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The social welfare
concentration is for students who seek
careers in social work, welfare, community development, human services,
etc. The coursework is more toward the applied side of the discipline. But this is a bachelor's degree, a liberal arts degree--not a BSW (bachelor's in social work).
We believe strongly that the training in social welfare is valuable because of the grounding in the liberal arts and more general social science disciplines. Students who pursue this concentration may also continue on to pursue
graduate degrees in social work (MSW or DSW). For more general advice
on meeting program requirements, see advice for
advisees.
Required courses:
You must take the
introductory courses--Soc 204 and 205. In addition, you need a minimum
of 35 credits in upper division sociology courses (300 level or higher).
There are several
courses required for either concentration in Sociology. These include:
- Soc 204 (Introduction
to Sociology)
- Soc 205 (Social
problems)
- Soc 327 (Social
research methods, offered spring term)
- Soc 454 (Social
theory, offered fall term)
- Soc 499 (Senior
capstone, spring term of senior year)
You also need to take
20 credit hours of anthropology coursework, including Anth 101 (cultural
anthropology).
Required for the
social welfare concentration:
Recommended courses:
- Gender
studies: either 201 (Gender basics) or 301 (Gender perspectives).
A sensitivity to gender differences is essential for social welfare
work. These courses will also provide a foundation for greater awareness
of differences based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, ability,
etc.
- Sociology
of families (Soc 338): Essential for understanding the context in
which many social welfare programs operate.
- Social
psychology (Soc 306): Provides strong conceptual grounding for understanding
interpersonal dynamics so important to social work.
- Spanish
(two years fulfills the BA requirement): If you're planning on working
in this part of the world, at least a working knowledge of Spanish is
close to essential, and will increase your marketability when you're
in job search mode.
- A course in gerontology:
Baby boomers begin to retire in 2008, and the changes in the workforce
and in the social work profession will shift many resources toward this
population.
- A course in drug/alcohol
addiction: Essential for working with families and with state welfare
agencies.
Additional program
requirements
- Statistics course
(either Stats 243
or Psy 327)
- University
Writing Requirement (met with Soc 204, 306, 327, 454, plus WR 121)
- Two years of foreign
language (for a Bachelor of Arts degree, or BA. However, foreign
students educated in a language other than English will be considered
as meeting the BA foreign language requirement (p. 20 of the 2004-05
catalog)
- One 100-level math
course (for a Bachelor of Science degree, or BS)
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