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Social Work Program  

George C. Stonikinis, Jr., Area Coordinator

The specific aims of the Social Work Program are: (1) to provide students with opportunities to obtain knowledge, attitudes and skills appropriate for social work practice utilizing the “generalist - based perspective” at the baccalaureate level, and (2) to offer a background preparation for students intending to enter a graduate professional school of social work, law school, or related graduate program of study.
     The Social Work Program’s curriculum is designed to help students develop generalist-based practice skills for professional activity with diverse populations of individuals, small groups, families, organizations and/or communities in order to enhance social functioning and create social contexts favorable for their maximum participation and self-direction. Program courses and two agency-based field instruction opportunities are systematically organized in order to produce professional social work graduates who are able to:  

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Apply critical thinking skills
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Practice utilizing the values and ethical base of the social work profession
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Identify, apply, and respect the positive value of diverse populations
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Actively demonstrate the professional use of self
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Understand the forms, mechanisms, and impact of oppression and discrimination
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Identify and apply interventive change strategies to advance social and economic justice
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Understand the history of the profession of social work
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Analyze and explain the contemporary structure of the profession and its major issues
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Demonstrate generalist social work knowledge and skills in direct practice with micro, mezzo, and macro level systems
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Apply knowledge of bio-psycho-social variables that affect individual development and behavior
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Utilize and analyze diverse theoretical frameworks in the understanding, assessment, and direction of intervention with individuals and between individuals and social systems to include families, groups, organizations, and communities
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Analyze social policy and policy processes and determine impact on client systems, workers, and agencies
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Conduct and/or evaluate research studies (both qualitative and quantitative) and apply findings to the direction of practice
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Assess and apply, under supervision, an evaluation of their own professional practice interventions and those of other relevant systems
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Apply communication skills in diverse contexts differentially with client systems, colleagues, and members of the community
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Utilize social work supervision appropriate to direct generalist practice and continued personal professional development
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Function and practice within the structure of organizations and service delivery systems and, under supervision, seek necessary organizational change  

 SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM  

Faculty

Edna V. Allen, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Social Work
Theresa A. Clark, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Social Work
George C. Stonikinis, Jr., M.S.W., Associate Professor and Area Coordinator

The Program in Social Work provides an undergraduate course of study of unique and personalized instruction accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, leading to the Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts in Social Work. The curriculum prepares graduates for first-level professional social work practice as practitioners utilizing the generalist perspective base. Program graduates frequently pursue advanced study in graduate schools and may be eligible for admission into advanced standing one-year M.S.W. degree programs. They may utilize their professional credentials for careers in the expanding opportunities for first-level, generalist-based, professional practitioners according to the standards of the National Association of Social Workers in such areas as:  

Case Management Parenting Education  
Community Mental Health  Health Care  
Disaster Relief Family Planning  
Employee Assistance Programming Hospital Social Work  
Rural Social Work  School Social Work
Veterans Services Crisis Intervention  
Adoption Geriatric Services  
Child Protective Services Home Health Care  
Child Welfare Hospice Care  
Domestic Violence Addiction Treatment  
Foster Care Criminal & Youth Court Services  
Family Preservation Policy Advocacy  
Homelessness International Social Work  

The faculty of the Social Work Program, reflecting the generalist orientation, focus on each student’s personal and professional growth and development. Specifically, the Program faculty members individualize much of the student’s education and actual agency-based instruction as they assist each student to develop a professional knowledge, skill and attitude base through strategically placed personalized evaluations and discussions of their education and process of professional emergence.
     Junior Field Instruction consists of an agency placement or field practicum concurrent with integrative course work and involves 180 hours of instruction in a field setting. A grade point average of 2.25 both in the major and overall is required for placement in a field instruction setting. Students transferring into the program later in their academic pursuits are provided with the accelerated 9 1/2-week summer program. Senior Field Instruction usually occurs during the last semester and consists of 600 hours (15 weeks, 40 hours per week) of field instruction in an agency setting. Only those students who are social work degree candidates may be admitted to the field practicum experiences. Enrollment in social work practice  courses (SOWK 335, 336, 415, and 427) is restricted to social work majors only! Practicum experiences are readily available throughout the state, and many students choose to live at home during this experience, thus saving money and greatly enhancing their professional career entry. The Social Work Program, in compliance with CSWE accreditation standards, grants no academic credit for life experience and/or previous work experience in lieu of the field practicum or in lieu of courses in the professional foundation content areas.  

SOCIAL WORK MAJOR, B.A., B.S. DEGREE

A.  General Education Core Requirement. 33 credits.
See General Education Requirements  

B.   Additional Requirements for B.A. Degree. 9 credits.
Additional Requirements for B.S. Degree. 10 credits.
See Additional Degree Requirements   

C.  Major Requirements. 69 credits.

SOWK 101 Introduction to Human Services/3 credits       
SOWK 102  Social Welfare and the Social Work Profession/3 credits 
SOWK 240 Social Policy and Issues in Social Welfare/3 credits 
SOWK 280 Human Behavior and the Social Environment I/3 credits  
SOWK 281 Human Behavior and the Social Environment II/3 credits     
SOWK 310  Minority Experiences:  Human Devleopment in Hostile Environments/3 credits       
SOWK 320 Social Work Research and Evaluation Design/3 credits
SOWK 335 Junior Interventive Means Lab/1 credit 
SOWK 336 Interventive Means in Social Work/3 credits
SOWK 340 Junior Field Integration/1 credit  
SOWK 392  Junior Internship in Social Work/5 credits  
SOWK 401 Senior Field Integration/2 credits  
SOWK 404 Social Welfare Administration/1 credit  
SOWK 405 Working with Special Populations/3 credits  
SOWK 407 Law and the Social Worker/1 credit  
SOWK 408 Jobs, Work, and Career Planning/2 credits  
SOWK 415  Inter-professional Communication: Techniques for the Survival of Interventive Strategies/3 credits  
SOWK 427 Advanced Interventive Means/3 credits  
SOWK 492 Senior Internship in Social Work/12 credits
Social Work Electives/11 credits    
TOTAL: 69 credits  

D.   General Electives for B.A. Degree. 9 credits
General Electives for B.S. Degree. 8 credits  

E.   Total Credits Required for B.A. or B.S. in Social Work   -  120 credits

Course Descriptions

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