This course surveys the field of child welfare. Students will acquire an understanding of the issues that impact the welfare of children in our society, including poverty, substance abuse, violence, and mental health concerns, the relationship between these issues and child abuse and neglect. Students will examine the issues involved in providing services to children affected by child abuse and neglect, unplanned pregnancy, foster care, and institutional care. The student will acquire knowledge relevant to working with children, biological parents, foster parents, adoptive parents, and other systems involved in the welfare of children. Restricted to students with sophomore standing or higher. Prerequisite: 210 or SOCL 125 or PSYC 171.

This course introduces students to the profession of social work within contemporary society including the historical, social, economic, and political context of social work practice. Students develop an understanding of the connection between social work practice and social welfare policy. Social work values and ethics, including the professions commitment to social justice and valuing of diversity, will be emphasized. Students are introduced to the social service delivery system, the person-in-environment perspective, and generalist social work practice. The course will help students consider the social work profession as a career choice. OC, SS

This sophomore level writing emphasis course introduces social work students to the research process, critical thinking, and analytic writing. Students will learn to critically read and evaluate sources and scholarly writing. Emphasis will be placed on learning to write in APA style. An overview and basic understanding of the scientific research process, with an emphasis on quantitative research is stressed. Ethical issues in human subject research and evidence based practice in social work are examined. This is the first course in a two-course research sequence required for social work majors. Prerequisite: ENGL 104 or 105 or 195. Restricted to Social Work, Criminal and Community Justice, and Communication Disorders majors. WCII, IL.

This three-credit course enables students to explore the unique circumstances of vulnerable and disadvantaged populations through an ADEI lens. Students will also gain experience serving these populations outside the classroom. Students will meet for class once a week and complete 3-5 hours of service/shadowing per week starting week 3. Students will complete at least 30 hours of service/shadowing by the end of the semester. At the beginning of the semester, students will develop a service-learning plan that includes the agencies where they will complete their hours, the agency supervisors, the activities they will participate in, and the learning objectives for each agency. Students will get experience with a minimum of 5 different populations throughout the semester. Assignments support the integration of course material with experience and will focus on incorporating ADEI values into social work practice. Students examine the congruence of personal values with professional values, study social work ethics, and learn about professional boundaries. Prerequisite: 210 or concurrent.

Students will learn essential interviewing skills for empowering and strengths-based social work practice. Motivational and solution-focused skills necessary for ethical practice in using the planned change process are defined, modeled, rehearsed, and evaluated. Emphasis is placed in developing cross-cultural practice skills sensitive to the needs of diverse and vulnerable populations. The course includes a structured lab with recorded interviews, instructor, and peer evaluations. Prerequisites: 210, admission to the social work program.

Courses on topics of interest to social work students offered on the basis of need, interest, or timeliness. Prerequisites as determined by instructor. Restricted to students with freshman or sophomore standing. May be repeated for credit. For specific section description, click to the Section Details in VitNet.

Independent reading and/or research under the supervision of a faculty member. Refer to the academic policy section for independent study policy. Independent study contract is required. May be repeated for credit.

This course will introduce the major theoretical approaches to the study of criminology and the sociology of deviance. These perspectives are explored through a discussion of contemporary issues such as trends in offending and victimization, research on violent crime, property crime, public order crime, organized crime, and white-collar and corporate crime. Issues of unequal power, social division, and exclusion are also examined (e.g., age, gender, and social class etc.). (Equivalent to CRMJ 351.)

This course provides an introduction to the field of collective behavior. It will examine contemporary and historical social movements, particularly those used to address social injustices. Theoretical perspectives used to explain and predict movements will be examined. Topics may include movements of the 1960s (e.g., Civil Rights, Black Power, American Indian, Women, Gays and Lesbians, etc.), as well as more contemporary movements (e.g., Environmental, the New American Right, Global Justice, etc.)

This course will examine various environmental issues connected with contemporary society. It will address the connections, relationships and interactions between society and the environment. The major theoretical perspectives and methods used by sociologists to understand environmental issues will be explored. It will examine large social structures and organizations and how individuals affect nature and the environment. The impact of globalization on the environment, and its influence on diverse peoples will be discussed. Other topics may include population growth, sustainability, environmental justice and racism, social policy, humans relationship with the natural environment, and activism related to environmental movements.