Foundation Level Courses

This curriculum spans over two semesters if taken full-time and four semesters if taken on a part-time basis:

  • SWK 401 Oppression, Decolonization And Equity In Social Work (formerly Cultural Competence in Social Work)
  • SWK 402 Human Behavior And The Social Environment I 
  • SWK 403 Generalist Practice I
  • SWK 404 Human Behavior And The Social Environment II
  • SWK 405 Generalist Practice II
  • SWK 406 Social Welfare Policy
  • SWK 407 Social Work Research
  • SWK 415 Foundation Field Practicum I
  • SWK 416 Field Practicum II  
  • SWK 472 Trauma Treatment With Children And Families

Advanced Level Courses

This curriculum spans over two semesters if taken full-time and four semesters if taken on a part-time basis.

These first four classes are dependent upon the student’s concentration. A student will either choose the Practice with Children, Youth, and Families (CYF) concentration with SWK 431, SWK 432, SWK 433, and SWK 434 OR the Leadership and Change (LC) concentration with SWK 441, SWK 442, SWK 443, and SWK 444. Students in both concentrations have the option to also select the School Social Work (SSW) specialization. School Social Work students will be required to take these courses as well as SWK 421 and SWK 423 as their two electives.

  • SWK 431 Social Work Practice with Families OR SWK 441 Empowerment and Change (pending course name change)
  • SWK 432: Family-centered Policy OR SWK 442 Political Advocacy
  • SWK 433: Social Work Practice with Children OR SWK 443 Social Justice and Change (pending course name change)
  • SWK 434: Child Welfare Policy And Legislation OR SWK 444 Community Advocacy (pending course name change)
  • SWK 491: Advanced Research I
  • SWK 492: Advanced Research II
  • SWK 495: Advanced Field Practicum I
  • SWK 496: Advanced Field Practicum II
  • Two Electives (6 credit hours) are required, see list below. (SSW students have to take SWK 421 and SWK 423 as their electives.)

Social Work Elective Courses

MSW students will need to complete two electives total over the course of earning their degree. Courses may include:

  • SWK 421 Critical Social Work In Schools: Policy, Practice & Leadership (required for SSW students)
  • SWK 422 Social Work Practice In Global Cross-Cultural Contexts
  • SWK 423 School Social Work With Exceptional Students (required for SSW students)
  • SWK 425 Assessment And Diagnosis In Social Work With A Critical Lens
  • SWK 429 Nonprofit Management & Leadership In Social Work
  • SWK 470 Immigration Practices
  • SWK 471 Practice with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Queer Populations
  • SWK 473 Topics of Advocacy
  • SWK 474 Social Work And The Law
  • SWK 475 Social Work Practice With Latino/a/x Communities In The United States

Students are also able to take courses from another concentration area to count as electives:

  • SWK 431, 432, 433, and 434 can be used as electives for students in the Leadership and Change concentration
  • SWK 441, 442, 443, and 444 can be used as electives for students in the Practice with Children, Youth, and Families concentration

The following courses may count as Social Work electives with permission from the MSW Program Advisor and MSW Director before registering for the course. Students must reach out to the department that holds the class receive approval and have holds removed. Some of these courses may also have prerequisites that the respective department may consider waiving depending on the courses students have already taken.

[College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), College of Education (COE), Jacob H. Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies (CCICS)]

Counselor Education (COE) Course Descriptions

  • COUN 401 Professional Orientation & Legal/Ethical Practices – 3 Credits
  • COUN 402 Developmental Counseling – 3 Credits
  • COUN 403 Theories Of Counseling – 3 Credits
  • COUN 409 Career Development – 3 Credits
  • COUN 410 Seminar In School Counseling – 3 Credits
  • COUN 420 Introduction To Family Counseling – 3 Credits
  • COUN 429 Psychopharmacology – 3 Credits
  • COUN 430 Social & Cultural Diversity In Counseling – 3 Credits
  • COUN 433 Foundation Of Rehabilitation Counseling – 3 Credits 
  • COUN 434 Medical & Psychosocial Aspects Of Disability – 3 Credits
  • COUN 438 Trauma And Crisis Counseling – 3 Hours – prerequisites COUN 405 and COUN 427 may be waived for MSW students depending on courses the student has taken already

Education Foundations (in COE) Course Descriptions

  • EDFN 405 Development Of Educational Thought – 3 Credits
  • EDFN 410 Education As A Social Institution – 3 Credits
  • EDFN 411B Comparative Education: African Summer Institute – 3 Credits
  • EDFN 411B1 Comparative Education: Prisons, Communities, And Resistance – 3 Credits
  • EDFN 413 Power, Communities And Change – 3 Credits
  • EDFN 416 Cultural Pluralism And Schools – 3 Credits
  • EDFN 441 Digital Literacy: Learning And Leadership – 3 Credits
  • EDFN 497 Critical Race Theory In Education – 3 Credits

Geography & Environmental Studies (in CAS) Course Descriptions

  • GES 391 Introduction To Geographical Information Systems (GIS) – 3 Credits – Offered every fall & spring semester, Hybrid in Fall 2021
  • GES 411 Scope And Philosophy Of Geography And Environmental Studies – 3 Credits – Offered every fall semester, Hybrid in Fall 2021

Leadership (in COE) Course Description

  • LEAD 431 School & Community Relations – 3 Credits – Offered every semester in person (except Summer 2021), prerequisite waived for MSW students

Psychology (in CAS) Course Descriptions

  • PSYC 401 Gerontology: An Overview – 3 Credits – Offered every fall semester, Online in Fall 2021 
  • PSYC 402 Developmental Processes In Later Life– 3 Credits (no longer offered but may have been taken years prior)
  • PSYC 403 Developmental Processes In Aging: Physiological Aspects – 3 Credits – prerequisite PSYC 401 will be waived for MSW students
  • PSYC 406 Aging And The Family– 3 Credits (typically offered as a Spring course) – prerequisite PSYC 401 will be waived for MSW students – Offered every spring semester, Online in Spring 2022
  • PSYC 418 Public Policy And Aging – 3 Credits – prerequisite PSYC 401 will be waived for MSW students – Offered every other spring semester, next offering Spring 2023
  • PSYC 426 Values, Decision-making And The Elders (the course catalog title is slightly different but adjusted for the purpose of this document) – Offered every other spring semester, next offering Remotely in Spring 2022
  • PSYC 434 Aging Services Network – 3 Credits (typically offered as a Fall course but not in 2021) – prerequisite PSYC 401 will be waived for MSW students – Offered every other fall semester, next offering Fall 2022

Public Health (in COE) Course Description

  • PH 400 Intro To Public Health – 3 Credits – Offered every fall semester (soon offered in the spring semester), Hybrid in Fall 2021, Online in Spring 2022
  • Other PH course are currently being reviewed for approval

Urban Community Studies (COE at CCICS) Course Descriptions

  • UCS 411 Theoretical Foundations In Urban Community Studies – 3 Credits (previously ICSE 411)
  • UCS 416 The African-American Experience in Urban Communities – 3 Credits (previously ICSE 416)
  • ICSE 427 The African American Community – 3 Credits (no longer listed in the 2020-2021 Course Catalog but may have been taken years prior)
  • UCS 441 Urban Culture – 3 Credits (pending further review prior to approval)
  • UCS 447 Urban Youth Culture and Development – 3 Credits (pending further review prior to approval)