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Social Work Department

FACULTY: Donna F. Hixon, Gregory P. Hungerford, Suzanne McDevitt,

Michael D. Paulus, David N. Pugh, Roselle Scaggs, Margaret Smith, Karen

Stubenbort, Allan D. Turner, Joyce White, Michael J. Wiler

The Department offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work. In addition

to approval granted by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, the

program has been fully accredited by the Council of Social Work Education. A

recent study revealed that 96 percent of our social work graduates obtained pro-

fessional employment in the field.

Majors in the Department's degree program have had considerable success in

being admitted to graduate schools.

Bachelor of Science Degree

Social Work

The mission of the baccalaureate Social Work Program is to prepare graduates

with the knowledge, values and skills for competent and effective beginning-level

generalist social work practice and for a commitment to social and economic jus-

tice, cultural competency, advocacy for oppressed and at-risk populations, life-

long learning, and active participation, contributions, and leadership in the larger

community. The program strives to achieve its mission by providing access to a

quality education that offers a range of learning experiences and opportunities for

students.

The program has four goals:

Goal 1: To prepare graduates to develop a professional identity that integrates

the history and values of the social work profession.

Goal 2: To prepare graduates for culturally competent and effective generalist

social work practice with individuals, families, small groups, organiza-

tions, and communities.

Goal 3: To prepare graduates for competent and effective practice that reflects a

lifelong commitment to the principles of social and economic justice

and advocacy for oppressed and at-risk populations.

Goal 4: To prepare students for competent and effective practice that reflects a

commitment to lifelong learning, research, professional growth and

development, and service to their communities.

Graduates find employment in a variety of settings working with the elderly, chil-

dren, the mentally ill and mentally retarded, adult and juvenile offenders, and per-

sons with disabilities. Graduates work in schools, institutions for dependent pop-

ulations, group homes, mental health centers, hospitals, child welfare agencies,

nursing homes, community centers and many other human service organizations.

The Social Work Program has been developed according to the Standards estab-

lished by the Council on Social Work Education, and is accredited by the Council

for its Baccalaureate Program in Social Work. Program requirements are designed

to prepare students for direct services with client systems of various sizes and

types. The curriculum is based on a liberal arts perspective and includes profes-

sional foundation courses that contain the common body of the social work pro-

fession's knowledge, values and skills. The liberal arts base provides knowledge

in artistic expression, American and world civilizations, social and behavioral sci-

ence, cultural diversity and social pluralism, literature, science and philosophy.

There is considerable latitude for individual choice within the liberal arts compo-

nent of the curriculum, but students are required to have courses that provide

them with good oral and written communication skills, knowledge of social, psy-

chological and biological determinants of human behavior and diverse cultures,

social conditions and social problems.

The social work curriculum itself is divided into eight professional foundation

areas that include content on social work values and ethics, diversity, social and

economic justice, and populations-at-risk, human behavior and the social envi-

ronment, social welfare policy and services, social work practice, research, and

field practicum experiences.

The program does not grant social work course credit for life experience or pre-

vious work experience.

All freshmen and sophomore students pursuing a degree in social work are Level

I pre-social work majors. All Level I pre-social work students, in the semester that

they take SOWK250, must complete an application for formal admission into the

program and must be interviewed by the social work program director or other

designated social work program faculty. Students are responsible for returning

completed application forms to the program director and for scheduling an

appointment for a formal admission interview. The program will either accept the

student unconditionally, accept the student with conditions explicitly stated or

reject the student, giving clear reasons for that decision and recommending alter-

natives. The student and registrar will be informed of the decision. Applications

are accepted in the spring semester only.

Students must maintain a G.P.A. of 2.00; receive at least a "C" in each required

social work course; and a cumulative G.P.A. of 2.00 in required supporting cours-

es to continue in the program. Students are not permitted to enroll in excess of two

social work courses per semester and all required courses must be completed prior

to taking SOWK495/496.

I. General Education Requirements

48 sem. hrs.

II. Specialization in Social Work

60 sem. hrs.

A. Required Courses (42 sem. hrs.)

SOWK100

Introduction to Social Work (3)

SOWK115

Human Diversity (3)

SOWK205

Human Behavior in the Social Environment (3)

SOWK250

Introduction to Social Welfare Policy (3)

SOWK300

Social Welfare Policy (3)

SOWK310

Social Work Practice I (3)

SOWK312

Social Work Practice II (3)

SOWK315

Introduction to Social Work Research (3)

SOWK410

Social Work Practice III (3)

SOWK495

Internship: Social Work Fieldwork (12)

SOWK496

Senior Seminar (Concurrent with SOWK495) (3)

B. Required Related Courses (18 sem. hrs.)

PSYC101

General Psychology (3)

PSYC225

Psychological Statistics (3)

BIOL101

Human Biology (3)

SOC100

Principles of Sociology (3)

SOC326

Society and the Individual (3)

SOC390

Sociology of the Life Cycle (3)

III. Free Electives

12 sem. hrs.

TOTAL

120 sem. hrs.

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE SOCIAL WORK

(Suggested Eight-Semester Sequence)

First Semester

SOWK100

Introduction to Social Work (3)

ENGL101

College Writing Skills (3)

MATH104

Finite Mathematics (3)

PSYC101

General Psychology (Core 4) (3)**

SOC100

Principles of Sociology (Core 5) (3)**

TOTAL

15 sem. hrs.

Second Semester

SOWK115

Human Diversity (3)

ENGL102

Specialized College Writing and Research Skills (3)

CSCI104

Essential Computing I (3)

BIOL 101

Human Biology (Distribution 3) (3)**

HPE

(3)

TOTAL

15 sem. hrs.

Third Semester

SOWK205

Human Behavior in the Social Environment (3)

SOC326

Society and the Individual (Distribution 2) (3)**

Core 1 (3)

Core 3 (3)

Core 7 (3)

TOTAL

15 sem. hrs.

Fourth Semester

SOWK250

Introduction to Social Welfare Policy (3)

Distribution 1 (3)

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