence, school violence, workplace violence, youth and gang violence, drug violence, hate crimes, murder and capital punishment are addressed. Differential causes and impact of violence related to culture, race, gender, and age are examined.
No prerequisites.
Meets General Education "Knowing Ourselves and Others" Group A requirement.
SWK3100 Introduction to Social Work (4 semester hours)
Overview and historical perspective of the social work profession, discussion of social work values, knowledge, and skills. Introduction to generalist social work practice, human diversity within the social work profession, and fields of practice. Discussion of relevant issues facing social workers today.
Prerequisite: open to non-majors.
SWK3140 Generalist Practice I: Groups (4 semester hours)
Overview of group work theory including group development, leadership, group formation, group process, group roles, communication, non-verbal behavior, and ethics. Development of group leadership skills as well as group dynamics are taught through the use of experiential group activities.
Pre- or Co-requisites: SWK3100; majors only.
SWK3150 Social Welfare: Institutions and Policies (4 semester hours)
Social welfare and community services as social institutions (societal response to social problems): values, motivations, and methods by which institutions are developed, issues and social policies affecting programs and services, including analysis of policy-making process.
Prerequisites or co-requisites: PSC2110, SWK3100; majors only.
SWK3200 Psychopharmacology (3 semester hours)
This specific course will initially address and explore all of the commonly abused drugs seen in the addicted population. This class will review these drugs based upon their classification and what each drug can do to the body from a physiological and psychological perspective. Specific treatment approaches, unique complications for withdrawal and relapse potential for each of the drugs covered will be explored.
Prerequisites: SWK2050 (or can take concurrently), SWK3100 or consent of instructor; majors only.
SWK3300 Generalist Practice II : Communities and Organizations (3 semester hours)
Basic concepts and principles of community organization and organizational theory including social structures and processes, social change, social control, social stratification, and socialization through community organizations and institutions. Emphasizes community and organizational assessment and intervention, ethics, and the roles of the social worker in working within an organizational context and within a community.
Prerequisites: SWK3100 and SWK3150; majors only.
SWK3400 Human Behavior and Social Environment: (IEBSE) (4 semester hours)
Study of human behavior from an ecological perspective as organism-environment transactions. Social systems concepts; biological, psychological, socio-structural, and cultural variables; concepts of stress, adaptation, coping, social support, social networks, and biculturalism with implications for generalist social work practice. Prerequisites: SW13100, PSY1100 and SOC1100.; majors only.
Writing intensive course.
SWK3710 Child Welfare Services (3 semester hours)
This course is designed to present an overview of policy and practice issues in the field of child welfare from a historical, theoretical, political and practice perspective. Emphasis is placed on the role and function of the child welfare worker in each content area presented. Child welfare services are components of a network or continuum of services designed to provide services to children and their families for a variety of child related issues. The course will provide a conceptual framework of child welfare as an area of study in the field of Social Work and will describe the various agencies and services that make up the child welfare field of study. Additional work in the critical analysis related to decision making in the child welfare field will be provided. This course builds upon the social work foundation core course work in social welfare policy and human development. No prerequisites.
This course will focus on the practice implications for social workers within the juvenile justice system and substance abuse treatment programs. Current and historical policies and research specific to the juvenile justice system will be examined. Course work and lectures will investigate all phases of the contemporary juvenile justice system and examines juvenile rights, the nature and explanation of delinquency, truancy, classifications of juvenile offenders, juvenile courts and corrections, as well as effective treatment programs. Students will gain an understanding of the legal process, including due process, adjudication, alternatives to incarceration and forensic evaluation. Collaboration with protective services, treatment programs and court services will be evaluated. Prerequisites: SWK 3100 or equivalent; majors only.
SWK3730 Social Development and Prevention Programs (3 semester hours)
Social work has long been concerned with providing opportunities for the growth and development of youth, their families, and communities. Recently, foundations and policy groups have been reemphasizing the critical importance of services that are often referred to as "primary social services." This course will be examining primary social service networks for youth, family, and community development.
Elective course.
Prerequisite: SWK3100 or consent of instructor.
SWK3750 Addictions Counseling I (3 semester hours)
This course will cover basic information regarding alcohol use as a substance and its psychological and physiological impact. Roles and dynamics are examined in families where alcohol and drug use is problematic. Intervention strategies and the range of techniques used to address addiction are covered. State rules and regulations in the treatment of addictions are discussed. Community resources for the addicted population are reviewed.
Prerequisites: SW12050; SWK3100 or consent of instructor; majors only.
SWK3770 Social Work Practice with Older Adults (3 semester hours)
Study of major theories of aging and their implications for social work practice. Focuses on community services for the aged and examines current issues and trends related to the service delivery system. Elective course.
Prerequisite: SWK3100 or consent of instructor.
SWK4100 Social Work Practice with Diverse and Vulnerable Populations (3 semester hours)
Foundation and basic conceptual framework for understanding and appreciating unique characteristics and socio-structural factors that affect population groups identified by the social work professional as traditionally undeserved and oppressed. Traditional as well as alternative social work intervention methods are discussed and evaluated for their efficacy in working with these groups.
Prerequisites: SWK3400; majors only.
SWK4110 Generalist Practice III: Individuals and Families (4 semester hours)
The third course in a four-course practice sequence. Develops and builds on skills, knowledge, values, and ethics of the social work profession. Emphasizes developing practice competence by studying the generic principles of the helping process and applying systems theory, the ecological and strengths perspectives, and problem solving methods of working with individuals, families, groups, and communities. The engagement and assessment phases of social work are addressed. Practice issues prompted from the field experiences are an integral part of the course.
Prerequisites: SWK3400; majors only.
Co-requisite: SWK4210.
SWK4120 Generalist Practice IV: Capstone (4 semester hours)
Further facilitates the student's integration of classroom field learning. Emphasizes improved handling of oneself and the overall development of practice competence as well as the middle and the ending phases of intervention with families, individuals, groups, and communities. A continued focus on ethical considerations; theory and skill development, the development of the student's own practice theory are addressed.
Prerequisites: SWK4110; majors only.
Co-requisite: SWK4220.
SWK4200 Social Work Research I (3 semester hours)
Research knowledge and competencies essential to the beginning professional worker for effective practice and for entry into graduate social work programs; gathering relevant data; describing, monitoring, and accounting for one's own practice and participating in research efforts and agency information systems.
Prerequisites: SWK3400, majors only.
SWK4210 Field Instruction I (4 semester hours)
Taken in conjunction with Generalist Social Work Practice I (SWK4110); minimum of 225 clock hours for each semester (fall). Learning experiences in the field setting are under the instruction of an M.S.W. with at least two years' experience. Experiences include direct work with individuals, groups, families, and communities, as well as participation in staff activities.
Prerequisites: SWK3400; majors only.
SWK4220 Field Instruction II (4 semester hours)
Taken in conjunction with Generalist Social Work Practice II (SWK4120); minimum of 225 clock hours for each semester (spring). Learning experiences in the field setting are under the instruction of an M.S.W. with at least two years' experience. Experiences include direct work with individuals, groups, families, and communities, as well as participation in staff activities.
Prerequisites: SWK4210; majors only.
SWK4300 Social Work Research II (3 semester hours)
Statistical methods course acquaints the student with data analysis using SPSS. Basic concepts of descriptive and inferential statistics, descriptions of central tendency, dispersion, association and difference; inference via statistical estimation, hypothesis testing, and tests of significance are covered to enable students to conceptualize, apply, and interpret statistical methods in relation to problems which confront the field of social work.
Prerequisites: SWK4200; majors only.
SWK4700 Addictions Counseling II (3 semester hours)
This is the second course designed to specifically address treatment approaches utilized while working with the addicted population. In this course, students will continue building their expertise of addictions' treatment by studying specific treatment approaches found to have had positive outcomes with the addicted populations.
Prerequisites: SWK2050, SWK3750, & SWK3200; concurrent enrollment in SWK4210; majors only.
This course is designed to explore the expressive therapies, such as, art, clay, dance, drama, music, sand and writing. Through the creative therapies social workers will become self aware of the use of imagination, mind, body and emotions. Students will understand the affect of expressive therapy on children from diverse populations with diverse needs. Assessment and intervention of such treatments will be examined. The intermodal treatments will allow the social worker students to alter their approach based on the clients' needs, or through using multiple forms of expression with the same client to aid with deeper exploration. Prerequisites: SWK 3710, majors only or consent of instructor.
SWK4740 Family Violence: Issues and Intervention (3 semester hours)
Socio-cultural analysis of the victimization, through violence, of men and women in the family, with a particular focus on the problems of battering and incest. Exploration of preventions, intervention strategies and implications for social work practice.
Elective course.
SWK4760 Effects of Trauma on Children (3 semester hours)
This course will focus on children and adolescents who have been exposed to significant trauma and/or loss. Child trauma theory, impact of trauma and loss, and assessment of traumatized children will be explored. Factors such as the therapeutic relationship, working with caregivers, self-care for social workers, and the critical need for supervision will be examined. Skills will be developed to directly treat children of trauma to assist with the management of their symptoms, healing from trauma/loss memories, and increasing coping skills to prepare for future challenges. Prerequisites: SWK 3710, majors only or consent of instructor.
Elective course.
Prerequisite: SWK3100 or consent of instructor.
SWK4810: Social Work Perspectives and Practice on Psychopathology (3 semester hours)
This course presents psychopathology through a distinctly social work perspective. The course includes bio-psycho-social assessment and treatment models, including the use of DSMIV-TR. The course emphasizes assessment, advocacy, direct service, interdisciplinary collaboration, and use of community resources and supports. The person is not defined by diagnosis or condition. Mental illness is seen through a strengths perspective and within a social context. Persons are viewed holistically, as participating members of their families and communities.
Prerequisites: SWK3400 and SWK4110.
Academic information on departmental websites reflects the university's most current curriculum. The print version of the catalog, which is also posted online, may differ from this information.
