Social Work Courses
Courses
SOWK 2310. Intro-Social Work/Soci Welfare.
[TCCN SOCW 2361] Introduction to the human service delivery system in the United States, with an emphasis on the social work profession: its mission, philosophy, ethics, values, diverse fields, and ethnocultural perspectives to provide an orientation to the social work profession.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
SOWK 2320. Social Welfare Policy/Srvs I.
[TCCN SOCW 2362] Examination of the historical evolution of social welfare and the social work profession, with focus on the social policies which comprise the foundation of the welfare state in the United States. Present patterns of social welfare services will also be examined. Emphasis on the historical evolution of contemporary social problems in the borderlands region. Oppression, discrimination, justice, immigration issues and policies, and their impact on diverse populations at risk will be explored.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
Prerequisite(s): (SOWK 2310 w/C or better)
SOWK 2331. Human Behavior/Social Envir I.
Designed to introduce beginning social work students to some mainstream theoretical explanations by which to view individuals, groups, and families. Students will be given an opportunity to compare traditional mainstream models with newer alternative paradigms that focus on human growth and development from a strengths perspective. Special emphasis is placed on issues of culture, race, ethnic diversity, racism, sexism, ageism, and disabling mental or physical conditions.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
Prerequisite(s): (SOWK 2310 w/C or better)
SOWK 3175. Independent Study-1 Credit.
Students will collaborate with a faculty member to engage in independent work for one credit through an agreed-upon pathway. This may include participation in research, scholarship, and/or community engagement.
Department: Social Work
1 Credit Hour
1 Total Contact Hour
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
1 Other Hour
1 Total Contact Hour
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
1 Other Hour
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
SOWK 3320. Social Welfare Policy/Srvs II.
A continuation of SOWK 2320, this course focuses on policy formulation and analysis. Special emphasis is placed on public and non-profit agency policies affecting diverse clients and client groups, and on the role of the social worker as a policy change agent. The course will include advanced content on policy practice and advocacy with a special focus on the U.S.-Mexico border region. Course content includes: critical evaluation of the process and outcomes of social welfare development, evaluation, and implementation at local, state, and federal levels.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
Prerequisite(s): (SOWK 2320 w/C or better)
SOWK 3325. Culturally Grounded Social Wk.
This course covers emerging trends in cultural responsiveness and adaptation, and the culturally grounded perspective. Culture is viewed as the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, socioeconomic status, orientation, immigration status, and other identities. This course examines the impact of discrimination, oppression, and economic deprivation on disenfranchised populations and theoretical and historical perspectives on racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ageism, ableism, and other forms of discrimination with an emphasis on the U.S.-Mexico border region.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
Classification Restrictions:
Restricted to class of JR, SR
Prerequisite(s): (SOWK 2310 w/C or better)
Corequisite(s):
SOWK 3341. Human Behavior/Social Envir II.
Designed to introduce beginning social work students to various theoretical models by which to view how groups, communities, and organizations interface and interact with the social environment. Students will also examine various theoretical models of poverty, particularly as these influence social welfare policies and/or affect the delivery of social services to impoverished populations.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
Prerequisite(s): (SOWK 2331 w/C or better)
SOWK 3342. Social Work with LGBTQI.
This course focuses on providing information and skills to allow social workers to provide culturally competent service to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people in the Border region. This course will provide students with advanced social work knowledge, skills, and values needed for practice with sexual minority populations at the individual, family, group, organization, and community levels. Students learn about the history and contemporary mechanisms of oppression constraining people of marginalized gender identities and sexual identities in order to create social change and promote social justice in practice settings and policy work.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
SOWK 3344. Social Work with Military Fam.
Students will gain familiarity with the issues and resources available to address issues of individuals and families affiliated with the US military. Formal and informal military structures, including benefits structures, military culture, active duty, reserve and retired military structures will be explored. The history of social work within the military will be examined. Issues related to discrimination and oppression within the military will be discussed. Ethical concerns that emerge from social work practice with military families will be addressed.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
SOWK 3345. SOWK/Aging: Cross Cultl Persp.
An examination of the needs and concerns of the aging person in society from a social/cultural/physiological/emotional perspective and of methods used to address those needs and concerns. Emphasis will be on advocacy, case management, networking, and direct care methods, and their application to Hispanics and other diverse populations in the borderlands region.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
SOWK 3347. Soc Work with Native American.
This course explores historical events and culture relative to Native Americans, and how this impacts social work practice in the border region. This course utilizes lecture, film, guest presentations, reading and assignments, and active discussion to achieve learning objectives. Students are expected to read all assignments, and should be prepared to discuss them actively during class. Grades are based primarily on quality of participation, weekly readings and journal entries, periodic new summaries, and an independent research project. Participation in classroom discussion is essential.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
SOWK 3348. Health & Env:Planning for Sust.
The course aims to create an interdisciplinary approach to examine the links between the environment (physical, natural, and social) and the physical and mental health of individuals and the communities they live in. Touching on the fields of public health, social work, and urban planning, the fundamental idea of the course is to explore the relationship between these three fields and to illustrate that how and what we build has tremendous influence in how we live and how we maintain our physical and mental well-being. Students in various disciplines will understand these links and formulate responses and solutions based on their understanding of their respective fields. The course will examine national perspectives with emphasize on issues affecting the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez border region.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
SOWK 3350. Diag Sys for Genrlst Soc Wk.
Survey of the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association with an emphasis on preparation of BSW students for licensure examinations. Ethical issues associated with use of classification systems will be presented within the context of alternative interpretation of human behaviors from diverse cultural perspectives.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
Prerequisite(s): (SOWK 3355 w/C or better)
SOWK 3351. Assesment & Intervention(Span).
An introduction to competency-based assessment of psychological disorders, substance use disorders, the ecological perspective on mental health, and the bio-psychological framework for culturally responsive assessments and interventions in Spanish.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
SOWK 3355. Generalist Social Work Pract I.
This course provides entry level theory, knowledge, and evaluation of practice, values and skills for social work practice with individuals. This course emphasizes the basics of communication, interviewing, relationship building, and professional use of self. Self-awareness, critical thinking, problem solving, intervention planning and skills, and ethics are emphasized. In accordance with social work values and ethics, this course pays particular attention to the assessment of populations-at-risk and issues of diversity with particular focus on El Paso/Juarez, urban/rural border region.
SOWK 3358. Generalist Social Work Prac II.
This is the second of three generalist practice courses. It is designed to provide knowledge, values, and skills for social work practice with groups and families. This utilizes a strengths perspective to build on the problem-solving model, introduced in Generalist Social Work Practice I, 3355. In Practice II, students will examine group and family processes, build their evidence-based knowledge regarding practice with groups and families, and develop key practice skills to be utilized with families and groups in diverse practice settings with particular focus in the border region.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
Prerequisite(s): (SOWK 3355 w/C or better)
SOWK 3370. Special Issues in Social Work.
This course focuses on specific topics or populations; for example, sociopolitical determinants of health, school social work, trabajo social en Espanol (social work in spanish), and interprofessional education among others. Students may repeat this course if the focus of the course differs.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
SOWK 3375. Independent Study.
Students will collaborate with a faculty member to engage independent work for three credits through an agreed-upon pathway. This may include participate in research, scholarship, and/or community engagement.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
3 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
0 Lecture Hours
3 Other Hours
SOWK 3430. Research Methods-Social Work.
This class will provide students with an understanding of various processes for building knowledge for practice and for evaluation of service delivery. The concept and processes of evidence-based practice as utilized in social work will be learned and applied. Ethical standards, use of critical thinking, and writing skills will be emphasized. Theoretical constructs for conducting culturally responsive, quantitative/qualitative research in the borderland region will be examined. Students will acquire skills in the use of technology and the use of statistics for social work research.
Department: Social Work
4 Credit Hours
4 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
4 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
4 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
4 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
Classification Restrictions:
Restricted to class of JR, SR
Prerequisite(s): (SOWK 2310 w/C or better ) AND (PSYC 1301 w/C or better ) OR (SOCI 2312 w/C or better ) OR (STAT 1380 w/C or better)
Corequisite(s):
SOWK 4301. Social Work in Health Care.
Social work in health care is a central issue in all people's lives. It cuts across all the domains of social work practice with individuals, families and communities. Issues of health will often surface, regardless of practice setting. This course will serve as an introduction to social work practice in health. We will examine the health care system, managed care, health care financing, complementary and alternative medicine, ethics, social epidemiology and different health issues in relation to social work practice. Consistent with our mission, we will emphasize border health issues.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
SOWK 4370. General Social Work Pract III.
This course provides students with an overview of macro social work practice as applied to the policy context, organizational, and community levels of analysis. Specifically, this course focuses on effective assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation of organization and communities using a strengths perspective. This course applies social work theories, frameworks, and approaches to examine the dynamics and change processes involved in generalist practice in macro settings utilizing practice-informed research and research informed practice with a particular focus on the border region.
SOWK 4380. Generalist Field Instruction I.
This course is the first of two field-based practicum experiences. Students participate in a supervised learning experience in selected social welfare agencies. A weekly seminar (SOWK 4381) accompanies this course facilitating students' integration and application of social work theory and practice skills in a field setting. A multi-cultural perspective is emphasized. Requires admission to Field Education.
SOWK 4381. Generalist Field Seminar I.
This course is a capstone seminar that enables students to integrate the theory, knowledge, values, skills, ethics, and ethno-cultural competence of generalist practice with an emphasis on the border region.
SOWK 4382. Generalist Field Seminar II.
This course is a capstone seminar that enables students to integrate the theory, knowledge, values, skills, ethics, and ethno cultural competence of generalist social work practice with an emphasis on the border region. Emphasis will include evaluation of ones own practice.
Department: Social Work
SOWK 4383. Honors Field Seminar I.
This course is an advanced capstone seminar for students enrolled in the BSW Honors Program. This course enables students to integrate the theory, knowledge, values, skills, ethics, and ethno-cultural competence of generalist social work practice with an emphasis on the border region.
Department: Social Work
3 Credit Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
3 Total Contact Hours
0 Lab Hours
3 Lecture Hours
0 Other Hours
Major Restrictions:
Restricted to majors of BSWK, SOWK
Classification Restrictions:
Restricted to class of JR, SR
Prerequisite(s): (SOWK 3320 w/C or better AND SOWK 3341 w/C or better AND SOWK 3355 w/C or better AND SOWK 3358 w/C or better)
Corequisite(s): SOWK 4380
SOWK 4384. Honors Field Seminar II.
This course is an advanced capstone seminar for students enrolled in the BSW Honors Program. Students will develop advanced skills and knowledge of theory to more effectively prepare them to enter at a more advanced level of MSW coursework. Students will learn and apply more advanced communication skills, practice models, assessments, and interventions, and develop more in-depth worker-client relationships necessary for more advanced interventions. These practice skills will be addressed at the individual micro, mezzo, and macro levels of social work practice.
Department: Social Work
SOWK 4390. Genrlst Field Instruction II.
This course is the second of two field-based practicum experiences. Students participate in a supervised learning experience in selected social welfare agencies. A weekly seminar (SOWK 4382) accompanies this course, facilitating students' integration and application of social work theory and practice skills in a field setting. A multi-cultural practice perspective is emphasized.