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Generalist Curriculum Goals
The MSW generalist curriculum provides a generalist year educational experience that builds on an undergraduate, liberal arts degree and prepares students to enter into a concentrated area of social work practice.
Specialization Curriculum Goals
The MSW specialization curriculum builds on, broadens, and deepens the generalist foundation and prepares students for competent and effective social work practice in an area of specialization.
3 Year MSW Curriculum
During the first-year and part of the second, the Professional Generalist curriculum provides instruction in the basic knowledge, skills and values required for beginning social work practice, as well as an opportunity for socialization to the profession, its value orientation, ethics and history. The general curriculum also includes a field practicum where students are given the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge gained in classroom courses. In the remaining second and third year, the advanced curriculum is designed to provide knowledge and skills in the specialization area of Integrative Practice Specialization. This also includes the Specialization Practicum, which is an integral part of the specialization curricula. Specialization Practicum may not begin until all generalist requirements are completed.
Advanced Standing MSW Curriculum
Designed for eligible graduates of baccalaureate programs in social work/social welfare, Advanced Standing allows students to enter the advanced level of the MSW curriculum. During the 6 quarters of the advanced curriculum, students will gain knowledge and skills in the specialization area of Integrative Practice Specialization and complete the Practicum Specialization.
Curriculum in Brief
Courses in the 3-year MSW program focus on the following:
- INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
- SOCIAL POLICY AND ECONOMIC SECURITY
- CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND SOCIETAL JUSTICE
- HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
- SPECIALIZED INTEGRATIVE PRACTICE SPECIALIZATION
- RESEARCH FOR PRACTICE AND PROGRAM EVALUATION
Courses in the Advanced Standing MSW focus on the following:
- INTEGRATIVE POLICY AND ADVOCACY
- CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND SOCIETAL JUSTICE
- SPECIALIZED INTEGRATIVE PRACTICE SPECIALIZATION
- RESEARCH FOR PRACTICE AND PROGRAM EVALUATION
Integrative Practice Specialization
The mission of the Integrative Practice Specialization is to prepare MSW-level practitioners to assume leadership roles in the design, delivery, and evaluation of interventions at all levels of practice, from work with an individual client to community advocacy or policy analysis. These interventions, informed by research, focus on specific practice fields and methods of service delivery within the context of emerging societal conditions and needs. In the tradition of the social work profession, the prime motivator and ultimate goal of this advanced specialization is the realization of social and economic justice for those marginalized by society.
Students focus their advanced course of study in an area of particular interest to them. These areas might include, but are not limited to: children and youth; clinical mental health; chemical dependency; military families and veterans; older adults; criminal justice; health care systems; school social work; domestic violence; and public child welfare. Students develop knowledge and skills to address their topic in depth, while actively integrating the relevant practice concerns, policies, issues of diversity and social justice, research evidence, and the community contexts impacting their chosen topic.
