Social Work Curriculum

The foundation of Social Work Education is rooted in the liberal arts perspective which expressed purpose is to impart general knowledge and develop aÌýstudent's rational thought and intellectual capabilities. The curriculum for the Department of Social Work at ¿ì»îÊÓƵ has been designed toÌýcapture this perspective. ÌýFour approved curriculum guides are presented that outline the structure and sequence of courses for the Social Work major andÌýare listed as follows:

1. Revised Core Curriculum Provisional sheet for the College of Liberal Arts and Education.
2. Curriculum requirements for Social Work majors.
3. Four year schedule shows the recommended sequence of all prescribed and elective courses.
4. Four year schedule with course titles rather than course numbers.

One hundred and twenty three (123) semester hours are required for graduation for all majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Education (referred to asÌýCLAE). ÌýThe Core Curriculum is a Provisional Sheet for CLAE which shows how general education requirements are distributed among the liberal arts. TheÌýremaining credit hours are structured by the other disciplines for their respective majors. ÌýThe following discussion provides a detailed analysis of howÌýthe Department of Social Work incorporates the General Education courses into the Social Work Curriculum.

Humanities - The College requires (19) hours of humanities which includes (12) hours of English courses and (7) hours of electives in the Humanities. OfÌýthe 19 hours, Social Work requires an advanced writing course as well as an oral communication course. ÌýAll students are required to take an Introduction toÌý
Philosophy course as a part of the Humanities requirement.

Natural Science - The College requires 18 hours of courses in the Natural Sciences, which includes a Pre-Calculus course. ÌýSocial Work requires two courses (6) hours in the Biology sequence covering Human and Ecological topics. ÌýStudents are then free to take the remaining 9 hours in other courses that centerÌý
on the Natural Sciences.

Social Sciences - The College requires (18) hours of courses in Social Sciences. ÌýSix hours are required in U. S. History - World Civilization. ÌýSocial WorkÌýrequires one course (3) hours in an Introduction to Psychology course. ÌýStudents are free to select other Social Sciences courses for the remaining (9)Ìýhours. ÌýAlso SOWK 245 Introduction to Social Welfare has been added to the Colleges core curriculum. All students are allowed to take this course and itÌýserves as a recruitment tool for new majors.

Foreign Language - Social Work prescribes all twelve (12) of these hours to be taken in the four courses recommended as a Foreign Language Option:

• Statistics course (Sociology 300, Mathematics 504 or Psychology (306)
• The Department's Computer Applications course (Social Work 300)
• Introduction to Sociology (Sociology 240)
• Sociology Elective

Liberal Arts Perspective Rationale

The Social Work Curriculum is embedded in the liberal arts perspective. ÌýSocial Work majors begin their tenure in liberal arts beginning with the freshman year and continue into their junior year when they are concurrently enrolled in Social Work courses. Human Behavior and the Social Environment I and II have a liberal arts base and build on the biology sequence. ÌýBoth are often taken by non Social Work majors as social science electives. ÌýIntroduction to Social Welfare focuses on the liberal arts perspective by assessing Social institutions, the history of social welfare, poverty and economic oppression from a systematic nature. The Interpersonal skills course is the first course in the Method of Practice foundation area and is generally not open to non-Social Work majors. ÌýDuring the junior year, students continue to take liberal arts electives while they complete Methods of Practice I & II, Junior Practicum, Statistics, and Research Methods. In the senior year, after the Senior Internship, students again have the opportunity to select a liberal arts course. This shows continuity of the liberal arts perspective throughout the students’ tenure in Social Work.Ìý

The Department of Social Work prescribes about one-third of the liberal arts electives in Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. ÌýIf the Foreign Language Option is included in the calculation, then the department prescribes about 46 percent of the liberal arts elective content. ÌýAlthough it may appear that students’ choices are limited when it comes to choosing their electives from the liberal arts tier however; the prescribed electives are also liberal arts courses and guarantee that students:

1. Complete additional study and practice in written and oral communications consistent with the program's mission, goals and objectives.
2. Study Human Biology before taking the HBSE sequence which builds on that content.
3. Acquire a foundation in Statistics, Computing, and Data Analysis which is a necessary foundation in Research Methods and other Social Work courses.
4. Acquire a foundation in Psychology and Sociology which is used in the HBSE sequence.
5. Acquire a cross section of knowledge presented in these areas.

In conclusion, the following table summarizes and shows the distribution at the minimum 129 hours required for graduation. The rubric shows the distribution of credit hours prescribed by the College, by the Social Work major and free electives for each of the major curriculum categories.

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The Social Work curriculum has been designed from a Generalist Practice perspective. This curriculum covers the knowledge base, values and skills of the Social Work Education. The theoretical framework is presented through the introductory courses, Human Behavior and Social Environment, Methods One and Two and the Interpersonal skills Lab. When the students during the Field Practicum experience.
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Curriculum Sheet
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*Grade of "C"Ìýis passing for these and all major courses. 1 Foreign Language OptionÌý

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