SW 120 I Want to Help People

Students explore service to human beings as a profession, a vocation, and a volunteer commitment. Who needs help? Who helps? Where? How? What motivates people to help? Using the liberal arts as a foundation for helping people, students study vocational opportunities in areas such as health care, social services, ministry, youth work, and the arts. The class includes lectures, discussions, speakers, and field visits; additional fee. Open only to first year students and sophomores. Offered during Interim.

SW 125 Racism and Sexism in American Family Life

This course introduces students to the study of racism and sexism from a variety of disciplinary perspectives with special attention to the impact on women and on African-American and Latino families. Students examine the processes by which race and gender are socially constructed to benefit some and disadvantage others. Students consider how prejudice develops and learn strategies to communicate with people of diverse backgrounds. Counts toward family studies concentration.

SW 221 Social Work and Social Welfare

Students study the progression of the U.S. social welfare system from English Poor Laws through the Social Security Act to contemporary reforms and how its components (public, private, faith-based) interrelate to serve diverse populations in cities and small towns. The development of social work, its values and knowledge, and its relationship to fields of social welfare are included. Students shadow a social worker for four hours. Offered each semester. Counts towards American studies major and family studies concentration.

SW 246 Human Behavior in the Social Environment

Humans relate to one another in families, groups, organizations and communities. Through social systems, cross-cultural, strengths and other theoretical perspectives, students apply prerequisite and advanced content material from biology, sociology, and psychology to assess situations encountered by social workers. Diverse examples are drawn from literature – Love in theDriest Season, The Color of Water, A Poison Stronger than Love and from students’ autobiographies. Prerequisites: Sociology 121, Psychology 241, and Biology 123 or 243; open to non-majors by permission of chair only. Offered annually in the fall semester.

SW 254 Inclusive Practice: Individuals and Families

Social work majors study the “how-to” of social work practice, particularly intercultural communication. They describe strengths and problems of diverse individuals and families; frame goals and plans for change utilizing the planned change process and the systems perspective; and use ethical decision-making, informed by the scientific method, grounded in the liberal arts, and concerned with social justice. Students demonstrate learning in videotaped role playing and have an agency interviewing experience. Prerequisites: Social Work 221 and concurrent enrollment in Social Work 246. Offered annually in the fall semester.

SW 256 Family Social Services in Central Mexico (abroad)

Families in central Mexico survive and thrive in their communities. Students explore how public and private organizations work with informal systems to assist those challenged by poverty, injustice, poor health, addictions and global economic pressures. Development opportunities for, and contributions of, women are emphasized. Speakers, site visits to agencies and programs, home-stays, indigenous village immersion, and an orientation to Mexico City are included. Prerequisite: one social science course (including Psychology). Offered occasionally during Interim. Counts toward biomedical studies concentration.

SW 258 Social Policy

Immigration policy and welfare reform exemplify how society’s values and needs translate into policies and programs. Social workers work for justice by creating, implementing, and evaluating policies in health, employment, housing, and child welfare. Students study policy formation and analysis that reflect interests and powers of diverse groups as well as economic and social needs of certain populations at risk. The course emphasizes policy impact on women, people in poverty, African-Americans, gay men and lesbians, and Latinos. Open to non-majors by permission of instructor. Offered annually in the spring semester. Counts towards American studies major and biomedical studies concentration.

SW 261 Inclusive Practice: Groups, Organizations and Communities

Social work majors continue the methods and skills of generalist practice. They assess strengths and problems of diverse groups, organizations and communities and use the systems perspective to help client systems frame goals and plans for social change. Students scientifically assess macrosystems and develop plans for implementing change that are reflective, scientific, just, and grounded in the liberal arts. Prerequisite: Social Work 254. Offered annually in the spring semester.

SW 274 Evaluation of Social Work Practice and Programs

Social work majors study scientific approaches to building knowledge for generalist practice and assessing effectiveness and efficiency of both individual practice and social service programs. Students learn to assess needs and progress, design case interventions, measure client satisfaction and assess program outcomes. They evaluate elements of practice with diverse clients and portions of programs with which they are familiar and apply ethical standards to scientific inquiry. Open to non-majors by permission of instructor. Offered annually in the spring semester.

SW 294 Internship

SW 298 Independent Study

SW 373 Culturally Competent Practice

This course immediately precedes the Field Practicum (Social Work 380). Students integrate principles and skills of culturally competent assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation with diverse clients – micro, mezzo, and macro. They roleplay diverse practice situations and articulate implications of social policy for cross-cultural practice. Brief immersion opportunities in diverse communities are included. Additional fee. Prerequisite: Social Work 261. For senior majors only. Offered annually in September.

SW 380 Field Practicum (3 credits)

In this “real world” experience, social work majors complete at least 400 hours in a rural or urban agency with structured learning about generalist practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities from diverse backgrounds. Students engage in professional responsibilities with careful guidance and supervision from the field instructor and the field coordinator. Students periodically attend a seminar to integrate classroom learning, share experiences and obtain support. Prerequisite: Majors who have satisfactorily completed all foundation and required courses with numbers below 380. Offered annually in the fall semester.

SW 381 Community Engagement in Social Work

This capstone course is for senior majors. Students complete a community-based project commonly assigned to a beginning-level generalist social worker. Weekly seminars introduce auxiliary skills and knowledge for beginning workers with an emphasis on ethical decision-making. Students discuss current social work issues and provide peer consultation with projects. Evaluation includes: a report of project results; analysis of decision-making in relation to theory, human diversity, policy, and ethics; and assessment of demonstrated mastery of major competencies. Prerequisite: social work majors who have satisfactorily completed Social Work 380. Offered annually in the spring semester.

SW 394 Academic Internship

SW 396 Directed Undergraduate Research: “Topic Description”

This course provides a comprehensive research opportunity, including an introduction to relevant background material, technical instruction, identification of a meaningful project, and data collection. The topic is determined by the faculty member in charge of the course and may relate to his/her research interests. Prerequisite: determined by individual instructor. Offered based on department decision.

398 Independent Research