MSW Course Descriptions
(updated 11/7/06)View Special Courses for Spring 2007
SW 601 - History and Philosophy of Social Work and Social Welfare
This course offers an historical perspective for understanding current issues of social welfare and social work. It examines the social, racial, political, and economic forces that explain the development of social welfare and social work in the United States. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of gender and race in shaping social policy. Programs, policies, and issues are analyzed as responses to long-term changes in social and economic conditions in the United States and the needs and demands of oppressed groups for full participation in the life of the country.
SW 602 – Human Behavior in the Social Environment
This course introduces the student to the individual and family components of social interaction in a variety of milieus. Theories of self and personality are studied along with theories related to traditional and non-traditional family styles, different social and ethnic groups, and assimilation and acculturation. Emphasis is given to the impact of different cultures and traditions on individual functioning. Additional attention is given to selected social characteristics of the larger society, such as factors of socio-economic class that influence individual and family behavior and functioning.
SW 603 - American Racism and Social Work Practice
This course explores racism in America as an historical and contemporary phenomenon. It emphasizes the development of evidence-based knowledge about institutional systems of racism, analytical skill in understanding the complexity of institutional racism and other forms of oppression more broadly defined, self- awareness, and the implications of racism for social work services and practices. Required.
SW 604 - Foundations of Social Work Practice
This is the first of a four-course sequence designed to help students develop a professional stance and evidence-based framework for social work services to individuals, groups, families, and communities. It integrates the student's theoretical learning with the experience in the field placement agency. The student is introduced to a holistic process-oriented approach to social work practice and to methods for implementation. The course emphasizes the social context for practice with special attention to agency purpose, functions and structure; the client system and its perceptions of need; goals and resources; and the social worker as a facilitator of change. Required.
SW 611 - Contemporary Social Policy
This course introduces students to the analysis of contemporary social welfare policy. Several social welfare policy areas, including social inequality, poverty, health care, and housing are examined. Each topic area is also used to illustrate a component of the policy analysis process, including the analysis of ideologies and values as they shape policy formulation, the process by which legislation is proposed and enacted, the roles of advocacy and lobbying organizations, and the challenges of policy implementation and evaluation. (Prerequisite SW 601) Required.
SW 612 - Groups, Organizations, and Communities in the Social Environment
The focus of this course is on developing an understanding of how human behavior occurs in the context of group, organizational, and community relations. The dynamic nature of how groups, organizations and communities come into being, are nourished and change over time and impact upon client systems will be fully explored. (Prerequisite SW 602) Required.
SW 613 - Understanding Social Change: Issues of Race and Gender
This course builds upon the foundation of historical, psychological, sociological, economic, political, and personal knowledge about institutionalized forms of racism and discrimination developed in SW 603, American Racism and Social Work Practice. The course uses understanding elements of oppression to critically examine strategies for addressing racism and sexism in organizations and communities through systematic assessment and planning for social change. The course examines change at three levels: organizations, communities, and social movements. (Prerequisite SW 603) Required.
SW 614 - Social Work Practice
This is the second in a four-course sequence and continues to examine varied practice frameworks and methods for service delivery in working with individuals, groups, families, and communities. It emphasizes the eradication of institutional racism and other forms of oppression along with the integration of a culturally-sensitive approach to social work practice. Attention is given to understanding client problems in the context of different social work practice approaches and service requirements and to increased use of professional values to guide and inform practice. (Prerequisite SW 604) Required.
SW 701 - Health and Mental Health Policy
This course provides an overall view of the historical, social, and economic dimensions of the health care delivery system: how health policies are developed and implemented, and how such policies influence social work practice, program planning, and research. Key health policy issues such as financing, cost, access, and the allocation of resources are explored in the context of health reform proposals. Students investigate how health policy affects specific population groups such as women and children, persons with chronic mental illnesses, persons with AIDS, older adults, and minorities. Free Elective.
SW 702 - Social Work Practice in Health Care
This course focuses on key issues in social work practice in health care settings. Social aspects of health and illness, including cultural variations, health beliefs and behavior, and the impact of illness on the patient and the family, are examined and their relevance for practice is discussed. Appropriate theoretical models for practice are identified and applied to practice in the areas of prevention, primary care, chronic and long-term care. New roles for social work in varied health delivery systems and inter-professional collaboration are explored. Clinical Practice Elective.
SW 703 - Impacting Government Policy In Pennsylvania
This course focuses on social changes in health care as it impacts the lives of older people and their families. Using Pennsylvania as a model, we will focus on the administrative and legislative systems. Topics will include the recent controversial changes to Medicare, re-balancing of the long-term care system and efficacy of behavioral health treatment programs. Students will learn how to impact social change at the policy level by planning a social marketing campaign. They will develop materials to influence consumer understanding and behavior, such as editorial and legislative briefings. Students will have the opportunity to interact with officials, legislators, and advocates as they build the framework to support a social change agenda.
SW 704 - Advanced Clinical/Macro Social Work Practice I
Building on the foundation established in the foundation social work practice courses, this course introduces advanced theoretical frameworks for clinical practice from which students build conceptual practice frameworks. The course helps students choose and learn the components of a practice approach in the context of social assessment, agency auspices, and the student's developing theoretical framework. Required for Clinical Practice Concentration.
SW 706 - Policies for Children and Their Families
This course examines policies for children and their families with a specific focus on child welfare policy. The course examines the interrelationship between: the knowledge base on child abuse and neglect; evaluations of interventions; programs and policies designed to protect maltreated children; and child welfare policy at the state and national level. The course also examines federal and state laws that govern the funding and operation of child welfare systems; the history of child welfare policies; the operation of child welfare systems; and the legal, political and social forces that influence the structure and function of child welfare systems in the United States. Free Elective.
SW 708 - Advanced Macro Social Work Practice I
Advanced Macro Social Work Practice builds on the foundation social work practice courses and is composed of three interrelated disciplines: community organization, planning, and administration. In Macro Practice courses, the student develops knowledge and skills for practice in communities, organizations, and/or other social systems. This course, the first of two Macro Practice courses, begins by developing a theoretical framework for macro practice. Knowledge and skill development focuses primarily on social work practice within communities and on the planning of service delivery at the community level. Students learn how to identify community-based social problems, organize and build relationships with communities, and develop programs. Specific skill development includes learning how to conduct needs assessments, staff committees, run meetings, and write grants. The content is integrated with fieldwork and is specific to the service needs of the populations with whom students are working in their field agencies. Required for Macro Practice Concentration.
SW 709 - Heterosexism
This course builds on the foundation-year focus on institutional oppression by applying this model to the status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in U.S. society and in social welfare systems. The course assesses the relationship of heterosexism and homophobia to other forms of institutional oppression, including racism and sexism. The course includes an overview of the treatment of sexual minorities in the U.S. and in the social work profession with a focus on issues related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender clients as an under-served and mis-served population. The intersection of racism and heterosexism is a focal point to explore the concerns and needs of LGBTQ people of color. Current theoretical frameworks for understanding sexual identity and the unique situations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people throughout the life cycle will be identified. Social work strategies for addressing heterosexism in social welfare agencies and communities will be explored by examining both micro and macro social work practice issues. The course will include a critical assessment of the state of social work education on the topic. Free Elective
SW 712/401 City Limits: The Impact of Urban Policy (Free Elective
Prerequisite: Students must have taken an introduction to research methods.
This course assesses the changing role of public policy in American cities. In the past, government often believed that it could direct urban development. New realities—the rise of an informal labor market, global capital and labor flows, the flight of businesses and the middle class to the suburbs—have demonstrated that government must see itself as one—but only one—‘player’ in a more complex, transactional process of policy making that crosses political boundaries and involves business, organized interest groups, and citizens.
This seminar uses a case study method to study how public policy can make a difference in the revitalization of distressed American cities. The seminar is designed for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Seminar readings and projects will be organized around three themes: 1) history and vision, 2) data and analysis, and 3) policy development and implementation. Students will be divided into project teams assigned to work on current development issues that will be reviewed by both public- and private-sector experts.
Extensive use will be made of real estate, economic development, and social indicator data to understand the complex forces at work in both large and small cities. Students will learn to access, analyze, and map information; to frame and interpret these data within a regional perspective; and to construct profiles of cities and neighborhoods. Students will study recent urban redevelopment initiatives in the Philadelphia region -- including Philadelphia's Neighborhood Transformations Initiative and New Jersey's Camden Revitalization plans.
SW 714 - Advanced Clinical/Macro Social Work Practice II
The focus of learning in this semester is differential intervention and the expansion of the professional role and repertoire. Students extend and refine their practice knowledge and skills and learn to intervene with group systems and selected problems. Students consolidate their identification as professionals and learn to constructively use environment to affect systems change. (Prerequisite SW 704) Required for Clinical Practice Concentration.
SW 715 - Introduction to Social Work Research
This course presents the broad range of research tools that social workers can use to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their practice. The course emphasizes the process of theory development, conceptualization, and hypothesis formulation across a broad spectrum of social work practice situations. The course includes methodological considerations relating to concept operationalization, research design (experimental, survey, and field), sampling instrumentation, methods of data collection and analysis, and report preparation and dissemination. The course also emphasizes how social work research can help professionals better understand and more effectively impact problems of racism and sexism in contemporary American society. Required.
SW 718 - Advanced Macro Social Work Practice II
This course, the second of two Macro Practice courses, helps students develop the knowledge and skills required to become an effective and creative social work manager. Management and behavioral science theories and concepts, as well as techniques and methods, are introduced. Students also learn how to strategically plan programs at the organizational level and explore how public policy influences service delivery. Students learn to utilize administrative skills to promote social change within a variety of systems that influence the lives of client populations. Students have the opportunity to apply this administrative content to their field agency. (Prerequisite SW 708) Required for Macro Practice Concentration.
SW 719 - Prenatal and Early Childhood Development
This course presents a coherent portrait of the development that transforms a person from the prenatal period to infancy to young childhood. The course bridges standard theories of development with new approaches such as social learning, cognitive development, developmental psychobiology, and other psychological theories used to understand the child. Integration of different perspectives on development is geared to demonstrate the interrelated nature of growth in cognition, learning, language, emotions, personality, physical growth and social behaviors. Students research areas of individual interest. Free Elective.
SW 720 - Middle Childhood and Adolescence
This course focuses initially on growth and behavior in the often overshadowed period of middle childhood, and in greater depth on the adolescent period. Change in the psychological, physical, cognitive and social domains of growth is examined and is related to changing relationships and overt behaviors. The influence of social factors is a continuing theme. Concepts like "adolescent rebellion" are questioned and re-evaluated. Connections between uneven development and social problem behavior are examined. Knowledge is salient to school social work as well as to other practice domains. Students research areas of individual interest. Free Elective.
SW 722 - Practice with Children and Adolescents
This course provides a foundation for social work practice with children and adolescents. Beginning with an overview of normative child and adolescent development and psychosocial developmental theory, the course covers various methods for helping at-risk children and adolescents and their families. Emphasizing the complex interplay between children and adolescents and their social environments, consideration will be given to biological, temperamental, and developmental status; the familial/cultural context; the school context; and other aspects of the physical and social environment. Particular attention is paid to working with socially, emotionally, financially, and physically challenged and deprived children and adolescents and their families. Clinical Practice Elective.
SW 724 - Developmental Disabilities
This course enhances the students' ability to practice social work with and on behalf of people with developmental disabilities and their families. The course provides a base of knowledge about developmental disabilities and differences, their causes and characteristics. Students learn how disabilities and learning differences impact personal, familial, educational, social, and economic dimensions for the individual, family and society, with attention to the person's special life cycle needs and characteristics. The course also emphasizes legislative, programmatic, political, economic, and theoretical formulations fundamental to service delivery. Clinical Practice Elective.
SW 726 - Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention
This course focuses on theory and practice of planned brief treatment in social work practice, primarily with individuals but with attention to couples, families and other groupings. The course covers the history of and different approaches to brief treatment. Topics include treatment issues such as criteria for selection of clients, understanding the importance of time in the treatment relationship, the use of history, the importance of focusing, the process of termination and other issues related to brief interventions. Particular attention will be paid to the use of brief treatment approaches in crisis situations. The course presents various methods of assessing an individual's crisis and of helping clients mobilize their strengths to utilize customary methods of coping and learn newer ways of coping. Clinical Practice Elective.
SW 727 - Practice with Families
This course provides students with assessment and intervention skills for social work practice with varied family/partner configurations. The course begins with a grounding in family systems theory and proceeds to explore patterns of interaction in terms of the wide range of problems that families and partners bring to social agencies. Emphasis is given to exploring ways of supporting change in interaction patterns. Readings are augmented by videotapes of family sessions and simulations of clinical situations from students' field practice. Clinical Practice Elective.
SW 728 - Ethnicity in Contemporary America
This course focuses on major ethnic groups in America as a way of exploring cultural differences, ethnic retention, and the nature of pluralism in our society. Students examine family patterns, religion, educational institutions, and other factors that transmit and maintain cultural and ethnic differences. Students define and develop the implications of these social factors for use in social work practice. Free Elective.
SW 729 - Social Statistics
This course provides students with a broad range of statistical methods and applications. It introduces social work students to the use of quantitative data for planning and evaluating social programs and social policy. Course topics include conceptualization and measurement of variables and basic techniques and concepts for exploring and categorizing data, for generalizing research findings and testing hypotheses, and for statistical data processing. Students will gain experience in using a Windows-based statistical software package on personal computers. Emphasis is placed on the practical application of data to address social policy and social work practice issues. Students have the opportunity to critique the application of data analysis and presentation in technical reports and professional journals. (No prerequisite required).
SW730 - Community Mapping
Geographic space is important to family and community well-being, as we know. Community Mapping introduces students to geographic information systems (GIS), computer software for making maps and analyzing spatial data. Students will learn how maps have been used in social welfare history as well as how GIS can be used for needs assessments, asset mapping, program evaluation, and program planning. The course builds on research skills developed in SW 715. For the final project, students have an opportunity to apply their GIS skills to creating maps related to their field placement. The use of such maps may lead to both program and policy change in neighborhoods and communities. Macro Practice Elective.
SW 731 - Sociology of the American Jewish Community
This course is an overview of the sociology of the American Jewish community in the context of the social history of American Jewry. Students become familiar with the demography and social characteristics of the community, as well as its social structure and institutions. Study of the Jewish family, synagogue, and communal organizations enhances and broadens the analysis of the familiar. Conflict between institutions and patterns of innovation is also explored, along with the educational structures necessary for the continuity of minority identity and leadership into the next generation. Free Elective / Certificate in Jewish Communal Services course.
SW 732 - The Jewish Family: Institution in Transition
This course is designed to give a sociological overview of the contemporary Jewish family in the context of Jewish history and tradition. The traditional Jewish family, the role of the single-parent family, dual-career families, the impact of divorce, and devising a policy to support Jewish family life within the current institutional structures and alternative ones are considered. Free Elective / Certificate in Jewish Communal Services course.
SW 733 - Catholic Social Thought and the American Catholic
This course examines the increasing gap between the nation's and the Church's challenge to American Catholics. Racial intolerance and poverty in our own country are considered. Peace and disarmament teaching are examined for their implications for spiritual living, teaching, and preaching. Free Elective / Certificate in Catholic Social Ministry course.
SW 734 - History of the Catholic Church in America
This course provides a historical survey of the Catholic Church in the United States from the beginning to the present, with special emphasis on the church in Philadelphia, PA. Free Elective / Certificate in Catholic Social Ministry course.
SW 735 - Social and Economic Development
Social policy reflects the dominant political and economic ideologies of societies at distinctive moments in their social histories. This course focuses on the evolving nature of the socio-economic policy development process in economically advanced countries, but especially that of the United States. The course helps students draw on their current practice experiences to identify the unique contributions made by social workers to social and economic development (SED) policy development. Particular attention will be given to the range of SED policy "actors" and the dominant sectors of SED activity in development-oriented social work practice (e.g., housing, health care, income security, community development, etc.) Macro Practice Elective.
SW 736 - Building Community Capacity
This course provides an introduction to community organization and community capacity building. The course encompasses strategies, models, and techniques for the creation of organizations, the formation of federations of existing organizations, and coalition-building, all designed to address problems requiring institutional or policy changes or reallocation of resources to shift power and responsibility to those most negatively affected by current socio-economic and cultural arrangements. The course emphasizes development of strategies and techniques to organize low-income minority residents of urban neighborhoods, and to organize disenfranchised groups across geographic boundaries as the first required steps in an empowerment process. Macro Practice Elective.
SW 738 - Anxiety and Depression
Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental disorders seen in social work clients, and frequently they occur concurrently. This course describes the medical and "physical" concomitants and psychosocial factors associated with both conditions and introduces diagnostic and assessment procedures and methods of intervention that social workers use in working with clients with these conditions. The course also considers how culture, social class, gender, and other social differences affect the expression of these disorders and their concomitant treatment. Clinical Practice Elective.
SW 740 - Strategic Planning and Resource Development for Public and Nonprofit Organizations
Resilient organizations engage in a continuous process of self-review and refocusing. Referred to as "strategic planning," this process requires the active participation of a broad range of agency "stakeholders" who, in their work together, seek to realign the organization's goals, structures, and programs to make them more responsive to the changing needs of their service populations. Building on the content of foundation practice courses, this course strengthens the student's capacity to engage in strategic planning and resource development with nonprofit organizations. The importance of organizational flexibility, innovation, and the creation of public-private partnerships is emphasized throughout the course. Macro Practice Elective.
SW 742 - Practice with At-Risk Youth
The discourse on juvenile justice in the United States, once driven by themes of treatment and rehabilitation, has been dominated in recent years by vocabularies of punishment and incapacitation. The juvenile court, an enterprise founded by social reformers and the social work profession at the turn of the century to "save children," is now under severe political and legislative pressure to impose harsher penalties on younger and younger offenders who are increasingly portrayed as violent "super-predators," while its most vulnerable segments, children and youth, stand in greatest need of what a social service system can offer. Not surprisingly, those most likely to wind up under supervision are economically poor, under-educated, disproportionately of color and disproportionately at-risk to become victims of violent crimes. How does the profession situate itself in this discourse and what are individual social workers to do? Clinical and Macro Practice Elective.
SW 743 - Action Research
Action research is a form of social research that combines research with intervention. It is characterized by a collaborative relationship between the researcher and a client organization that is in an immediate problematic situation. The research process is directed toward addressing the problem situation and producing knowledge that contributes to the goals of social science. Action research is compatible with many of the values and principles of social work. This course also addresses issues of social work ethics and values encountered by the action researcher. (Prerequisite SW 715) Research Option.
SW 744 - Direct Practice Research
This course provides graduate social work students with research knowledge and skills aimed at enhancing their direct practice with clients. The course examines methods of assessment, methods for choosing and evaluating techniques of intervention, methods for determining the effectiveness of practice and the use of research in social work decision-making. A successful outcome of the course will be that students perceive a more positive relationship between research and social work practice and possess a set of tools that they will be able to utilize in their future careers as social workers. The course starts from an assumption that students have some familiarity with research and are primarily engaged in direct practice with individuals, families or groups. (Prerequisite SW 715).
SW 745 - Policy Research
This course introduces the process of policy analysis, stressing the joint use of qualitative and quantitative methods. Targeted to both the social work activist and the social worker within the agency, the course first explores how and why policy analyses are used and then introduces specific techniques. Methods will be illustrated through examples of policy research. These examples improve students' skills in understanding how policy analyses may directly impact who they serve and the resources available to those they serve. Assignments develop research skills while allowing students to use methods most suited to their interests. Specific techniques discussed include interviewing, observation, descriptive data analysis, researching the legislative process, cost-benefit analysis, and simple quantitative models. Combining techniques allows for more complete discussions of process evaluation, social experiments, and discriminating between alternative policies. (Prerequisite SW 715) Research Option.
SW 746 - Political Social Work
This course focuses on the role of social workers and the social work profession in advocacy and the political arena. It examines the methods of advocacy (e.g., case, class, and legislative) and political action through which social workers can influence social policy development and community and institutional change. The course also analyzes selected strategies and tactics of change and seeks to develop alternative social work roles in the facilitation of purposive change efforts. Topics include individual and group advocacy, lobbying, public education and public relations, electoral politics, coalition building, and legal and ethical dilemmas in political action. Macro Practice Elective.
SW 748 - Women's Voices in Social Work and Social Welfare
This course offers students a feminist lens through which to think about and examine constructions of gender that affect social work practice and social welfare policies. The course enhances students' knowledge of women's contributions to the field of social work, feminist theories, women's "ways of knowing," and feminist practice approaches as they apply to selected arenas of social work. Special attention is given to economic, psychological, and social risks faced by women and ways in which social workers can better understand, validate, and empower women clients and transform social services to promote human well-being. The course is predicated on the idea that women are diverse and that gender intersects with other "isms," including racism, ageism, heterosexism, ableism, and classism. Free Elective.
SW 749 - Welfare and Economics
This course examines the social welfare aspects of major economic decisions in the United States. Particular attention is paid to exploring the implications of social choices in relation to the following goals: the achievement of increased equality in the distribution of income and power; the elimination of unemployment; and the control of inflation. Growth of public welfare programs and the base of funding for social services are examined in terms of the nation's economic and political objectives. Free Elective.
SW 750 - Comparative Studies in Social Welfare
Social welfare is the major institutional vehicle through which societies assure a minimal level of “well-being” for their citizens. Building on both the social policy courses of the core curriculum and the foundational course in research, the content of this course focuses on achieving a fuller understanding of the complex social, political, and economic dynamics of contemporary welfare development throughout the world, but with a special emphasis on the development dilemmas confronting economically advanced nations and societies. The development challenges confronting the world’s richest will received special attention in this course as will the responsibilities of these countries in helping to advance the social, political and economic development of the world’s poorest nations. Problems of national and global wealth & poverty, social justice & injustice, and social equality & inequality will receive special attention, as will the multi-faceted contributions made by social workers and social policy specialists in promoting more rapid development of both rich and poor nations. Given the course’s emphasis on comparative policy analysis, students will be expected to demonstrate at least beginning skill in the use of comparative research methods in analyzing an international social welfare, social policy, or social development dilemma of particular interest to them. (Prerequisite SW 715).
SW 752 - Welfare Politics
This course examines the impact of the political environment on the formulation and implementation of social welfare policy. It examines the structure of the American federal system: the division of power among federal, state, and local governments and among executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Particular attention is paid to the role of special-interest groups in achieving social welfare goals within the system. In addition, the role of protest and insurgent political movements in transforming the welfare system is addressed. Free Elective.
SW 754 - Fiscal Management and Management Information Systems for Nonprofit Organizations
Effective fiscal management and the development of integrated management information systems are two of the leadership responsibilities shared by senior administrators of all not-for-profit organizations. Building on the content of both the foundational (including SW715) and advanced macro practice curricula (SW708 and SW718), this course will introduce students to the stewardship responsibilities incumbent on administrators of not-for-profit organizations in allocating and accounting for the use of all fiscal, human and other resources under their control. Special emphasis in this course will be placed on identifying principles of financial planning and accountability, the development of effective electronic systems for tracking and monitoring the use of financial resources, the integration of agency-specific financial information into larger reporting and accountability systems, and the application of these principles to enhancing organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Attention also will be given to identifying and resolving ethical dilemmas confronted by organizational managers as they seek to optimize use of the fiscal and other resources for which they are responsible. Macro Practice Elective.
SW 756 - Human Sexuality
The aim of this course is to increase the student's ability to deal more comfortably with the sexual aspect of human functioning. Readings, written assignments, and classroom presentations are directed to realizing the diversity, complexity, and range of human sexual expression. Current information about sexuality from the biological and physiological sciences is reviewed. To increase comfort and skill in discussion and handling of sex-related behavior, personal and societal attitudes are explored. A variety of sex-related social problems encountered by social workers in family, education, health, and criminal justice settings are discussed. Diagnostic interviewing and treatment methods are presented in role play, group exercises, and case studies. Free Elective.
SW 757 - Loss Through the Life Cycle
This course considers loss as a central theme throughout the life cycle. Content focuses on the physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and cultural aspects of loss, dying and bereavement processes and the interaction among individuals, families and professionals. Students examine historical trends of family, community, and institutional support for the terminally ill and those experiencing traumatic loss and learn ways to advocate for a system of services that supports full decision-making on the part of the client. Course materials, journals, and special projects identify how self and other factors impact service delivery to individuals, families, and communities experiencing loss, including ethical considerations prompted by cost, technology, and end of life issues. Clinical Practice Elective.
SW 758 - Faith-Based Practice and Management
This course prepares students to work in existing and newly formed faith-based social service agencies. It also serves as a national laboratory to extract new knowledge of best practices and the variability of managing and practicing in faith-based social service agencies. Clinical and Macro Practice Elective.
SW 759 - Substance Abuse Interventions
This course addresses intervention approaches used in social work practice with individuals, families, and groups who misuse addictive substances themselves or are affected by another's misuse. Students learn about addictive substances, models of intervention, how to engage and assess clients, and how to intervene and evaluate the effectiveness of their interventions. The course incorporates theory and research findings on various strategies of intervention. Clinical Practice Elective.
SW 760 - Mental Health Diagnostics
This course familiarizes students with mental health and mental disorders within the context of the life cycle, viewed from a biopsychosocial perspective. Prevalent categories of psychiatric disorders are considered with respect to their differentiating characteristics, explanatory theories, and relevance for social work practice, according to the DSM and other diagnostic tools. The course includes biological information and addresses the impact of race, ethnicity, social class, age, gender, and other sociocultural variables on diagnostic processes. Free Elective.
SW 761 - Spirituality and Social Work Practice
This course strives to seek a balance in exploring the universalistic as well as the pluralistic in relationship to spirituality. Some pluralistic religious and/or spiritual traditions are studied as they exemplify commitments of spirituality and as they intersect with a more universalistic spirituality. The course considers how spiritual and religious systems are related to diversity, including gender, social class, ethnicity and culture, and sexual orientation. Clinical Practice Elective.
SW 765 - Human Resource Development and Supervision
This course builds on social work knowledge, values, and skills gained in foundation practice courses and links them to the roles and functions of social workers as supervisors and managers in human service organizations. Course focus is on providing students with an overview of basic supervisory and human resource development concepts so they may be better prepared as professional social workers to enter agencies and provide direct reports (supervisees) with meaningful and appropriate direction, support, and motivation. Clinical and Macro Practice Elective.
SW 766 - Organizational Politics and the Dynamics of Change
This course explores how and when organizational change is possible. It is based on two bodies of thought: (1) the behavior of individuals within groups and the behavior of groups within organizations, and (2) the ways conflicts emerge and develop a "life of their own" within human systems. The dilemmas associated with changing human systems are investigated using a paradoxical lens, spotlighting counterintuitive ideas such as "to change, preserve the status quo," and "to grow, cut back." The effectiveness of the change strategies adopted by the "powerful," the "powerless," and those caught "in the middle" is examined. Free Elective.
SW 768 - Social Policy Through Literature
This course uses works of fiction that pertain to a specific social issue in order to examine the effect these issues have in human terms on the individual, the family, and the community. Through appreciation of the human condition as portrayed in literature, students learn to frame issues more precisely and present arguments in compelling and convincing ways, thus enhancing the role of social worker as advocate for policy change. Free Elective.
SW 769 – Economic and Social Policies of Aging
This course examines a variety of social welfare policies that affect the rights and interests of older adults. These include policies related to economic security, health, long term care, and civil rights. In addition, the course reviews the policy-making process with a discussion of the influence of legislative sanctions and case law in establishing aging policy in the U.S. The focus of the course is on critical analysis of the key assumptions driving policy and policy change, e.g. social responsibility vs. individual responsibility. Finally, the course includes a critical examination of the intersection between policy and practice, that is, the influence that policy has on the design of interventions and service delivery practices at the state and local level and the impact of changing policies on communities, providers and older adults. Free Elective.
SW 770 - Social Welfare and the Law
This course helps students understand the ideal and real functions of the law and recognize the influence of behaviors on the law, and of the law on behaviors. Students have the opportunity to evaluate strengths and limitations of law for empowering historically disadvantaged populations. Free Elective.
SW 771 - Social Work Values and Ethics
This course is concerned with the influence of ideology, values, and ethics on the development of social welfare policies and social work practice. Particular emphasis is given to the impact of such concepts as freedom, equality, and justice on the creation and implementation of social service programs and on the underlying value structure of alternative modes of social intervention. The course also provides students with a framework to understand and apply ethical concepts such as confidentiality, self-determination, truth-telling, paternalism, conflict of duties, and "whistleblowing," in the daily realities of professional practice. These concepts and their relationship to terminal values are taught through the analysis of cases from the changing environment of policy and practice in the United States. Free Elective.
SW 774 - Program Evaluation
This course introduces students to theoretical and practical aspects of social service program evaluation. Students learn about the design and implementation of all phases of an evaluation, from needs assessment to analysis of findings. Skills such as survey construction and budgeting are introduced. Intensive analysis of existing studies illustrates how evaluations are designed and how findings affect social programs and policy. (Prerequisite SW 715).
SW 775 - Intimate Violence
The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the definition, theories, causes, processes, consequences, and social interventions in intimate violence. The course will attempt to provide insight on the phenomenon of intimate violence by examining the ways in which it affects survivors, perpetrators, and their children. This will be accomplished by reviewing the current research as well as by exploring how intimate violence is constructed by the participants on the personal, interpersonal, and social structural level. Free Elective.
SW 776 - Community and Economic Development
This course examines the evolution, practice, and strategies of community economic development (CED) in the United States. The definition of and the history behind community economic development and its relationship to traditional economic development and community organizing are explored. Critical analyses of CED and examination of development strategies that seek to respond to these critiques are considered. The course focuses on the identification and development of skills employed in community economic development. Strategies for community economic development including housing development and rehabilitation, microenterprises and small business development, job training and workforce development, and promotion of the arts are examined. Macro Practice Elective.
SW 781 - Qualitative Research
Qualitative research encompasses a variety of methods that enable the researcher to enter into the “lived experience” of research participants. These methods are particularly sensitive to the voices of populations whose perspectives are silenced by dominant societal discourses. The course begins by giving attention to underlying philosophical issues and traditions of qualitative research and proceeds to examine qualitative research design, methods of data collection, strategies to ensure rigor, data analysis, and presentation of findings. Students will learn about research interviewing, focus groups, and participant observation and ways in which qualitative research can be used to inform and evaluate social work practice and programs. Students will have the opportunity to apply qualitative research methods to in-class activities and individual or group projects. (Prerequisite SW 715)
SW 782 - Christian Social Ethics
This course examines the church's historic teachings and current understanding of sexuality, marriage, and family, and of controversial issues in this area through the use of theology, fiction, and films. Free Elective / Certificate in Lutheran or Christian Social Ministry course.
SW 783 - Alienation and Reconciliation
This course examines alienation from a theological perspective and then shifts focus to a sociological look at how alienation operates in society, particularly around the dynamics of economics, color, and gender. Free Elective/Certificate in Lutheran or Christian Social Ministry course.
SW 784 - The Congregation in the Community
This course is an exploration of the dynamics of the relationship between a congregation and its community. Attention is given to various theological and phenomenological models of church and community and to the tools needed to study both a congregation and its surrounding community. Free Elective / Certificate in Lutheran or Christian Social Ministry course.
SW 785 - Introduction to Urban Ministry
This course introduces theological and biblical perspectives on the city within the Christian tradition, including a consideration of urban culture, politics, economy, and systems. The role of the church within the complexity of needs and resources comprises the central focus and goal of the course. Free Elective/Certificate in Lutheran or Christian Social Ministry course.
SW 786 - Economic Ethics
This course examines the economics, experience, and meaning of work in our society and the role of the church as it ministers with employed and unemployed workers, works for economic justice, and appropriates a meaningful "Theology of Work." Free Elective/Certificate in Lutheran or Christian Social Ministry course.
SW 794 - Practice with Older Adults and Families
This course focuses on social work practice with older adults and families in a variety of community, physical care, and institutional mental health settings. Students learn assessment and treatment skills needed to work effectively with older individuals, families or groups, and to advocate within the social welfare system. The course emphasizes social work practice that enhances quality of life, dignity, respect for differences in experience among women and persons of color, and maximum independent functioning, while also confronting assumptions, the medicalization of older age, and unequal access to needed supports. Clinical Practice Elective.
SW 796 - Poverty, Welfare and Work
In this course, the experiences and voices of mothers, fathers, children, employers, children’s school teachers, human service workers, educators, trainers, and others in cities across America graphically illustrate “real life” urban poverty and its two remedies: welfare and work. In the context of popular beliefs and individual and institutional practices, these voices dramatically show how poverty, welfare and work intersect to perpetuate economic inequality for most low-income working families. The labor market, welfare and workforce programs, public schools and social policies are some of the main American (and global) institutions implicated in this intersection. Concepts such as the "work ethic," "family-friendly workplace," and "good jobs" are deconstructed in terms of economic, racial and cultural inequalities and, more broadly, in terms of their meaning-making and “claims-making” aims and rhetoric. At base, this course examines occupational mobility in America within the broad framework of capitalism, democracy, race, ethnicity and traditional gender roles, exploring the "life-stage mismatch" of much entry-level employment in the early 2st Century. The course draws on research and theory from occupational social work, sociology and economic sociology to explore generative roles for social work professionals in the workplace, in welfare and workforce development organizations, and in the policy arena. Free Elective.
799 005 Causes and Prevention of Violence
Causes and Prevention of Violence is an extremely timely and important course for social workers in our increasingly global world. It approaches violence as a problem in public health and preventive medicine, and begins by addressing the biological, psychological, and social factors implicated in the causation of violence. Concepts of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention will then be developed, and their implications for social policy, institutional programming, and clinical practice will be explored.
Biological factors include the influence of genetics and chemical substances on violence. Psychological factors include exposure and vulnerability to shame and humiliation, and the presence or absence of the capacity to experience feelings of guilt and remorse. Social factors include the influence of relative poverty, gender asymmetry, homophobia, and racial or age-based discrimination; and the impact of social and economic inequality on death rates (so-called "structural" violence).
The course will explore the similarities and differences between homicide and suicide, and between individual/interpersonal
violence and collective/political violence, such as 'hate crimes,' ethnic cleansing, terrorism and genocide. Overall this course its prevention to clinical practice and policy formulation. In effect the course addresses both individual and social change.
799 006 Leadership and the Management of Organizational Change
This course will provide students with the leadership skill sets necessary for the progressive growth within social service agencies. Through interactive presentations and guest lectures, students will be introduced to the skill sets involved in strategic and operational planning including how to lead programs that build quality staff. After critically analyzing the concepts that underlie agency operations such as leadership, organizational culture, mission, vision, planning for organizational change, working with boards, program development, supervision, management, personnel administration and other agency operations students will:
1) gain a better understanding of how organizations operate and change;
2) acquire the knowledge and skills to motivate, coordinate, direct and evaluate staff to solve and correct problems as they appear within the dynamics of an agency setting
3) develop skills that encourage problem solving, conflict resolution, motivating others, and creativity, and
4) be able to apply these skills to various practice areas, e.g., mental health, health care, developmental disabilities, older adults and the elderly.
SW 799 303 Cognitive Therapy with Children and Adults (Clinical Practice Elective)
This course provides students with the skills and techniques for providing cognitive therapy to adults, adolescents, and children. The course begins with a grounding in the cognitive therapy diagnostic assessment process. Students will be instructed how to use the various cognitive therapy psychological testing scales. Emphasis is then placed on learning to use the cognitive therapy model to treat emotional and personality disorders. Students will be taught how to apply cognitive therapy techniques in both psychotherapy practice as well as in other social work settings such as child welfare, foster care, case management, aging, and hospital social work. Readings will be augmented by videotapes, role plays, and observations of cognitive therapy assessments and cognitive therapy sessions.
SW 799 304 Couples Therapy and Practice (Clinical Practice Elective)
The goal of this course is to introduce the participants to the basic principles and practice of couple therapy. With its rich history as a distinct discipline integrating both individual and systemic theory, students will explore a broad range of theoretical and clinical approaches within this field. Issues such as intimacy, gender, power, class, race, orientation, family of origin, affairs, separation, divorce, domestic violence, sex, parent-child relationships, and money will be discussed.
SW 799 305 Philanthropy and Fundraising Tools for Managers of Nonprofit Organizations (Macro Practice Elective)
This course will review the everyday tools that nonprofit managers and development officers need to raise funds from individuals and other sources of private philanthropy. Last year, Americans gave over $260 million and 83% of it was from individuals. The fundraising profession has created a body of knowledge in the past twenty years that can guide effective fundraising programs so that charitable organizations can support their mission. The sessions will review the theory and practical techniques that development professionals use everyday in large and small organizations including annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, cultivation of donors, making your case for support, the Seven Faces of Philanthropy, special events, and prospect research. There will also be discussions of philanthropic trends and current giving patterns. For those who are interested in nonprofit administration, these will be critical tools to understand.
SW 799 308 Measuring Sensitive Topics (Research Option)
This course is designed to improve the measurement of sensitive topics in human behavior by increasing the skill of those who do the measuring. We will focus largely, albeit not exclusively, on the behavior of individuals. The course will focus on behaviors that typically are not and, for a variety of reasons, usually cannot be directly observed. Nonetheless, researchers are called upon to measure these behaviors that are key to understanding important social and health issues facing society. The course will review current best practices in data collection as well as the specific areas of attitudes, drug use, sexual activity, interpersonal violence, and standard demographic characteristics. Social context of the work as well as human subjects considerations will be addressed. (Prerequisite SW 715)
SW 799 310 Loss and Crisis Intervention (Clinical Practice Elective)
This second-year practice elective is designed to support the student’s development of clinical practice skills in working with loss and grief. Students will explore the impact of loss & grief on individuals, families and communities. Students will develop the ability to assess and intervene with a wide array of grieving populations. Clinical social work interventions will be explored from the perspectives of immediate crisis intervention and long-term engagement. Specific topics for the class include: ambiguous loss, chronic sorrow, acute grief, treating grief, treating children and youth, complicated grief, traumatic loss, community grief support, and critical incident stress debriefing.
SW 799/899 – 001/302 Mental Health Policy (Free Elective)
The focus of this course will be on policies and policy issues that define and influence the care and treatment of persons with mental illness from colonial times to the present. The course will examine the primary social, political, economic, legal, and philosophical
forces that have influenced mental health delivery in the United States over different historical time periods and the resulting organizational, financial, administrative, and management structures of mental health service delivery systems. The interface with other major service delivery systems, including welfare, criminal justice,
primary health care, and social security will be addressed. Topics to be included will be deinstitutionalization, managed care, psychiatric rehabilitation, cultural issues and disparities of care, children's treatment and services, professional certification and roles, and family and consumer advocacy. Major legal cases and legislation relevant to these topics will be covered. This will be an interdisciplinary course taught by faculty trained in social work, psychiatry, law, and health policy and management. It is open to masters and doctoral students.
SW799: Critical Issues in Justice
Criminal justice and social work actors often find themselves working with overlapping client populations but sometimes with inconsistent goals and objectives. The focus of this course is on the connections between the systems in which social work and criminal justice system actors operate with an interest in bridging the gap between these areas of practice and study. The course will examine the role of police, courts and corrections to understand how varying policies, procedures and activities intersect with and affect social work practice. A public policy perspective will be employed that relies on the use of real-world examples. The objective of the course is to engage students to effectively evaluate information that they read in newspapers, journals, the internet and see on television. Students' understanding of the criminal justice system will be enhanced. It is open to masters and doctoral students.