Students graduating with a degree in Social Work must complete certain University requirements as well as social work requirements. There is no social work minor.
University Requirements
School of Social Work Requirements
BSW Plans of Study
Goals for Student Learning and Learning Objectives
Liberal Arts Perspective
Infused Curriculum Content
University graduation requirements are published in the Undergraduate Catalog online at http://www.ilstu.edu/home/catalog/undergraduate/.
In addition to meeting the University degree requirements for the baccalaureate degree, there are also specific requirements set by the School of Social Work. The criteria for graduation are also listed in the Undergraduate Catalog at http://www.ilstu.edu/home/catalog/undergraduate/.
The present curriculum plan is summarized in the model plan of study presented at http://www.socialwork.ilstu.edu/bsw/plan_of_study.shtml. The plan of study shows the required sequence of courses and is used extensively by the Director of Student Services and students in the advisement process.
Please see our Web site for the goals at http://www.socialwork.ilstu.edu/bsw/.
Baccalaureate students receive a strong liberal arts education. They must not only meet the University's General Education Program requirements but also the specific liberal arts requirements of the Social Work major. Together these liberal arts requirements are an integral part of the base for generalist practice. Generalist social workers need to draw on a variety of theories, skill sets and methods in order to serve clients with a wide range of problems, stresses and needs at numerous system levels (e.g., individual, group, family, community, society). All social work courses further emphasize cultural diversity; critical thinking; and the social, psychological and biological contributors to human behavior that are developed through the liberal arts perspective.
Illinois State University’s General Education Program prepares students for whatever major they choose by focusing on the skills and knowledge common to all educated people. It develops the abilities needed to adapt to changes in any career field and in life in general. It seeks to make students better life-long learners by encouraging intellectual curiosity, developing critical reading, writing and thinking skills and broadening the student's perspective. These objectives are addressed through an integrated set of courses and involvement of all University departments in the design, delivery and evaluation of the general education curriculum.
The General Education Program requirements are listed in the Undergraduate Catalog at http://www.ilstu.edu/home/catalog/undergraduate/.
Baccalaureate students enter the social work major with a sound liberal arts base. They are required to take certain liberal arts courses in other departments as well as courses in the Baccalaureate Social Work Program that extend the liberal arts foundational base. The General Education Program and the social work curriculum both emphasize: basic communication skills, critical thinking, values identification and examination, the systematic investigation of phenomena, problem solving and cultural diversity.
The baccalaureate social work curriculum follows a natural progression from General Education courses, to traditional liberal arts courses, to introductory social work courses which then culminate in upper level social work practice and field courses.
The theory and knowledge gained in the liberal arts and general education courses is directly applied in the subsequent social work courses that further emphasize cultural diversity; critical thinking; and the social, psychological and biological contributors to human behavior. Liberal arts courses that are required for the Social Work Major are taken in the first and second years before students can be formally admitted to the program.
Five components of the professional foundation constitute "organizing themes" of the curriculum that are incorporated through lectures, readings, discussion and assignments in all curriculum sequences: social work values and ethics, diversity, social and economic justice, populations-at-risk and evidence-based knowledge. Three of the themes represent discrete but closely related expressions of social work's philosophical commitments. Valuing diversity, working for social and economic justice and serving populations-at-risk are direct articulations of social work values and ethics. The fourth theme, evidence-based practice, also articulates social work values and ethics, although more indirectly, by promoting the development of knowledge and effective practice.
The definitions of "values and ethics," "diversity," "populations-at-risk," "social and economic justice," and "evidence-based practice" used to determine classification of course content are given below. Course content is assigned a primary classification. In many instances, however, the material evaluated is so complex (e.g., articles, other texts) that it is assigned to more than one category. For example, a methodologically strong research report that helps students understand the differential impact of social problems on diverse client groups and offers policy suggestions to promote social justice and equality is a good supplemental reading that cuts across at least three categories: research, diversity and social and economic justice.
Content that promotes an understanding of and respect for different people and groups (e.g., age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, political, sexual orientation) is included in this category. We believe it is critically important that students understand the strengths and contributions of a broad representation of groups to the development of both the nation and the social welfare response.
The curriculum is congruent with the professional purposes and values exemplified in the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Curriculum content that reflects these fundamental tenets of the profession is included in this category.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics is available to students on the Internet at http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/default.asp.
Social work has historically allied itself with the oppressed and disenfranchised. In the baccalaureate curriculum, for example, students examine this historic connection and the role of contemporary social work practice in promoting social justice and equality. Course content that addresses the role and methods of social work in working for equality of basic rights, protections, opportunities, obligations and social benefits is included in this category.
The curriculum addresses the dynamics and consequences of discrimination, economic deprivation and oppression and strategies for preventing and remediating their impact on people of color, women, gay and lesbian persons, older people and other groups with limited access to resources.
The evidence-based category encompasses both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. This category includes readings, exercises and research studies that foster an understanding and appreciation of the scientific and analytic approach to building knowledge for practice and for evaluating service delivery. Evidence-based knowledge is infused readily across the curriculum with many examples of practice evaluation, use of the professional literature, application of appropriate research-based knowledge and ethical standards of scientific inquiry. Other examples of this content include: analysis of data, statistical procedures, analysis and evaluation of theoretical bases, research questions, various research designs and developing skills in accessing, reading and critiquing published research studies. In addition to the infused content in all courses, two courses are devoted entirely to this content.
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