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College of Arts & Sciences Catalog

Social Work

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Bethel’s social work program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education as an undergraduate-level program preparing students for generalist entry-level professional social work practice. Graduates from this program are eligible to be licensed as social workers by the State of Minnesota and by other states that require such licensure. While preparation for practice is the program’s primary objective, academically qualified graduates are prepared to pursue graduate-level social work education. (A number of graduate schools offer advanced standing.) The 63-credit major includes a core of Department of Social Work requirements in classroom and field-based courses, and select biological, social, and behavioral science support courses.

Program Admission

To be formally accepted into the social work program, the student must:

  1. Complete SOW200Z Introduction to Helping Relationships and Services with a grade of C or better;

  2. Demonstrate basic competencies in mathematics and written and oral communication;

  3. Have a cumulative GPA of 2.25 at time of admission to the program;

  4. Give evidence of personal competencies (such as assertiveness, integrity, acceptance, and appreciation of human differences) and emotional maturity consistent with the role and responsibilities of the social work professional (note: a criminal history may preclude one’s ability to become licensed as a social worker upon graduation);

  5. Complete an application for admission to the social work program that includes the following steps:

    a. Document at least 50 hours of voluntary or paid experience involving services to people;

    b. Complete a written self-analysis of aptitude to become a social work professional; and

    c. Provide two letters of reference from individuals qualified to assess applicant’s aptitude to pursue social work as a profession.

  6. Interview with social work faculty to discuss application and readiness to enter social work program. The full-time faculty assess the application, and notification is given to the applicant of decision concerning acceptance.

Field Practicum Admission

All of the above requirements must be completed and acceptance into the program must be finalized before students may begin their SOW334 Social Work Field Experience practicum. Further details on admission to the field practicum are described in the Social Work Program Policy Handbook.

International Field Practicum

Junior level students may fulfill SOW334 Social Work Field Experience in a social work approved international semester program. Students must work with the Office of International Studies and obtain approval from the field director of the social work program. Students must also meet the Bethel requirements to study abroad and be accepted into a study abroad program.

Standards for Continuance and Graduation

In order to remain in the program and be certified to graduate with a social work major, students must:

  1. Earn a grade of C or better in each social work course (courses with a grade of C- or lower must be repeated);

  2. Maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.25;

  3. Demonstrate understanding of the NASW Code of Ethics and a consistent and growing commitment to ethical practice in accordance with this code;

  4. Obtain a recommendation from junior-level (SOW334) field instructor and faculty liaison confirming that satisfactory progress is evident and that no barriers are present to preclude the student from taking on the demanding responsibilities of senior-level field practice (SOW432, 433, 434). Application process, field expectations, and standards are detailed in the Social Work Program Policy Handbook and the Social Work Program Field Practicum Manual;

  5. Obtain progress evaluations during senior-level field practicum (SOW432, 433, 434) from the field instructor and the faculty liaison confirming that satisfactory progress is being made toward competent, ethical, and professional social work practice. Application process, field expectations, and standards are detailed in the Social Work Program Policy Handbook and the Social Work Program Field Practicum Manual;

  6. Obtain a final (SOW432, 433, 434) evaluation from the field instructor and the faculty liaison confirming that the student is adequately prepared to graduate as a professional social worker. Application process, field expectations, and standards are detailed in the Social Work Program Policy Handbook and the Social Work Program Field Practicum Manual;

  7. Maintain ongoing evidence of meeting accepted standards of professional conduct, personal competencies, and emotional maturity requisite for professional practice. Actions inconsistent with the above expectations include: (a) inappropriate or disruptive behaviors toward colleagues, faculty, or staff members (at the university or in the field practicum placements) and (b) failure to demonstrate effective interpersonal skills necessary for forming professional helping relationships (such as a judgmental attitude toward others or an inability to allow client self-determination); and

  8. Demonstrate continued development of professional knowledge, values, skills, ethics, and conduct expected of a generalist social work practitioner as presented throughout the social work program.

Note: Students who request to resume their involvement with the social work program (as a social work major) after having dropped out of the program for any reason must apply for readmission into the social work program. Issues that led to the decision to drop out (whether voluntary or involuntary) must be addressed prior to being readmitted to the social work program. Being readmitted to Bethel University does not constitute readmission into the social work program.

Courses

Social Work Courses

SOW200Z • Introduction to Helping Relationships and Services (fall, spring) 4 credits

Human need as experienced and expressed in diverse cultural perspectives (especially in oppressed and at-risk populations) and services designed to meet diverse needs. Practice settings, helping roles, and a variety of value issues are examined. Opportunity to consider social work as a possible career choice. Includes a significant, cross-cultural, community-based service learning experience in which students communicate and collaborate with diverse individuals. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing; introductory course in the social and behavioral sciences.

SOW250 • Social Welfare in America (spring) 3 credits

Development of the welfare state in America from colonial period to the present, with a brief examination of European roots and influences. Historical context, reform movements, and resultant legislation, including that which emphasizes the roles of minorities and women. (Carries cross-credit in history.)

SOW304 • Social Work Practice I (fall) 4 credits

Generalist social work theory and practice with groups; organizations; communities. Human behavior in the social environment and research-based knowledge emphasized. Assignments in community settings focus on engagement and assessment; dimensions of diversity; interaction of social systems; and a social change plan. Must be taken concurrently with SOW313. Prerequisites: Major in social work; SOW200Z; PSY203.

SOW305 • Social Policy Change Strategies (spring) 4 credits

Interrelationship of social problems, social welfare policies, and resultant social welfare services from historical, economic, political, and programmatic perspectives are examined. Social systems and HBSE content of special relevance is applied to social welfare policy analysis. Includes community-based projects in which students provide advocacy for non-discriminatory social and economic systems. Prerequisites: SOW200Z; SOW250; ECO200; POS100. (Non-majors may take course only with consent of instructor.)

SOW313 • Social Work Practice II (fall) 3 credits

Generalist social work theory and practice with individuals and families. Beginning professional development; communication skills and social change skills emphasized. Video assignment provides application of the helping process: engagement; assessment; planning; intervention; evaluation; and termination. Must be taken concurrently with SOW304. Prerequisites: Major in social work; SOW200Z; SOC101.

SOW327G • Social Relations: Issues of Power and Privilege in the U.S. (spring) 3 credits

Using minority/majority as sociological concepts to analyze individual behavior and group relationships, the distribution of power and privilege between minority and majority groups is studied. Issues of ethnicity, race, gender, faith perspectives, physical and mental attributes, and social class are examined. Includes social justice theories and applications. Prerequisites: GES130 or GES145, 146; Contemporary Western Life and Thought (L) course or GES245; World Cultures (U) course.

SOW334 • Social Work Field Experience (spring) 3 credits

Placement in a field agency under social work supervision, plus a weekly integrative group seminar. Students are in the field a minimum of 120 hours, averaging eight hours per week for 15 weeks. Increased readiness for senior-level field instruction is a primary course objective. Must be taken concurrently with SOW305. Prerequisites: SOW304; SOW313; major in social work; admission into the social work program.

SOW351 • Methods of Applied Social Research and Statistics (fall) 4 credits

Social research methods, including an emphasis on becoming proficient and critical consumers of research-based data, for the purposes of knowledge advancement, informed practice, and program and practice effectiveness evaluation. Prerequisites: Mathematics (M) course; introductory course in the social and behavioral sciences.

SOW405 • Social Work Practice III (fall) 4 credits

Synthesis of human development and social environment knowledge, practice theories and skills; research-based interventions; principles of social justice. Case studies promote critical thinking and informed decision-making. Professional oral and writing skills emphasized. Must be taken concurrently with SOW432. Prerequisites: SOW200Z; PSY203; SOW304; SOW313; admission into the social work program.

SOW432 • Social Work Field Instruction I (fall, spring) 3 credits

Placement in an agency setting under the guidance of an agency-based social work field instructor. Engagement in a variety of professional roles and activities to achieve beginning-level social work practice skill. An on-campus, weekly integrative seminar. Time involvement must total a minimum of 135 clock hours in the field. Must be taken concurrently with SOW405. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the social work program.

SOW433 • Social Work Field Instruction II (fall, spring) 3 credits

A continuation of SOW432. Time involvement must total a minimum of 135 clock hours in the field. Must be taken concurrently with SOW499. Prerequisite: SOW432.

SOW434 • Social Work Field Instruction III (fall, spring) 3 credits

A continuation of SOW433. Time involvement must total a minimum of 135 clock hours in the field. Must be taken concurrently with SOW499. Prerequisite: SOW433.

SOW499 • Senior Integrative Seminar (spring) 3 credits

Integration of generalist social work knowledge, values, and skills through ethics-based case studies; professional portfolio; and practice/program evaluation assignment applied to field practicum setting. Critical thinking, leadership, and scholarship emphasized. Must be taken concurrently with SOW434. Prerequisites: SOW351; SOW405; SOW432.

Programs

In this section, semester credit hours will be shown after the course number and description.

Major in Social Work (B.A.)

SOW200Z* Introduction to Helping Relationships and Services 4
SOW250 Social Welfare in America 3
SOW304 Social Work Practice I 4
SOW305 Social Policy Change Strategies 4
SOW313 Social Work Practice II 3
SOW334 Social Work Field Experience 3
SOW351 Methods of Applied Social Research and Statistics 4
SOW405 Social Work Practice III 4
SOW432 Social Work Field Instruction I 3
SOW433 Social Work Field Instruction II 3
SOW434 Social Work Field Instruction III 3
SOW499 Senior Integrative Seminar 3
BIO103D*a Human Biology 4
ECO200a Economics of Public Policy Analysis 3
POS100a American Politics and Government 3
PSY100 Introduction to Psychology 3
PSY203 Lifespan Development 3
SOC101 Introduction to Sociology 3
Choose from:   3
   FAS313G* Families in Cross-Cultural Perspective  
   GES450P* Reconciliation in a Racialized Society  
   HIS210U* Minorities in America  
   PSY308G* Cross-Cultural Psychology  
   RES207U* Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and our Multicultural World  
   SOC342G* Race, Ethnicity, and Peacemaking  
   SOC386G* Social Inequality  
   SOW327G* Social Relations: Issues of Power and Privilege in the U.S.  
  Total 63
General Education   51-52
Electives   7-8**
  TOTAL 122

* A student may also choose to use this course to meet a General Education requirement.

** Because of possible double counting between General Education and the major, more than 7 elective credits may be available.

a Substitute courses from these disciplines may be taken only with the approval of the Department of Social Work.

Minor in Social Welfare Studies

SOW200Z* Introduction to Helping Relationships and Services 4
SOW250 Social Welfare in America 3
SOW305 Social Policy Change Strategies 4
SOW351 Methods of Applied Social Research and Statistics 4
Choose from:   3
   ECO200 Economics of Public Policy Analysis  
   POS100 American Politics and Government  
Elective from introductory course in the social and behavioral sciences 3
  TOTAL 21