Social Work Comprehensive, B.S.W.

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Please note that there are specific admission requirements for entrance into the Social Work program at Shepherd University.

Curriculum for a Comprehensive Major in Social Work

Minimum hours required (including free electives), 120 Hours:

Core Curriculum requirements, 42 Hours:

Specific Core Curriculum requirements:

SOWK 101 - First Year Experience in Social Work (1 cr)
PSCI 100 - Politics and Government (3 cr)
OR PSCI 101 - American Federal Government (3 cr)
ECON 123 - Contemporary Economics (3 cr)
OR ECON 205 - Principles of Macroeconomics (3 cr)
SOCI 203 - General Sociology (3 cr)

Social work curriculum requirements, 63 Hours:

Every Shepherd student needs a Core Curriculum math course. Social work also requires a statistics course. MATH 314 will satisfy both of these requirements. However, MATH 314 has prerequisites which may also need to be taken if this course is chosen. If another statistics course is chosen, students must make sure they also complete a Core Curriculum math course. If MATH 314 is the only math course taken, then three additional elective credits may be needed to fulfill credits required for graduation.

SOWK 201 - Introduction to Social Work (3 cr)
SOWK 300 - Community Service Learning (3 cr)
OR SOWK 330 - International Community Service Learning (3cr)
SOWK 301 - Social Welfare as a Social Institution (3 cr)
SOWK 305 - Human Behavior in the Social Environment I (3 cr)
SOWK 306 - Human Behavior in the Social Environment II (3 cr)
SOWK 311 - Social Work Methods I (3 cr)
SOWK 312 - Social Work Methods II (3 cr)
SOWK 313 - Social Work Methods III (3 cr)
SOWK 325 - Orientation to Field Practicum (1 cr)
SOWK 404 - Social Work Capstone (3 cr)
SOWK 407 - Field Experience in Social Work I (3 cr)
SOWK 408 - Field Experience in Social Work II (3 cr)
SOWK 411 - Field Experience in Social Work III (3 cr)
SOWK 412 - Field Experience IV (3 cr)
SOWK 409 - Field Experience Seminar I (2 cr)
SOWK 410 - Field Experience Seminar II (2 cr)

Related required courses:

MATH 314 - Statistics (3 cr) *
OR BADM 224 - Business Statistics (3 cr)
OR PSYC 250 - Statistics for the Social Sciences (4 cr)
PSYC 101 - Introduction to Psychology (3 cr)
LBSC 103 - Information Literacy for Social Sciences (1 cr)
SOCI 205 - Social Problems (3 cr)
SOCI 303 - The Family (3 cr)
SOCI 323 - Social Research Methods (3cr)

Required Social Work Elective, 3 Hours:

SOWK 320 - Child Welfare Services (3 cr)
SOWK 402 - Social Gerontology (3 cr)
SOWK 417 - Sex and Gender in Contemporary Society (3 cr)

General university electives, 15 Hours:

*MATH 314 also satisfies the Core math requirement. Students must complete one additional elective if they do not take a lower level math course.

Students who enter Shepherd as first-year students in Social Work should complete the BIOL 101/102 Core Lab Science sequence. Students who transfer into Social Work from another major or institution, and have either one or two four-credit natural sciences, are required to complete at least one animal-based biology course from the following list: BIOL 103 , BIOL 104 , BIOL 209 , BIOL 225 , BIOL 226 , or BIOL 302 .

Four-Year Course Progression

**Social Work**
FALL		FIRST YEAR		SPRING		FIRST YEAR
Sub./Course No.	Tier	Title	Credit	Sub./Course No.	Tier	Title	Credit
Core Curriculum		ENGL 101	3	ENGL 102		Writing for the Arts and Humanities	3
SOWK 101		First-Year Experience in Social Work (fall only)	1	Core Curriculum		Choose Wellness or Arts	3
BIOL 101		General Biological Science*	4	BIOL 102		General Biological Science	4
Core Curriculum		History	3	SOCI 203		General Sociology	3
Core Curriculum		Math**	3	PSYC 101		Introduction to Psychology	3
		TOTAL	14			TOTAL	16

*Students entering as first-year students in social work should complete the BIOL 101/102 sequence. Students who transfer into social work from another major or institution and have either one or two 4-credit natural science courses are required to complete at least one animal-based biology course from the following: BIOL 101, 102, 209, 225, 226, or 302.




**MATH 314 fulfills the core math requirement and also fulfills the statistics requirement for the major; if a student does not need another math course to meet the prerequisite for MATH 314, the student must replace those credit hours with electives. If a student chooses to complete the statistics requirement by taking BADM 224 or PSYC 250, he/she must take a core math course. MATH 154 is a prerequisite for MATH 314.




FALL		SECOND YEAR		SPRING		SECOND YEAR
Sub./Course No.	Tier	Title	Credit	Sub./Course No.	Tier	Title	Credit
Core Curriculum		Literature	3	Core Curriculum		Humanities	3
PSCI 100		Politics and Government OR		ECON 123		Contemporary Economics OR
PSCI 101		American Federal Government	3	ECON 205		Principles of Macroeconomics	3
Core Curriculum		Choose Wellness or Arts	3	SOCI 205		Social Problems	3
SOWK 201		Introduction to Social Work	3	SOWK 300		Community Service Learning OR
Elective		Elective	3	SOWK 330		International Community Service Learning	3
		TOTAL	15	Elective		Elective	3
						TOTAL	15

FALL		THIRD YEAR		SPRING		THIRD YEAR
Sub./Course No.	Tier	Title	Credit	Sub./Course No.	Tier	Title	Credit
LBSC 103		Information Literacy for Social Sciences (fall only)	1	SOWK 325		Orientation to Field Practicum (spring only)	1
SOWK 305		Human Behavior in the Social Environment I (fall only)	3	SOWK 306		Human Behavior in the Social Environment II (spring only)	3
SOWK 311		Social Work Methods I (fall only)	3	SOWK 312		Social Work Methods II (spring only)	3
SOWK 301		Social Welfare as a Social Institution (fall only)	3	MATH 314		Statistics OR
SOCI 303		The Family	3	BADM 224		Business Statistics OR
Elective		Elective	3	PSYC 250		Statistics for the Social Sciences*	3-4
		TOTAL	16	SOWK 320		Child Welfare Services** OR
				SOWK 402		Social Gerontology** OR
				SOWK 417		Sex and Gender in Contemporary Society**	3
				Elective		Elective	3
						TOTAL	16-17
				* PSYC 250 is 4 credits (includes a lab).
				** This elective course requirement may be fulfilled in any semester of the junior or senior year; these courses are taught by adjunct faculty and are not offered every semester, so students are advised to discuss offerings with their advisors.



FALL		FOURTH YEAR		SPRING		FOURTH YEAR
Sub./Course No.	Tier	Title	Credit	Sub./Course No.	Tier	Title	Credit
SOWK 407		Field Experience in Social Work I	3	SOWK 411		Field Experience in Social Work III	3
SOWK 408		Field Experience in Social Work II	3	SOWK 412		Field Experience in Social Work IV	3
SOWK 409		Field Experience Seminar I	2	SOWK 410		Field Experience Seminar II	2
SOWK 313		Social Work Methods III (fall only)	3	SOWK 404		Social Work Capstone (spring only)	3
Elective		Elective OR		SOCI 323		Social Research Methods OR
SOWK 323		Social Research Methods	3	Elective		Elective	3
		TOTAL	14			TOTAL	14

February 10, 2016						DEGREE TOTAL	120

Sequence of courses for completing a major in social work: In order to graduate with a major in social work, a minimum of 120 semester hours must be completed. This includes 42 hours under the core curriculum requirements and 63 hours under the social work curriculum; 15 hours of electives must be selected from any universitywide course offerings. The 42 core curriculum requirements are to be completed during the freshman and sophomore years. Courses are listed in the year in which they should be completed and may be taken in either semester unless otherwise specified.				Since the social work curriculum is designed to build on the core curriculum and is sequenced to provide continuity and integration with the core curriculum, the format recommended above should be followed closely. While it is recognizes that students will not always be able to adhere to this sequence exactly as presented, failure to do so may result in difficulty in handling course content and in scheduling required courses in your major. Students are expected to follow this sequence. Should required courses not be completed in order, entry into the senior field placement and graduation are likely to be delayed.





Remember: You not only need a minimum of 120 credit hours, you need to have them in all the right places. We encourage you to make good and frequent use of academic advising, especially during registration advisement periods; however, you are ultimately responsible for keeping track of your progression through the program. The degree evaluation tool on RAIL allows you to see which requirements you have completed and which are still needed; we encourage you to use it each semester before you meet with your advisor to plan your courses for the upcoming semester.

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