Detailed Curriculum
These requirements will apply to students enrolling at AU in the 2021-2022 academic year. Current students can find the requirements that apply to them by consulting the relevant academic catalog.
MSW Program Requirements
60 semester hours
Generalist Curriculum
30 semester hours
Social Welfare 3 semester hours
Social Welfare Policy and Institutions (3)
Human Behavior and Social Environment 6 semester hours
HBSE I: Theories of Human Development I (3)
HBSE II: Theories of Human Development II (3)
Social Work Practice Theory and Methods 9 semester hours
Social Work Practice with Individuals and Families (3)
Social Work Practice with Groups (3)
Social Work Practice with Communities and Organizations (3)
Research 3 semester hours
Research I: SW Research Methods (3)
Foundation Field Instruction 6 semester hours
Field Instruction I: Foundation Internship (3)
Field Instruction II: Foundation Internship (3)
Social Work Electives 3 semester hours
Social work electives may be used to complete tracks or coursework of interest.
Specialization Curriculum
30 semester hours
Social Work Practice and Policy 15 semester hours
Social Work Perspectives on Psychopathology (3)
Clinical Social Work Practice (3)
Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice (3)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Social Work Practice (3)
Advanced Social Policy (3)
Advanced Field Instruction 6 semester hours
Field Instruction III: Advanced Internship (3)
Field Instruction IV: Advanced Internship (3)
Social Work Electives 9 semester hours
Social work electives may be used to complete tracks or coursework of interest.
Optional Tracks
Addictions
Prepares you to work with individuals and families impacted by substance use within a primary substance use disorder treatment setting. The coursework focuses on various aspects of substance use, challenging your biases regarding impacted populations, and learning specific clinical skills to help the sub-populations encountering substance use disorders. Within the clinical concentration, you will complete an internship at an approved substance use disorder treatment site. Upon successful completion of this track, you will be eligible to take the Certified Alcohol and Other Drug Counselor (CADC) examination offered through the Illinois Certification Board. Further opportunity exists to earn additional credentials such as the Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Disorder Professional (CODP I).
Addictions courses (must obtain a "B" or higher in all track courses)
Survey of Substance Abuse Evaluation and Treatment (3)
Addictions Counseling I (3)
Addictions Counseling II (3)
Child Welfare
Focuses on addressing the issues surrounding families facing turmoil, protecting children from abuse and neglect, working with biological parents to reunite families, and finding permanent placements for those who cannot safely return to their homes. Internship experiences include positions in case management, shelter care services, intact family services, foster care, adoption, and therapeutic foster care services. Students will complete three electives and a child welfare specific internship. After successful completion of this track, you will be eligible to take the tests required, such as the Illinois Child Welfare Licensing Exam, to work in the child welfare field in Illinois.
Child welfare courses (must obtain a "B" or higher in all track courses)
Effects of Trauma on Children (3)
Vulnerable Children and Families (3)
Child Welfare Services (3)
Forensics
Prepares students to use legal expertise to work in the social work field. Simply defined, forensic social work means integration of social work and legal fields. The coursework focuses on educating students in forensic social work practice and theory. Students can utilize their specialized knowledge of this field to work in a variety of settings. Some examples include: correctional settings (jails, prisons, reentry programs, community supervision such as probation and parole), police departments and other law enforcement agencies, FBI, court systems (legal advocates, clinicians, treatment providers, policy development), child advocacy centers, domestic violence programs, survivor assistance programs (human trafficking, crime victims), etc. Opportunities are broad and available at micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
Forensic social work track courses (must obtain a "B" or higher in all track courses)
Forensic Social Work (3)
Social Work with Vulnerable Children and Families (3)
Mediation (3)
Gerontology
Focuses on the rapidly growing and ever-changing field of gerontology, and the myriad of roles for social workers in this field. In this track, you will learn to assess and treat older adults in a variety of service agencies including assisted-living facilities, nursing homes, hospice care settings, hospitals, and senior living homes.
Gerontology courses (must obtain a "B" or higher in all track courses)
Medical Social Work (3)
Social Work Gerontology: Assessment and Intervention (3)
Social Work Gerontology: Biology and Health of Aging (3)
Internship with aging populations to be completed in the advanced year.
For students wishing to pursue the Health Care track in addition to the Gerontology track, one additional Health Care elective is needed.
Health Care
Exposes you to the field of health care in the United States and the various roles available for social workers. The track provides a basic understanding of the medical field and its terminology, the complexities of brief and chronic illness and respective treatments, ethical considerations, insurance issues, and public policy. Upon completion, you will be able to recognize health disparities and work toward the equitable and fair provision of services to all populations
Health care track courses (must obtain a "B" or higher in all track courses)
Medical Social Work (3)
AND
Any two Health Care electives listed below:
Social Work Gerontology: Assessment and Intervention (3)
Social Work Gerontology: Biology and Health of Aging (3)
Suicide Prevention, Intervention, Postvention/Community Action (3)
Perspectives on Infertility and Assisted Reproduction (3)
Social Work with the Exceptional Child (3)
Bereavement Counseling (3)
Hospice SWK (3)
Psychiatric Hospital Social Work (3)
Self-Injury and Eating Disorders (3)
Oncology SWK (3)
Mindfulness (3)
Social Work and the Military (3)
Internship within a medical environment to be completed in the advanced year
Leadership Administration
The graduate leadership administration track is designed for students who wish to add depth of knowledge about effective management of organizations to their professional studies. Instruction contemplates the leadership of individuals, teams, and entire organizations. The program introduces academic theory about organizational behavior and supplements that theory with practical applications designed to provide the student with tools supporting excellence in management practice.
Courses leading to the graduate leadership administration track prepares students to take positions of authority in both for-profit and not-for-profit human service agencies. Courses endeavor to create synergy between students’ social work and business skills. Leadership graduates might help design the structure of organizations and teams, create operating protocols, measure performance, or even establish new agencies. Program graduates will be skilled in creating goals, diagnosing program successes and failures, and evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of programs. Many social work programs require talented management; recipients of the leadership certificate offer distinctive skills that employers find very attractive.
Aurora University has a rich history in social work education. It is also home to the well-respected Dunham School of Business. It is natural that these two imposing educational forces combine to provide the social work profession with managers especially equipped to maximize the effectiveness of social work organizations.
Students must earn a grade B or better in all track electives.
Select Three (3) Elective Courses (9 sh):
MBA 6030 Leadership and Organization Behavior
MBA 6200 Human Resource Management
MPA 6350 Nonprofit Management and Leadership
Please refer to the MBA section of the graduate catalog for course details.
Contact:
Alli Schuck, LSW
Coordinator of Leadership Administration Track and Director of Field Instruction
630-947-8936
aschuck@aurora.edu
School Social Work - Policy and Procedures for Illinois Professional Educator License with School Social Work Endorsement (excluding Post-Graduate MSW students)
All graduate social work students interested in taking coursework toward the Illinois Professional Educator License with School Social Work Endorsement must be in good standing with the School of Social Work and will be required to complete the following procedures:
- Pass SWK5610 and SWK6600: Social Work Practice with the Exceptional Child and Reading Content and Reading Methods for School Social Workers. Students are encouraged to complete SWK 5610 and SWK 6600 prior to the start of their Advanced MSW placement.
- Secure a field placement in the public school setting by actively seeking an internship. Since internships in the school setting are very competitive, it is recommended that students begin to look between January - March of the academic year preceding the advanced-year (school) field placement. Only MSW Advanced placements can be completed in a school district, under the supervision of a school social worker who has their Professional Educator License School Social Work Endorsement, in order to qualify for the school social work track and the Illinois Professional Educator License in Social Work.
- Take and pass the Illinois School Social Work Content Exam (184) by the end of their MSW studies. School social work students are encouraged to complete this exam in the fall of their Advanced MSW placement.
Students who complete these procedures follow the MSW program, clinical concentration structure outlined in this book. Note: Illinois State Board of Education Requirements for endorsement/licensure are frequently modified. Please contact the School Social Work Program Coordinator for current requirements.
Upon successful completion, students are eligible to apply for the Illinois Professional Educators’ License with School Social Work Endorsement.
Courses (must obtain a "B" or higher in all track courses)
Social Work Practice with the Exceptional Child (3)
School Social Work Policy and Practice I (3)
School Social Work Policy and Practice II (3)
Reading Content and Reading Methods for School Social Workers (3)