Course Offerings

Foundation Required Courses

T6007 Professional Immersion Seminar
1.5 points. Required for international students. This seminar addresses a wide range of issues, including acculturation and adaptation to academic study and field education in the United States and New York City; preparation for practicing social work upon return to one’s home country after graduation; cultural competence in practicing with diverse client populations and working with diverse colleagues in the United States; and study skills.

T6015 Seminar in Professional Identity
1.5 points. This 7-week seminar will introduce students to the theoretical, historical, and philosophical underpinnings of the social work profession. It will provide a cognitive map for master's level education in social work that will serve as a foundation for the growth and maintenance of a critical and reflective professional self. Students will explore professional social work identities within historical and contemporary contexts and will develop an orientation to practice, research, and policy-making that is anchored in professional identities and obligations. They will begin to examine the local and national commitments of the profession within a global context. Finally, they will start to develop skills for critical analysis of the premises, tensions, and contradictions that shape the profession. The knowledge and skills acquired in this course will be reinforced and further developed in other courses throughout the M.S. curriculum. Not required for Advanced Standing or Transfer Program students.

T7100 Foundations of Social Work Practice
3 points. Students will learn introductory knowledge and skills in generalist social work, including direct practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities. Emphasis is placed on self-awareness, the development of professional identity, cultural competence, practice with diverse populations, and the integration of social work values and ethics in practice. Field practice is integrated into classroom content and discussion.

T7102 Direct Practice with Individuals, Families & Groups
3 points. Prerequisite: 7100. This course builds upon the knowledge and skills acquired in T7100. Students learn to critically examine, select, apply, and evaluate major theoretical models of direct social work practice with individuals, families, and groups in a culturally competent manner. Particular emphasis is placed on the linkage between assessment and intervention, the critical evaluation of self in one's own practice, and the use of empirical knowledge to guide practice decisions.

T7103 Advocacy in Social Work Practice: Changing Organizations and Communities, Influencing Social Policies and Political Processes
3 points. Prerequisites: T7100, T6801. Students will learn to (1) critically analyze and assess organizations, communities, social policies and political systems; (2) develop interventions, advocate for, and work collaboratively to achieve change and build capacity in organizations and communities and to influence social policies and political processes, and (3) extend their understanding of distributive justice, human and civil rights and the dynamics of oppression, and the role of advocacy and social change action in pursuing social and economic justice.

T660A-B Human Behavior and the Social Environment
3 points. (NM). This two-term course provides students with foundation knowledge for social work practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Using a developmental life-course and social systems framework, the course emphasizes how environmental and historical influences, current social movements, societal belief systems, social structures, and political processes affect bio-psycho-social aspects of human development. The course then focuses on the application of these theories in tandem with a scholarly examination of social forces that shape human agency, opportunity, health, and behavior. Issues of race, ethnicity, class, culture, gender, and sexuality are examined, with particular attention to how processes of risk and resiliency, immigration, work, citizenship, and poverty impact developmental trajectories of people in the U.S. and in other countries.

T6501 Social Work Research
3 points. (NM). Course can be waived by examination. If waived, student will need 3 additional points. Students will understand and appreciate a scientific, analytic approach to building knowledge for practice and for evaluating service delivery in all areas of practice. Different theoretical bases and methodological procedures for social work research are addressed, as are basic statistical procedures and technological advances in quantitative and qualitative designs. Ethical standards of scientific inquiry are emphasized with attention to protecting and promoting the well-being of vulnerable and oppressed populations. Ultimately, students are expected to be able to access, critically evaluate, and appropriately use empirical research to inform and evaluate their practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

T6502 Quantitative Methods for Social Work
1.5 points. Course can be waived by examination. If waived, the student will need 1.5 additional points. This 7-week course uses hands-on data analysis to introduce students to basic statistical concepts using real-world examples relevant to social work practice. The following topics are covered: displaying and summarizing data, probability and probability distributions (including use of probabilities to analyze and interpret data), estimating population values from samples, hypothesis testing (including t, F, and chi-square tests), correlation, simple regression, and an introduction to multiple regression. The primary goal of this course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to describe, analyze, and interpret data that can inform one's practice and contribute to understanding the impact of social work practices and public policies.

T6801 Social Welfare Policy
3 points. Course can be waived by examination. If waived, the student will need 3 additional points. This course provides students with an overview and assessment of current domestic social welfare policies and programs, and the factors that influence their development. Special attention is given to income maintenance, personal social services, and in-kind benefits.

top

Advanced Concentration Required Courses

Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice

T7113 Advanced Clinical Practice in a Field of Practice
3 points. Prerequisites: T7102, T7103. The course offers students in-depth exposure to differential assessment and intervention. Students register for this course by their designated field of practice: Aging; Contemporary Social Issues; Family and Children's Services; Health, Mental Health and Disabilities; International Social Welfare; School-based and School-linked Services; and World of Work. All sections explore direct practice modalities for individuals, families, and groups: case management; core themes; and a variety of clinical interventions.

T7114 Clinical Practice with Populations, Clinical Intervention Modalities, and Professional Practice Issues
3 points. Prerequisite: T7113. This course builds on the general framework of Advanced Clinical Practice (T7113) to address problems in a particular field of practice. Students select two seven-week mini-courses in which they consolidate their developing knowledge and skills through in-depth study of service delivery to specific client populations, the application of specific intervention methods, or selected clinical practice issues. Topics are updated annually to reflect new developments in clinical practice.

top

Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming

T7133 Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming I
3 points. Prerequisite: T7102, T7103. Students learn to think and practice as advanced generalist social work practitioners. Emphasis is placed on helping students to develop a conceptual framework with which they can differentially assess the multiple, interrelated interventions needed to respond to clients' issues. The course focuses on advanced direct practice; assessment of the service needs of individuals, families, client populations, and neighborhoods; case management; and community social work with vulnerable populations.

T7134 Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming II
3 points. Prerequisite: T7133. This course extends the advanced generalist practice conceptual framework to program development and supervision and includes program design and conceptualization; with community and task groups for social action and organizational change; clients care in the context of cause and function; and social work practice with organizational groups. Course consists of two seven-week segments. The first focuses on program development and evaluation and grant writing. In the second, students select a topic either in AGPP and professional practice issues or in AGPP within and across populations.

top

Policy Practice

T7143 Seminar on Policy Practice I
3 points. Prerequisites: T6801, T7103. This is the first of a two-course sequence in which students will develop knowledge and skills in identifying policy issues, policy analysis, and advocacy. Each student will analyze a policy question over the course of the year, drawing on data and expertise from their field placement and other sources. This first course focuses primarily on issue identification and gathering information for analysis.

T7144 Seminar on Policy Practice II
3 points. Prerequisite: T7143. This the second of a two-course sequence designed to develop knowledge and skills in identifying policy issues, policy analysis, and advocacy. Each student will analyze a policy question over the course of the year, drawing on data and expertise from their field placement as well as other sources. This second course focuses primarily on policy analysis and translating policy analysis into action.

top

Social Enterprise Administration

T6413 Information Management
3 points. Required for all SEA students. Open only to SEA students. Information management is a strategic competitive resource in the administration of social enterprise organizations. This course will introduce students to the full array of knowledge and information resources required to effectively manage a social enterprise organization. The focus will be on what information is needed, how and where to obtain needed information, how to plan, design, implement, and manage social enterprise information systems, and how to use information to generate knowledge for decision making and innovation.

T7122 Social Planning and Program Development
3 points. Prerequisite: T7103. In this required practice course, students will develop the knowledge base and core competencies necessary to design and acquire resources for social service interventions to meet contemporary needs. Students will utilize case examples and skills presented in class to plan group interventions. They will also have the opportunity to critique a formal program plan, and gain skills in grant writing and other forms of fundraising through formal workshops and exercises. Finally, students will learn how to modify programs and program plans to meet various exigencies that an organization might face due to funding reductions or other difficulties.

T7123 Human Resource Management, Supervision, and Staff Development
3 points. This course will help students to understand the significant contribution human resources makes to the function of the social agency. Students will explore the options open to administrators in designing human resource strategies that optimize the motivation and creativity of personnel, and maximize the organization's outcomes. The legal environment is reviewed as a context in which this aspect of administrative practice takes place. Basic to this course are the theories of leadership, supervision, and creating a learning culture.

T7124 Community Development and Practice (previously Macro Community Practice)
3 points. Prerequisite: T6801, T7103. This course will provide students with theoretical, conceptual and practice models as they relate to community development. The course explores the role of community organizations in community development. It focuses on assessment of a neighborhood: Its human, physical and institutional characteristics. Although the main focus of the course is on cities and rural areas in America, attempts will be made to relate these to international settings. Students will learn to apply professional social work practice skills to assessing and developing communities. Case examples of practice models that have demonstrated effectiveness will be discussed.

T7125 Financial Management
3 points. This course introduces students to the theory and practice of financial management in nonprofit organizations. Students will develop a beginning working knowledge of the elements, concepts, systems, tools and techniques of financial management. Included are such concepts as accounting, budgeting, resource allocation, problems of fiscal control, fiscal record keeping and reporting, cost analysis, continuation budgeting, and activity-based costing. The course will require use of financial management software, case examples, a required text, lectures, discussions, and journal articles. Students will also use microcomputer-based spreadsheet and word processing software to complete several budget exercises.

top

Research

T7501 Clinical Practice Evaluation
3 points. Prerequisites: T6501, T6502. Required for all students in Advanced Clinical Practice. This class introduces students to tools that document the effects of social work intervention and measure the effectiveness of social work practice. Students will learn to: 1) critically assess procedures to identify and clarify problems for intervention; 2) identify and use methods that have proven value from rigorous research when available; and 3) conduct ongoing practice evaluation. They will also learn basic measurement, how to select and use self-monitoring, standardized, observational, and unobtrusive measures of client change along with single case design options, data plotting, and visual analysis of data.

T6416 Program Evaluation in Social Services
3 points. Prerequisites: T6501, T6502. Required for all AGPP and SEA students. This course provides a comprehensive overview of social services evaluation. Students will learn to design an evaluation of a social service program, analyze evaluation data using descriptive and inferential statistics, conduct a simplified cost-benefit analysis and explain the limitations of this type of analysis when dealing with human subjects. They will also identify political, organizational, regulatory, and other contextual factors that affect program evaluations. Finally, they will develop client outcome measures for social service programs and explain the uses and benefits of qualitative research methods in the evaluation of social service programs.

T7811-T7812 Microeconomics and Macroeconomics and Policy Analysis I & II
3 points. Prerequisites: T6501, T6502. Required for Policy Practice Students (Students who minor in International Social Welfare substitute T7815-T7816.) This course is a year-long sequence. Students registered for this course will also be registered for a corresponding Lab section. The first term focuses on microeconomics and the second on macroeconomics. Students will learn both microeconomic and macroeconomic theories and their applications to public policy. Topics will include demand and supply, equilibrium, price controls, the concept of elasticity, nominal versus real prices, production, technology, scale, cost minimization, monopoly, economic growth, and aggregate demand.

T7815-T7816 Economics for International Affairs I & II
3 points. Prerequisites: T6501, T6502. Required for Policy Practice students in the International Social Welfare Field of Practice. This course is a year-long sequence. Students registered for this course will also be registered for a corresponding Lab section. Students will learn microeconomic and macroeconomic theories and their applications to public policy, with particular attention to macroeconomic theory and international trade. Topics will include demand and supply, consumer theory, producer theory, market efficiency and welfare, perfect competition, monopoly, oligopoly, government intervention into markets, macroeconomic systems, and macroeconomic models.

top

Field of Practice Required Courses

T6910 Health, Mental Health, and Disabilities: Issues, Policies, Research, and Programs
3 points. Open to third-term M.S. students. This is the required course for students whose field of practice is Health, Mental Health, and Disabilities. This course takes a problem-identification and problem-solving approach to the delivery of social work services in health, mental health, and disabilities, with content about the social policies and organization structures that characterize our current health-care system.

T6920 Family, Youth and Children’s Services: Issues, Policies, Research and Programs
3 points. Open to third-term M.S. students. This is the required field of practice course for Family, Youth and Children’s Services students. Content includes demographic data on changing family composition and special needs related to ethnicity; the legislative and regulatory framework for service delivery; and implications for research and family policy; and policy.

T6925 International Social Welfare and Services to Immigrants and Refugees
3 points. Open to third-term M.S. students. This is the required field of practice course for International Social Welfare students. Students will survey the field, including activities of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations operating cross-nationally and of national governments in their interactions with other governments regarding social policies, program, and practice. Social work practice in international agencies and organizations as well as social work training and practice in other countries will be examined.

T6930 Aging: Issues, Policies, Research and Programs
3 points. Open to third-term M.S. students. This is the required course for students who have chosen Aging as their field of practice. This course serves as an introduction to the field of practice, providing a general orientation for students who want an exposure to the field and a foundation for those who plan to seek additional competence. Substantive areas covered include demographic profile and trends, theoretical and developmental perspectives, national policies and current trends, family and intergenerational relations, services systems, and professional roles.

T6950 Workers and the Workplace: Issues, Policies, Research, and Programs
3 points. Open to third-term M.S. students. This is the required field of practice course for World of Work students. The course reviews assumptions and institutions underlying social work in the workplace and focuses on the needs and help-seeking behavior of workers in order to identify implications for social service practice and design of delivery systems. This course examines programs targeted at the labor force, EAPs, and other groups sponsored by unions, industry, and community agencies. Particular attention is given to specific problems such as job jeopardy and affirmative action; child care and the working parent; pre-retirement; disability management; and the clinical, service delivery, and policy skills necessary to address these issues in the world of work. A historical and international perspective is introduced.

T6960 School-Based and School-Linked Services: Issues, Programs, and Policies
3 points. Open to third-term M.S. students. This is the required course for students who have chosen School-based and School-linked Services as their field of practice. Students will examine the school as a host setting for the delivery of social work services. Issues and policies that impact the delivery of both educational and social service programs are analyzed from a research-based perspective.

T6970 Contemporary Social Issues: Issues, Policies, Research and Programs
3 points. Open to third-term M.S. students. Students examine the etiology and epidemiology of homelessness, violence, and substance abuse; related policy issues, service systems, and settings; and the rapid changes occurring in these areas. Students will be provided with a framework for addressing other contemporary problem areas as social work practice evolves.

T7800 Integrative Project
No points. This required capstone project will enable students to critically examine, integrate and apply their learning throughout the M.S. program. Participating in working groups comprised of peers from across advanced concentration methods, students will conduct a critical case-based analysis on a pressing contemporary social work issue. Faculty will determine the topics for study each year and will serve as guides to the working groups.

top

Electives

Practice Electives

T6133 Social Work Practice with Women
3 points. Prerequisite: T7100. This course focuses on problems faced by women and the practice implications at both the direct practice and planning/administrative levels. Students will explore new approaches to practice with women in different roles and stages of life, as well as in specialized populations such as abused partners, female offenders, rape victims, and women with addictions.

T6205 Social Work Practice with Children
3 points. Prerequisite: T7100. Students study assessment and intervention with children and their parents; differentiation between socio-cultural, developmental, functional, and organic deviations and variations; and various techniques and skills (e.g., play, dramatization, and verbalization) that can be helpful when working with children.

T6214 Social Work Practice with Families
3 points. Prerequisite: T7100. Students study the objectives and characteristics of family treatment as well as the role of the worker and techniques commonly used. Relevant concepts about family as a social system, interactional processes, social class, and role conflicts, individual psychodynamics and situational variables are examined in terms of various types of family treatment reported from practice.

T6305 Comparative Group Approaches
3 points. Prerequisite: T7100. This is a seminar in the theory and practice concepts and techniques in various models of group work practice and other group approaches relating to current conceptual and practice experiences. Comparison is with reference to the professional task, its techniques and skills, the nature of motivation, learning, behavior change, and resistance; group formation, phase of development, and the individuals in the group.

T7302 Social Work Practice in Alcoholism and Other Chemical Dependencies
3 points. Prerequisite: T7100. This course deals with the scope of the problem, current theories and controversies in the field of alcoholism. Focus is placed on assessment and interventive strategies in services to individuals, families and groups. Clinical issues of denial, enabling, counter transference, along with issues of culture, staffing patterns, social work role, and resource funding, are emphasized.

T7303 Social Work Practice in Group Formation and Development
3 points. Open to second-year students and to first-year students with the instructor’s permission. This is a seminar in the distinctive knowledge and skills in social work practice with groups. Group formation, internal group problems, and development of mutual aid processes are emphasized. Objective is to increase conceptual and skill competence. Current field assignment to a group is required.

T7305 Social Work Practice and Human Sexuality
3 points. Prerequisite: T7100. An introduction to human sexuality in the context of social work practice, this course prepares students to assume a significant role in helping clients to deal with issues of human sexuality. The student is encouraged to address the affective, cognitive, and clinical components of practice and to apply them in their practice.

T7307 Social Work Practice in the AIDS Epidemic
3 points. Prerequisite: T7100. The course focuses on enabling, mediating, and advocating intervention for HIV-affected populations, and provides a unique opportunity to unite case and cause.

T7308 Social Work Practice in Bilingual Contexts
3 points. Prerequisite: T7100. This course covers theories and methods of providing social services in clients’ native languages; issues related to bilingual/bicultural social work practice; collaborating with clients’ social networks and institutional environment (e.g. schools, hospitals, other agencies); and the impact of formal and informal social policies and institutions on bilingual/bicultural clients.

T7311 Social Work Practice with Battered Women
3 points. Prerequisite: T7100. Students examine the issue of violence against women in families. The demographics of the population, theories of domestic violence, crisis intervention, and short- and long- term clinical issues will be examined, as will service modalities for women victims and survivors, batterers, and their children.

T7312 Social Work Practice with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Clients
3 points. Prerequisite: T7100. All social workers in all fields of practice serve clients who are gay or lesbian. Because of the negative stigma society places on gay and lesbian clients, many face numerous difficulties that require social support and intervention. Students will examine approaches to practice with gay men and lesbians in different roles and stages of life as well as in specialized populations such as gay and lesbian adolescents, parents, and older adults.

T7314 Spirituality and Social Work Practice
3 points. Prerequisite: T7100. The experience and impact of spirituality and religion in the lives of individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations in our society will be examined. Practice within a context of diverse populations will be addressed. Attention will be given to different approaches to spirituality and to plural religious perspectives.

T7320 Adult Psychopathology and Pathways to Wellness
3 points. Prerequisites: T7100. Designed to give students an overall view of the psychopathology demonstrated by patients with the major psychiatric conditions, this course emphasizes background information concerning concepts of diagnosis in their historical context, and current concepts using specific psychopathological criteria to reach a diagnosis as expounded by DSM IV. This course is strongly recommended for clinical students, especially Health, Mental Health, and Disabilities.

T7612 Ego Psychology and Object Relations Theory
3 points. The purpose of this course is to provide students with an accessible introduction to ego psychology and object relations theories and to enable them to begin to apply concepts of these theories in practice. The course reviews the development and evolution of these psychoanalytically oriented theories from the time of Freud through their contemporary conceptualizations and applications.

T7820 International Social Development Practice
3 points. Prerequisite: T6801. This is an advanced level course designed to give the students the practice skills they need to advance international social development within western industrialized countries, transitional economies and poor developing countries. The course focuses on how to address global poverty, social injustices, inequality, and working with diverse populations distinguished by race, ethnicity, culture, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, physical or mental ability, age and national origin. The course builds on both the core curriculum and the foundation courses in the policy practice, social enterprise administration, and AGPP method concentrations. Students will be expected to demonstrate basic understanding of international social welfare issues, and at least beginning skills in the use of comparative methods in analyzing a cross-national social development policy or program of particular interest to them.

top

HBSE Electives

T6603 Developmental Aspects of Adolescence: Theoretical and Intervention Perspectives
3 points (NM). Prerequisite: T660A-B. A developmental approach to adolescent psychopathology based on extensive readings and clinical discussion is studied. Subphases of adolescence and developmental deviations and implications for social work practice are also considered.

T6604 Normal and Pathological Aspects of Childhood
3 points (NM). Prerequisite: T660A-B. This course takes a developmental approach to childhood psychopathology from infancy until adolescence. Biological and environmental influences on psychopathology, current concepts in using psychopathological criteria for diagnosis, issues of co-morbidity and of continuity and discontinuity of disorders are addressed from the developmental perspective. Actual case material is used to illustrate various clinical entities and to relate them to situations confronting the social worker.

T6606 Theories of Personality
3 points. Prerequisite: T660A-B. This course invites discussion of key issues among therapeutic approaches as it addresses a comparative focus on (1) different psychoanalytic orientations (including Adler, Horney, Sullivan, and Fromm); (2) cognitively oriented theories (Rogers, Lewin, Piaget); and (3) learning theories (Dollard and Miller, Skinner).

T7703 Ethnicity
3 points (NM). Prerequisite: T660A-B. Students will explore theoretical concepts of the meaning of ethnicity, its relation to race and class, and the historical development of the concept. The course links these issues with practice by relating them to service delivery, and examines the understanding of commonalties within the context of differences by placing ethnic issues in a frame of reference encompassing historical change and social and class differences.

T7710 Issues of Diversity
3 points. Prerequisite: T660A-B. This course explores the ongoing cognitive and affective process of identifying the range of difference social workers find between their clients and themselves; it examines the implications this awareness has for social work practice, social policy, social work research, and social action. Identity issues related to ability, age, culture, gender, national origin, race and ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic class are covered.

top

Policy Electives

T6707 The Politics of Social Welfare Policy
3 points. (NM) Prerequisite: T6801. This course examines social, economic, and political theories of welfare state origins and development in western industrialized nations, and why the American welfare state developed differently. Special attention is given to the role of mass movements — especially the labor and civil rights movements — in creating pressure for welfare state development and expansion. Current crisis are emphasized, along with implications for the future of the welfare state.

T6809 The Child, the Family, and the State
3 points. Prerequisite: T6801. This is a law and social work course that covers case-by-case study and analysis of the landmark Supreme Court decisions affecting children's and families' constitutional rights, including issues of abortion rights, delinquency, education, status offenses, due process, privacy, mental health commitments, and abuse and neglect.

T6820 Women and Social Policy
3 points. Prerequisite: T6801. This course addresses how U.S. social policies have - or have not - responded to changes in women's roles that have occurred over the past several decades. Particular attention is paid to: women as claimants and beneficiaries; women as mothers and workers; women as caregivers at home and at work; women as clients and patients; and the politics of women and social policy.

T7803 Homelessness: Policy and Program Perspectives
3 points. Prerequisite: 6801. This course provides a framework for analysis of policy and programs related to the problems of homelessness in America. Current policy is examined from a historical perspective; and discussion focuses on the implications of differing views on alternative problem definitions for policy and shifts in various programs, policies, and services currently being delivered to homeless people. Case material is presented.

top

Other Courses

Law Minor

T7901 Legal Foundations for Social Workers, I
3 points. This course, the first of a two-term sequence for candidates in the Law Minor program, provides an overview of the methods by which law is created and changed. Emphasis is placed on how legislation is drafted and case law is decided. General legal concepts relevant to the substantive areas of law in which social workers frequently practice are also covered.

T7902 Legal Foundations for Social Workers, II
3 points. Prerequisite: T7901. This course is the second of a two-term sequence required for Law Minor candidates. The course reviews fundamental constitutional and other legal doctrines such as due process and equal protection and law as it relates to specific client groups, including children, persons with mental illness, older adults, and public welfare recipients. The course emphasizes advocacy skills and is designed to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration between social workers and lawyers.

Tutorials

T6002-T6003 Tutorial (independent study)

T6004 Evidence-based Practice with Persons with Severe and Persistent Mental Health Conditions
3 points. Prerequisites: 7100, 7102. Students will develop knowledge and skills, become familiar with evidence-based practice using a recovery-oriented paradigm, and explore specific evidence-based interventions for work with individuals diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Assessment and treatment for diverse groups of individuals with a diagnosis of serious mental illness is a main focus of this course.

top

Field Education

T6010, T6020 Field Education
First term 3 points; remaining three terms 4 points. Open only to full-time students who have been admitted to the M.S. degree program. Required for all M.S. degree candidates. Field education is a central component in each student's professional education, and requires 21 hours a week for all four terms of the full-time M.S. degree. Placements provide a range of experiences to integrate with theoretical learning from class work and to develop knowledge, values, and skills for social practice.

T6011 Reduced Residency Field Education Seminar
1.5 points each term, 4.5 points for the series. Reduced Residency students are required to take this three-term course in conjunction with T7100 - Foundations of Social Work Practice; T7102 - Direct Practice; and T7103 - Advocacy in Social Work Practice. Focusing on the body of knowledge, skills, and values that underpin and parallel course work, this seminar addresses the particular needs of the Reduced Residency student by integrating course concepts with field experience, emphasizing the socialization of the student toward the profession, and increasing his/her understanding of the societal and organizational contexts of the work. The format encourages learning flexibility, maximum student participation, and student support system development.

T6012 Advanced Standing Field Education Seminar
3 points. This seminar addresses the particular needs of Advanced Standing Students. The seminar provides a context and tools to deepen, critically reflect upon, and integrate each student's learning about the professional use of self in practice and the field. Also included is the review and exploration of professional social work identities within historical and current contexts, and an examination of the multiple professional identities that are inherent in all areas of social work practice.

top

Grades

Students are expected to attend classes regularly and must maintain a B (3.0) grade average.

All courses are graded under the following A-F system. The numerical equivalent for each grade is as follows: A = 4.0, A- = 3.67, B+ = 3.33, B = 3.0, B- = 2.67, C+ = 2.33, C = 2.0, C- = 1.67, F = 0.

In the field education courses and the Reduced Residency field education seminars, Pass or Fail is used instead of a letter grade.

top

Incomplete Policy

In professional education, each term’s course and field education builds upon that of the prior term(s). Therefore, timely completion of courses and field education is essential. Upon formal written request by the student, an instructor may use his/her discretion to assign a grade of incomplete (INC). It is permitted only when the majority of the course requirements and assignments have been successfully completed and when the student is unable to complete assignments due to extenuating circumstances.

In permitting an Incomplete, the instructor must establish a specific date for completion. The maximum extension date is four weeks from the last day of classes for the term in which the course is taken. The student’s written request must identify the extenuating circumstances and a specific plan for completing the course work by the extension date. The instructor must attach the student’s request to the Incomplete form forwarded to the registrar at the term’s end. The student’s request will be discarded when a grade is assigned.

If the student completes the requirement(s) by the extension date, the mark of INC will be changed to a letter grade. If not, the Office of Student Information Services will automatically convert the INC to an F. Students who do not complete the requirement(s) by the extension date in a required practice course will be withdrawn from the subsequent required practice course and field education.

An INC in field education is ordinarily given only in the first term and must be changed to a P or F no later than the eighth week of the second term. Students may receive an INC in the third term of field education with the prior approval of the Committee on Students.

Transfer Credits for Graduate Courses Taken Elsewhere

Students who have completed graduate-level courses in social work or in related disciplines may request, and in some cases be granted, transfer credits for eligible courses completed with a grade of B or above, within five years of the date of matriculation at CUSSW. Courses taken at other institutions after a student has matriculated at CUSSW are not eligible for transfer credit. Please note that this "Transfer Credit" option is not the same as the CUSSW Transfer Program.

Transfer Credit from CSWE Schools: A maximum of 9 points may be transferred from CSWE-accredited schools. These points can be for first-year background courses in areas such as human behavior and the social environment, social welfare policy, social work research, and quantitative methods for social work. These points may also be social work electives, or a combination of social work electives and background courses.

Transfer Credit from Related Disciplines: A maximum of 6 points from a related discipline may be eligible for transfer credit. Normally these points are counted toward electives required for the CUSSW degree. Students who receive transfer credit for electives are still required to meet all degree requirements for their chosen method area. In some instances (e.g., the Social Enterprise Administration method area), transfer credits cannot be used to fulfill degree requirements.

Application for Transfer Credit: It is the responsibility of the admitted student to request transfer credit. The transfer credit application must be submitted to the Office of Enrollment and Student Services no later than the Friday of the first week of classes of the term in which the student matriculates. All applications are reviewed for relevance of the course(s) to social work, grade(s) earned, and date of completion. This review is separate from the review done for the Advanced Standing and Transfer programs.

For further information regarding transfer credits, please contact the Assistant Director of Student Services, Karma Lowe at (212) 851-2364 or [email protected].

Courses for Non-Matriculated Students

Individuals with bachelor’s degrees who meet CUSSW liberal arts and social science distribution requirements may be admitted to certain courses in the Master of Science Program as non-matriculated, unclassified graduate students. Courses available to non-matriculated students are designated "NM" in the course listing. A non-matriculated student who is not a degree candidate usually registers for no more than 6 points in one term. Non-matriculated students may not enroll in practice courses or field education.

Non-matriculated students may take foundation courses in human behavior and the social environment, social welfare policy, social work research, and quantitative methods. No more than 12 points earned through non-matriculated study may be applied later toward the M.S. degree. Admission as a non-matriculated student does not assure admission as a degree candidate.

Summer Session

In addition to the Fall and Spring terms, the School offers select M.S. level courses during its Summer session, which begins the Monday following the May commencement. Generally, courses are offered twice a week for six-weeks, or are held once a week for ten-weeks. Summer courses may be taken by M.S. candidates and by non-matriculated, unclassified graduate students. Offerings include required courses and a variety of electives. Early registration for Columbia University School of Social Work students is scheduled about the third week of April.

With the exception of 16-Month program students (for whom full-time study during the Summer session is required), students who wish to enroll in more than two courses during the Summer session must secure approval of their academic advisor and file an Exception to Academic Policies Form with the Office of Enrollment and Student Services.

top

Course Evaluations

Toward the end of each term, students are asked to complete evaluations for each class in which they are enrolled. These assessments, which the CUSSW faculty and administration take seriously, give students an opportunity to contribute to the monitoring of the overall curriculum by sharing their evaluation of course content and teaching methods.

Reports summarizing evaluation results are available to students in the Student Union Office and in the CUSSW Library. They also are available to appropriate committees of the School. A Course Comment sheet, which accompanies the standardized evaluations, is forwarded to the instructor after grades are submitted, usually several weeks after the term ends.

top

Academic Probation

Students are required to maintain a 3.0 grade point average. The Office of Enrollment and Student Services reviews Grade Point Averages (GPAs) each term. Any student whose term GPA falls below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. For purposes of academic probation, “P’s” and “F’s” earned in Pass-Fail courses, including field education, are not factored into the cumulative or the term GPA. The Office of Enrollment and Student Services will notify both the student and the student’s academic advisor concerning the student’s placement on academic probation. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange a meeting with his/her academic advisor no later than the end of the first week of the subsequent term to discuss the GPA and develop a corrective action plan. The plan will note the minimal term GPA necessary to raise the cumulative GPA to 3.0 by the end of the subsequent term. The academic advisor will inform the Office of Enrollment and Student Services that a plan has been developed, and it, in turn, will forward a copy of the plan to the Associate Dean. The student’s failure to meet with the academic advisor and develop such a plan will result in the administrative withdrawal of the student’s registration.

Any student whose cumulative grade point average falls below 3.0 over two consecutive terms will be automatically dismissed from her/his studies at CUSSW. The Office of Enrollment and Student Services will notify the student in writing to that effect. A copy of this notice will be forwarded to the student’s academic advisor and to the Associate Dean. No further registration in course work or field education will be permitted, nor will re-application to the School be permitted.

In addition to the above, any student earning a grade lower than a B in a required practice course must meet with his/her academic advisor no later than the end of the first week of the subsequent term.* It is the responsibility of the student to arrange this meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the grade and to develop a corrective action plan. The Office of Enrollment and Student Services will issue a form on which the academic advisor will inform the Office of Enrollment and Student Services that the meeting has or has not taken place and that the corrective plan has or has not been formulated. A student’s failure to have this meeting will result in the administrative withdrawal of the student’s registration. Failure in either a required practice and/or practicum course requires review of the student’s situation by the Committee on Students (COS).

* With the exception of the 16-month program, Summer courses do not constitute a term.

top

How Courses Are Numbered

Each course number consists of the prefix T (indicating the School of Social Work, the University division for whose students the course is primarily offered), followed by four digits. The first digit represents the level of the course: 6 and 7 indicate Master of Science curriculum, 8 and 9 indicate Doctor of Social Welfare curriculum.

The second digit indicates subject matter or type of instruction as follows:

Course titles followed by (NM) indicate courses that may be taken by both matriculated and non-matriculated students. Two consecutive numbers that are joined by a hyphen indicate a course that runs through both terms (e.g., T8101- T8102). The first half is prerequisite to the second half unless the course description says otherwise.

The University reserves the right to withdraw or modify courses of instruction or to change instructors as necessary.

top