Department of Social Work

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Chair: Summer Gainey Woodside

Faculty:  Shannon Cousineau, Joseph Davis, David Dran, Sherry Edwards, Bobbi L. Fields¹, Rezell Gore², Yale Kodwo-Nyameazea, Alice Locklear, Cindy Locklear⁴, Keara Ndhlovu, Frederick Stephens, Jody Thomas³, Charmagne Williams     

The Social Work Program has been fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Educaton since 1987. The Department of Social Work offers preparation for entry-level professional social work practice at the undergraduate level and advanced generalist social work practice at the graduate level. Courses are offered in social work practice; social policy and social justice; human diversity and populations-at-risk; human behavior and the social environment; social work values and ethics; research, and field work. 

Graduate Program

For information about the Master of Social Work (MSW) program and courses leading to a Master of Social Work degee, see the Graduate Program in Social Work  section of this catalog.

Undergraduate Program

In order to declare a Social Work Major in the undergraduate program, students are required to successfully:

1. demonstrate and maintain a minimum overall QPA of 2.50;
2. submit an application for admission to the BSW Program (while enrolled in SWK 3050);
3. submit two reference letters (while enrolled in SWK 3050);
4. Complete 40 hrs of volunteer experience (while enrolled in SWK 3050);
5. be accepted by the BSW Program Committee;

To be accepted by the BSW Program Committee, students must:

1. complete all the Junior Year Semester I courses with a minimum grade of C or a QPA of 2.0; including the 2 social work electives;
2. complete with a passing grade, all general education courses that are prerequisites for core social work courses. These include BIO 1030 or equivalent; PSY 1010; SOC 1020, SOC (AIS) 1050 or 2090; PLS 1000 or 1010; ECN 1000, 2020, 2030, 2410 or ECN (GGY) 2060, and MAT 1050 or MAT 1070;
3. complete at least 13 of the 17 general education courses. 

Note: Students must read The BSW Student Handbook and BSW Advisement Guide for more details about the BSW admission and curriculum policies or requirements.

Students cannot be accepted in the Social Work Program until they have completed ENG 3700, SWK 2000, SWK 3800, SWK 2450, and SWK 3050 with a grade of C or better.

If a student is denied admission by the BSW Program Committee, the student has the right to appeal to the Social Work Department’s BSW Appeals Committee. Prior to enrolling in SWK 3050, Success in Social Work, students must successfully complete SWK 2000, SWK 2450, ENG 3700, and 75 percent of their General Education requirements with a minimum QPA of 2.5. Students who are accepted into the program and fail to maintain an overall QPA of 2.5 in General Education or the major are placed on academic probation. In addition, students are required to complete ENG 3700,  SWK 2000, SWK 2450, SWK 3050, SWK 3450, SWK 3480, SWK 3800, SWK 3810, SWK 3850, SWK 3910, SWK 4450, SWK 4600, SWK 4800, SWK 4900, SWK 4910, and 2 Social Work electives with a minimum QPA of 2.0 in each course. Students need to read The BSW Student Handbook for information regarding curriculum policy. All students who declare social work as their major are encouraged to join the Campus Association of Social Workers, attend majors’ meetings, and meet regularly with their academic advisor. In addition, eligible students can join the Department of Social Work’s Chapter of Phi Alpha, the Social Work Honor Society.

An integral and required part of the program is the successful completion of a field practicum with a minimum of 400 clock hours in a semester. The Department of Social Work will not accept past social work practice experience for academic credit (see The BSW Student Handbook for more details).

Programs

• School Social Work, Licensure (Bachelor’s Level)

• Social Work, B.S.W.

• Social Welfare, Minor

Courses

• SWK 2000. Introduction to Social Work (3 Credits)
• SWK 2450. Human Diversity (3 credits)
• SWK 2700. Medical Terminology (2 credits)
• SWK 3000. Narrative Approaches to Understanding Today’s Older Population (3 credits)
• SWK 3050. Success and Professionalism in Social Work (3 Credits)
• SWK 3480. Social Welfare and Policies (3 credits)
• SWK 3540. School Social Work (3 credits)
• SWK 3700. Practice with Children and Adolescents (3 credits)
• SWK 3750. Social Work Practice with Latinx Populations (3 credits)
• SWK 3800. Social Work Practice I (3 credits)
• SWK 3810. Statistics for Social Workers and Helping Professionals (3 credits)
• SWK 3820. African American Populations (3 credits)
• SWK 3830. Child Welfare Services (3 credits)
• SWK 3840. Gerontological Social Work (3 credits)
• SWK 3850. Social Work Practice II (3 credits)
• SWK 3870. Women in Society (3 credits)
• SWK 3880. Native American Populations (3 credits)
• SWK 3890. Social Work Practice with LGBTQ Populations (3 credits)
• SWK 3910. Understanding Social Research (3 credits)
• SWK 3970. Experiential Learning I (3 credits)
• SWK 3980. Directed Research I (1 credit)
• SWK 3990. Directed Research II (2 credits)
• SWK 4030. Supervision in Human Service Organizations (3 credits)
• SWK 4450. Human Behavior and Social Environment II (3 credits)
• SWK 4460. Medical Social Work (3 credits)
• SWK 4470. Fundamentals of Crisis Intervention (3 credits)
• SWK 4490. Social Work Practice with Justice-Involved Populations (3 credits)
• SWK 4550. Treatment of Alcohol and Drug Addiction (3 credits)
• SWK 4600. Social Justice and Practice Ethics (3 credits)
• SWK 4720. Social Work Practice with Individuals with Disabilities (3 credits)
• SWK 4750. Working with Children Through Play (3 credits)
• SWK 4800. Social Work Practice III (3 credits)
• SWK 4900. Field Work (9 credits)
• SWK 4910. Integrative Seminar for Field Work (3 credits)
• SWK 4970. Experiential Learning II (3 credits)
• SWK 5060. Social Work Practice with Individuals (3 credits)

• SWKS 4xxx. Special Topics in Social Work (3 credits)

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