BSU Catalog Home | Social Work Program | All-University Courses and Descriptions

Social Work (SOWK)

College-Program Codes: 7-53. Check with department for semester when these courses are offered. Read each course description for prerequisites.

2110 INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION (3 credits) Designed to enable students to develop awareness, knowledge and skills for sensitive and effective intercultural communication on the international scene as well as with core-cultures in America. The course is particularly useful for students who are preparing to work with cultures other than their own, including: the human services field, business, marketing, languages, pre-professional programs and others. Liberal Education Categories 7 & 8

2120 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WELFARE (3 credits) Introduces students to American social welfare institutions, the social problems with which these institutions deal, and the profession of social work. Considerable attention is paid to the historical and philosophical bases of various types of social welfare services. Other topics emphasized include the intervention methods used by social workers and the special needs of oppressed groups in the society. The final section of the course deals with the career paths in social work.

2130 INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS (2 credits) Designed for sophomore students, especially those who intend to become social work majors, the course is intended to assess and develop basic interpersonal skills necessary to use self effectively as a practitioner. Teaches students to understand, assess, apply, and evaluate the basic skills of a helping relationship. Must be taken before SOWK 3551.

2140 FIELD EXPERIENCE IN SOCIAL WORK (3 credits) Provides students with their first practical experience in the field of social work and introduces them to basic theoretical models used in social work practice, including generalist approach, ecosystems, cultural competence, and human diversity. This course must be taken before SOWK 3552. Prerequisite or Corequisite: SOWK 2120.

2150 HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT (3 credits) Enables students to explain and assess human behavior in the social environment across the following dimensions: life span development, ecosystems theory, cultural competence and differing paradigms, and the human diversity framework. This course must be taken before SOWK 3201. Prerequisites: SOWK 2110 and SOWK 2120.

2260 SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY (3 credits) Introduces how and in what ways policies are related to social work practice, values, ethics, and services; issues central to the development of public policy in the United States; approaches to policy development, formulation, implementation, and evaluation; and major U.S. public policies related to social services, with an emphasis on policies having significance to populations vulnerable to discrimination, particularly families and children. Prerequisite: SOWK 2120.

2310 THE AMERICAN INDIAN: SOCIAL WELFARE PERSPECTIVE (3 credits) This course surveys the various socio-economic and political problems faced by the American Indian, as well as the cultural conflicts and legal aspects of efforts to deal with those problems in a social welfare and social policy context.

3030/SOC 3030 FAMILY VIOLENCE (3 credits) A study of current theory and research related to the problem of family violence and responses to this problem including: premarital violence, spousal violence, and violence in parent-child relationships including sexual abuse and violence against the vulnerable adult. This course should be of particular value to those preparing for a career in human services.

3110 PARENT-CHILD RELATIONS IN CONTEMPORARY FAMILY FORMS (3 credits) Designed to enable the student to understand, organize, and apply knowledge of parent-child relations in contemporary family forms including emphasis on a) a systems and cultural perspective, b) changing family configurations, c) dynamics of parent-child relations, d) special parent-child problems such as the abused child, etc., and e) work with professionals and other concerned individuals. (This is a service course for education majors.)

3201 FAMILY: DYNAMICS AND INTERVENTION (3 credits) Introduction to knowledge, skills, and values related to working with families as small groups. Students learn and apply tools integral to assessment and intervention strategies of generalist social work practice with families, including the strengths perspective, human diversity framework, family systems, cultural competence, and the ecosystems approach. Considers the private/public nature of family life and well being, particularly related to issues such as child welfare, substance abuse, family violence, and economic, social, and cultural marginalization, as well as implications for practice. Prerequisite: SOWK 2150 for majors, PSY 1100 for nonmajors.

3310 AMERICAN INDIANS AND CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY (3 credits) Provides an American Indian perspective and information on work being done with American Indians and chemical dependency. Addresses a broad range of issues, beginning with a fresh look at the impact of alcohol and drugs on American Indian people. Uses historical experience along with a comparison of Western scientific thought to its counterpart in American Indian cultures: the wisdom of the traditional elders. Also provides other relevant cultural information, such as traditional family roles and their relevance in the treatment setting, and an overview of Native American spirituality and its application to the recovery process. Also offers a hands-on clinical application for working with chemically dependent American Indian people from assessment considerations to treatment planning, and looks at the elements of a culturally specific treatment program for American Indians.

3320 CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY (2 credits) Examines the unique impact of and response to substance abuse on various diverse groups, including the dis/abled, ethnic communities, communities of color, women and men, youth, GLBT, elderly, and the hearing impaired. Prerequisite: SOWK 2030 or consent of instructor. (Might not be offered every year)

3330 CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY: PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION (3 credits) Addresses the continuum of care in chemical dependency: prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery. Attention given to the twelve core functions in relationship to the treatment planning process, case management, and intervention strategies. Covers ethical and legal considerations, such as involuntary commitment, patient rights, and professional licensures, as well as issues related to practice sensitivity and responsiveness to culture, gender, and age. Prerequisite: PSY 1100 and SOWK 2030, or consent of instructor.

3551 GENERALIST PRACTICE 1 (3 credits) Students develop and assess their interpersonal skills. Introduces approaches for establishing a professional helping relationship. Students learn and practice assessment, intervention, and evaluation knowledge, skills, and values related to generalist social work practice with individuals. Emphasis is on cultural competence in social work practice. Prerequisite: SOWK 2130 and admission to the upper division social work program.

3552 GENERALIST PRACTICE 2 (3 credits) Student develop knowledge, skills, and values related to generalist social work practice with groups and families. Students learn about and experience group development, planning, facilitation, leadership, assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Emphasis is on cultural competence in social work practice with groups and families. Prerequisite: SOWK 3551.

3553 GENERALIST PRACTICE 3 (3 credits) Students continue to develop knowledge, skills, and values related to social work practice with groups, particularly task groups focused on organizational and community change. Covers assessment, intervention, and evaluation related to issue, organizational, and community development and strategic approaches to change, as well as budget formulation and grant writing. Emphasis is on cultural competence and the application of group practice through participation in community and agency projects. Prerequisite: SOWK 3552.

3760 MENTAL HEALTH SOCIAL WORK (2 credits) Designed to enable the student to develop a knowledge base for beginning social work practice in the field of mental health. Students are introduced to theories of mental health and concepts of: mental health-illness, determination of needs, service systems, scope and variety of interventive methods, role of interdisciplinary team, evaluation, supervision, and impact of discrimination. Prerequisite: SOWK 2120 or consent of instructor. (Might not be offered every year)

3780 FAMILY AND CHILD WELFARE (3 credits) Overview of historical and contemporary child welfare practice primarily in the public sector, including supportive, supplemental, and substitute services. Emphasis is on issues such as family-centered practice, family preservation, kinship care, permanency planning, and cultural competence related to the assessment of and intervention with vulnerable families and children. Prerequisite: SOWK 2120 or consent of instructor. (Might not be offered every year)

3790 SOCIAL WORK IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM (2 credits) Designed to enable the student to understand and apply social work practice in the public school setting including a systems view of public education, the impact of diversity/oppression, and various services to pupils, families, school personnel and community. This course is required in order to be licensed as a school social worker in Minnesota. Prerequisite: SOWK 2120 or consent of instructor.

3800 SOCIAL WORK IN HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS (2 credits) Focuses on the application of social work in a variety of health care settings. Designed to develop beginning knowledge of: medical terminology, physiology, health care systems and insurance issues, the effect of illness and disease on the patient and family members, the importance of considering patients' rights and the intersection of cultural, gender, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic class on the interactions between the patient and the health care system and professionals. Prerequisite: SOWK 2120 or consent of instructor. (Might not be offered every year)

3830 GERONTOLOGY: SOCIAL WORK PERSPECTIVES (2 credits) Enables students to understand adult development and aging and to apply this knowledge to social work practice. Theories of aging are examined and applied to practice assessment and intervention strategies. Focuses on areas of particular relevance to practice with older persons in terms of expected life transitions and accompanying challenges (retirement, family relationships, etc.) and life crises and problems (loss and dependency, addictions, abuse and neglect, Alzheimer’s). Impact of ageism, diversity, and physical, psychological, and social issues and changes in the aging process. Accompanying health, social, and family needs; the relationship of public policy to meeting these needs; and the development and delivery of services. Prerequisite: For Social Work majors, SOWK 2120 or consent of instructor. (Might not be offered every year)

4310 GRANT WRITING (2 credits) An application course designed to teach the mechanics of successful grant writing. It addresses the full continuum of the grant writing process from defining the grant idea, identifying grant sources, writing and submitting the grant application, and managing the grant award. Addresses similarities and differences between public and private funding. Emphasizes skill development in the areas of writing and submitting a grant application, public speaking skills, and ethical issues. (Might not be offered every year)

4440 INTEGRATIVE SEMINAR: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS (3 credits) A capstone, integrative, research seminar for Social Work majors. Has three composite elements: 1) integration of knowledge gained through required social work courses and expressed through an integrative paper; 2) the use of self in social work, emphasizing personal cultural profile and acquired cultural sensitivity; and 3) a basic understanding of seven qualitative research methods and an application of one of the two most simple approaches through a mini research project. The integrative paper and mini project are shared with classmates in the form of a professional presentation. Prerequisite: SOWK 3551.

4880 INTERNSHIP ORIENTATION (1 credit) Prepares social work students for the internship experience. Provides students with the information needed for appropriate internship placement. This course should be taken during the semester immediately preceding the registration in SOWK 4970. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.

4970 INTERNSHIP: SOCIAL WORK (12 credits) When taken for Social Work, the following description applies. A one-semester block (480 clock hours) placement in a public or private social service organization, this internship is a senior capstone course focused on integrating practice experience with theory. Students are expected to demonstrate their social work knowledge, values, and skills through hands-on experience. Students also participate in a seminar to discuss their internship experiences at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels of practice. Prerequisite: Completion of all courses in the major with a 2.50 GPA in the major. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.

4970 INTERNSHIP: CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY (12 credits) When taken for Chemical Dependency, the following description applies. This two-semester, 880-hour internship prepares students to complete the chemical dependency certificate in preparation for applying for licensure in Minnesota. Students are placed in chemical dependency agencies and are evaluated in terms of their knowledge and skills in the 12 core functions. Prerequisite: Completion of all courses in the certificate with a 2.50 GPA in the certificate.