Social Work (Undergraduate)

Survey of the field of professional social work, including the roles, philosophy, values, skills, and knowledge base needed. Students will explore the past, present, and future of the social work profession through an anti-oppressive lens. Areas of practice and career expectations are explored. Students will have the opportunity to participate in volunteer/shadowing activities within the realm of social work.
(Normally offered each fall and spring)

The purpose of the course is to assist students in discovering and strengthening personal and professional identities around: shame and vulnerability; healthy relationships and boundary setting; wholehearted living including courage, compassion, and connection; loss and grief; mindfulness; exploring passion to help understand purpose; and joyful living.

This course focuses on the work of Dr. Brene Brown centered on courage, compassion, and connection; and how to be deliberate in thoughts and behaviors, how to be inspired to make new and different choices, and incorporating vulnerability into everyday living. It will also distinguish death from tangible and intangible losses, and define types of grief and how to move through toward healing. Conversations about healthy relationships and boundary setting will be included, while discussions of strengths, resiliency, and happiness will occur throughout the course. Finally, the work of Dr. Elisha Goldstein and his strategies to mindful moments and living will be addressed and implemented.

A topical course designed to investigate relevant subject matter not included in any standard courses. The title and the content will be determined by current mutual interests of students and faculty. This course may be offered to meet a requirement for a major only by approval of the department chair.

This is a research course. The student initially meets with the department chair to select a study topic and review research methods. At this time the student will be assigned a faculty resource person to guide his or her work and assist in an advisory capacity. A copy of the student's work is filed in the archives for the department. Independent Study may not duplicate courses described in the catalog.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the department chair.

Supervised individual projects for students on topics selected by the student in consultation with the instructor. Special Projects may not duplicate courses described in the catalog.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.

This course allows students to participate at a meaningful level in an internship with a public official, political figure, public agency, campaign or interest group and to use that experience as the basis for an academic paper.
Pass/Fail only.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the department chair.

This course studies the historical development of social welfare policies, services, and institutions and addresses contemporary policy and service delivery. Students will learn how to analyze and advocate for policy change at the local, state, and federal levels using a rights-based approach. The social, political, and value systems that create policies are studied, including an exploration of the impact of systemic oppression on policy development and implementation. International perspectives on social policy are discussed for comparative purposes. Primary areas of focus are public welfare, aging, and mental health. Policy implementation and change are discussed.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

A course to synthesize and examine the body of knowledge concerning how the individual, group, family, and community systems interrelate with each other and the larger social context from the lifespan stages of birth through adolescence. Content will be drawn from the biological, psychological, sociological, eco-political, and cultural-environmental systems. Students will examine how issues of racial identity and intersectionality affect one's experience of power, privilege, and oppression, and how these issues have impacted the profession of social work more broadly. The importance of professional ethics in the assessment process is also examined.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

A course to synthesize and examine the body of knowledge concerning how the individual, group, family, and community systems interrelate with each other and the larger social context from the lifespan stages of early adulthood through aging and death. Content will be drawn from the biological, psychological, sociological, eco-political, and cultural environmental systems. Students will examine how intersectionality affect one's experience of power, privilege, and oppression, and how these issues have impacted the profession of social work more broadly. The importance of professional ethics in the assessment process is also examined.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

This course will expose students to the various types of violence experienced by individuals and families across their lifespan. An introduction to various theories used in working with survivors of abuse will be presented and students will learn about bruises and fractures associated with child abuse. The influence of societal "isms", culture, gender, and sexual orientation related to violence will be incorporated into the material being discussed.
Cross listed with GEND 2350.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

This course will focus on helping participants identify the numerous losses suffered in their own lives and in the lives of others. We will address the relevant methods, theories and skill base needed to provide social work intervention to the bereaved. The assessment of grief reactions and social work roles and tasks in facilitating mourning will be presented. The concepts of companioning and hospice care will be addressed. Finally, students will increase their competency with death and demonstrate increased sensitivity, awareness, and skills in coping with grief and death.

A course designed to treat subject matter not covered in other departmental courses or to provide study of subject matter introduced in other courses. The title, content, and credit hours will be determined by current mutual interests of faculty and students.

This is a research course. The student initially meets with the department chair to select a study topic and review research methods. At this time the student will be assigned a faculty resource person to guide his or her work and assist in an advisory capacity. A copy of the student's work is filed in the archives for the department. Independent Study may not duplicate courses described in the catalog.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the department chair.

Supervised individual projects for students on topics selected by the student in consultation with the instructor. Special Projects may not duplicate courses described in the catalog.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.

This course allows students to participate at a meaningful level in an internship with a public official, political figure, public agency, campaign or interest group and to use that experience as the basis for an academic paper.
Pass/Fail only.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the department chair.

Students will explore and apply theories of human behavior and the social environment, the strengths perspective, and person-in environment perspective when working with individuals and families. Role plays, as a form of experiential learning, will be used to help students practice basic attending skills, empathic responses, and apply the generalist intervention model when working with individuals and families from diverse backgrounds. Students will learn how to practice in alignment with the social work professional values and ethics. In addition to role plays, students will observe, discuss, and provide feedback to each other about the application of micro-practice skills as an integral aspect of learning throughout the course. Finally, students will examine how a person's lived experiences is often an intersection of multiple factors. Self-reflection and evaluation of the student' own life experiences and their impact on their work with individuals and families will facilitate this understanding
Prerequisite(s): SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work and declared Social Work major.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

Students will identify the theoretical underpinnings as well as practical applications of group work as a vehicle for social work. Students will also explore how and why groups function and develop skills and techniques of membership and leadership. Students will role-play group facilitation to practice engagement, assessment, planning, intervention, and termination with and on behalf of diverse individuals. Students will explore how to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to improve service provision. Prerequisites: Full admission to the social work program, or permission of the social work program director.
Prerequisite(s): SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work and full admission to the social work program, or permission of the social work program director. (Normally offered each spring semester.)

Students will explore the three primary areas of macro social work practice: policy, organization, and community practice and the application of the Generalist Intervention Model in these arenas. Major emphasis upon community and organization assessment, program planning, and evaluation, through a human rights lens. This practice-oriented course will provide students an opportunity to collaborate in the assessment of a community and to create a project or program to address an identified need, while applying social work theories, concepts and professional values. Prerequisites: Full admission to the social work program, or permission of the social work program director.
Prerequisite(s): SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work and SOCWK 2200 Social Welfare Policy, Services, and Delivery Systems and full admission to social work program, or permission of the social work program director. 
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

This course is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of strengths perspective theory, assessment, and intervention with individuals, families, and communities. Students are also introduced to concepts from related solution-oriented intervention approaches. Strategies and techniques for structuring the helping process in a way that maximizes client self-determination and the probability of successful goal attainments will be emphasized.

(Normally offered alternate years.)

The course surveys the field of social work in the health care arena. A generalist social work perspective will be used to address the social work roles of assessment, intervention, advocacy, and policy analysis in the health care environment. Social work roles at the individual, group, and organizational/community levels will be addressed.
Prerequisite(s): SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work and junior standing or permission of the social work program director.
(Normally offered alternate years.)

A topical course designed to investigate relevant subject matter not included in any of the standard courses. The title and content will be determined by current mutual interests of students and faculty. This course may be offered to meet a requirement for a major only by approval of the department chair.

Intensive readings in the discipline.

See department for course description.

Supervised individual projects in conjunction with departmental research, community services and student interest. Special Projects may not duplicate courses described in the catalog.
Prerequisite(s): Approval of the social work program director.

This course allows students to participate at a meaningful level in an internship with a public official, political figure, public agency, campaign or interest group and to use that experience as the basis for an academic paper.
Pass/Fail only.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the department chair.

Students will be introduced research methods used in generalist social work practice. Course content emphasizes critiquing research methodology, including data collection, sampling and analysis. Students will engage in a single-subject design study where they will identify and implement an intervention and evaluate its outcomes for practice effectiveness. Students will explore ethical and anti-racist research practices and the application of evidence-based practice to improve policy and social service delivery. Prerequisites: Full admission to the social work program, or permission of the social work program director and a statistics course.
Prerequisite(s): Junior standing, SOCWK 1150 Introduction to Social Work, full admission to social work program, and one of the following Statistics courses: SOC 2910 Social Statistics or PSYCH 2100 Psychological Statistics or ECON 2100/ BUSAD 2100 Business and Economic Statistics or MATH 1300 Statistics.
(Normally offered fall semester.)

A topical course designed to investigate relevant subject matter not included in any standard courses. The title and the content will be determined by current mutual interests of students and faculty. This course may be offered to meet a requirement for a major only by approval of the department chair.

An opportunity for students, under the supervision of a faculty member, to pursue study of literature not covered in other coursework.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.

This is a research course. The student initially meets with the department chair to select a study topic and review research methods. At this time the student will be assigned a faculty resource person to guide his or her work and assist in an advisory capacity. A copy of the student's work is filed in the archives for the department. Independent study may not duplicate courses described in the catalog.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing or permission of the department chair.

Supervised individual projects for students on topics selected by the student in consultation with the instructor. Special Projects may not duplicate courses described in the catalog.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.

This course is described in the NWU catalog as a "Supervised learning experience in selected social work agencies. This experience introduces a variety of social work practice roles and enables the student to apply social work knowledge, skills, and values in a real practice situation. May be taken as a block placement for 9 credit hours or as a concurrent placement over two semesters for a total of 9 credit hours.
Prerequisite(s): SOCWK 3080 Micro Practice, SOCWK 3090 Group Practice, SOCWK 3100 Macro Practice, and SOCWK 4650 Research Informed Practice with grades of "B-" or better, and approved Pre-Field Placement Consultation.

(Normally offered fall, spring and summer semesters)