Undergraduate Course Catalog 2012-2013
College of Health and Human Services
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Social Work (SW)
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Chairperson: Cynthia Anne Broussard
Associate Professor: Mary Banach, Linda Rene Bergeron, Cynthia Anne Broussard, Vernon Brooks Carter, Robert E. Jolley, Jerry D. Marx, Patrick Shannon, Melissa Wells
Assistant Professor: Pablo Arriaza, Susan A. Lord, Sharon B. Murphy, Anita Tucker
Clinical Assistant Professor: Gretchen Bean, Martha A. Byam, Kim Kelsey, Brian Miller, Lee P. Rush
The Department of Social Work’s undergraduate program offers both a major and a minor in social work. It is a specialized degree that prepares graduates for generalist social work practice with a solid foundation in the liberal arts and in the knowledge, skills, and value base of social work. Through the mastery of core competencies, social work graduates apply their education working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. In addition, the program prepares qualified students to pursue graduate education in schools of social work and related fields.
The baccalaureate program at the University of New Hampshire is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and must meet rigorous academic standards to retain this accreditation. Social work majors pursue a program that encompasses the professional social work competencies of professional identity, critical thinking, knowledge of diversity and human rights, social and economic justice, social welfare policy and services, social work practice with all client system sizes, human behavior in the social environment, research, and ethics.
To connect the theoretical and conceptual content of the classroom with the practice world, students must complete 40 hours of volunteer service in approved agency/program settings during their college years. Twenty hours of the 40 must be in the same agency/program. The remaining hours may be across multiple sites/programs. This experience may be paid or volunteer and must be pre-approved by the student's faculty advisor. The service hours must be completed post high school and before entering field work (SW 640/640A) In addition, students complete a 450 hour internship over two semesters during the senior year. This is the senior capstone experience. The field placement in the final year of the baccalaureate program is arranged between the student and the field education coordinator. Evaluation of this senior field placement is one tool that measures student achievement of program competencies. Students are required to pay a liability insurance fee for their off-campus field education experience. In compliance with CSWE accreditation standards, the B.S. in social work program does not grant social work course credits for life experience or work experience.
Social work majors earn a B.S. degree in social work. Graduates are eligible for practice in a variety of social work settings throughout the United States. In addition, qualified graduates are eligible to apply for advanced standing in MSW programs that offer advanced standing. Depending upon the program, this can mean earning the MSW in one calendar year versus two academic years.
Academic Program
Candidates for a degree must satisfy all of the University Discovery Program requirements in addition to satisfying the requirements of the social work major. Social work majors are required to take SW 424, 525, 550, 551, 601, 622, 623, 625, and the senior capstone course sequence 640, 640A, 641, 641A. In addition, students are expected to successfully complete four courses taken from the disciplines of anthropology/sociology, zoology, philosophy, and psychology. Many of these also may fulfill Discovery Program requirements. Students wishing to minor in social work are required to take SW 424, SW 525, and any three other courses offered by the department, excluding SW 640, 641. Students interested in either a major or minor in social work should consult with the undergraduate program coordinator, Martha Byam, Pettee Hall, Room 231, (603) 862-1077.
