Earn Your Master of Social Work Online and Drive Transformative Change

This course introduces students to the foundational concepts and procedures of social work research. Students will use these concepts to understand and critically assess research relevant to generalist social work practice and develop foundational skills to evaluate practice.

This course introduces and explores issues of power, oppression and privilege in the context of social work practice, examining their impact on micro, mezzo and macro structures and processes. It prepares students to become responsive social work professionals who serve diverse populations with competence, humility and respect. Diversity is approached from an intersectional framework, recognizing that race, ethnicity, age, class, disability, gender, sexuality, nationality, immigration status and religion/spirituality (among other factors) are all relevant dimensions of people’s identities and social locations.

This course analyzes theories of human behavior in the social environment from a lifespan developmental approach. It is designed to build students’ understanding of the ramifications of the person-in-environment framework, which considers the social, biological and psychological influences of the environment. Students explore how social structures, social policies and cultural patterns affect individuals at all stages of life.

This course examines the historical development of the contemporary social welfare system in the United States, including the professional social work response to societal needs. It covers the concepts used to discuss and explain the policies and programs of social welfare institutions, the mechanisms and structures for delivering social services, existing mandated public welfare policies, proposed reforms, and the implications of current policies for program implementation and recipients. The course also explores factors that have constrained or facilitated the attainment of social and economic justice, with particular attention to the historical and contemporary experiences of marginalized populations.

This course builds students’ knowledge, skills and understanding of generalist social work practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities. It emphasizes the importance of cultural humility, a strengths-based person-in-environment perspective, advocacy for human rights and social and economic justice. Students begin to develop generalist practice skills, including identifying areas of concern, engaging, gathering information, interviewing, conducting multidimensional assessments, planning and intervention, and evaluation and termination. The course also highlights the importance of research and evidence-informed practice, effective writing and documentation, and understanding the organizational context of practice.

This course explores treatment theories and builds skills for providing culturally sensitive clinical social work with individuals. Students learn to use evidence-informed processes and offer evidence-based interventions as they engage, assess, plan, intervene, evaluate and conclude work with diverse clients. The course also provides an introduction to and critique of the DSM.

This course explores treatment theories and builds skills to provide culturally sensitive clinical social work with families and groups. Students learn how to provide evidence-based practice as they engage, assess, plan, intervene, evaluate and conclude work with diverse families and in various types of treatment groups. It addresses the importance of interpersonal dynamics in families and groups and how evidence-based practices intersect with evidence-based interventions. The course also explores and critiques the DSM.

This course builds upon Generalist Social Work Research to enhance research competency, deepen conceptual and methodological understanding and conduct and utilize evaluative research in micro and mezzo settings. Students learn to identify appropriate research methods and apply them to various problems, develop skills to work effectively in research partnerships and understand the integration of practice-informed research and research-informed practice.

This course builds on Social Welfare by providing an in-depth study of the evolution of healthcare policy in the United States. Linking policy to practice, students examine the disparate impact of healthcare policy on diverse populations through the lens of social determinants of health and the structural competency framework. Students identify relevant health issues and apply advocacy skills to address them.

This course builds on Social Welfare to focus on public policies related to mental health services, the treatment and support of individuals with mental health conditions and relevant civil and criminal laws. It situates the study of policy within a structural competency framework and introduces concepts and skills essential to policy practice. Students learn the history of mental health policy in the United States and the primary systems through which these policies are administered. They identify relevant mental health issues and apply advocacy skills to address them.

This course builds on Social Welfare to examine the interaction between public child welfare policies and other child- and family-oriented policies. Students learn the history of services for children and families, including federal and state legislation, court decisions and regulations related to child protection, child welfare and juvenile justice. The course focuses on racial disparities and other issues faced by social workers in child-serving systems. Students identify relevant child and family issues and apply advocacy skills to address them.