Department of Sociology and Social Work

Social Work Courses

The Social Work Program at Fort Hays State University offers a Baccalaureate of Social Work (BSW) degree. The program was approved and adopted by the Board of Regents in February, 1995. The program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The BSW program is NOT offered through the Virtual College.

PLEASE NOTE: For syllabi for our courses, please click here: FHSU Online Syllabi and follow the directions. The BSW program is NOT offered online. Syllabi are presented here simply for your convenience.

Mission

The Social Work Program's mission is to prepare competent, professional social work generalists to practice primarily within the university's service area.

Social Work Program Goals

Work Program has adopted the following goals:

1. To prepare students for beginning, professional social work practice with a systems approach that includes working with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
2. To prepare beginning, generalist professional social workers with cultural competence for practice with the diversities and populations-at-risk of Western Kansas. This groups includes the rural poor, the rural elderly, developmentally disabled persons, mentally ill persons, chemically addicted persons, victims of family violence, especially women and children, gay men and lesbians, economically disadvantaged women and children, and the racial/ethnic minorities of Southwest Kansas (African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans).
3. To prepare students to become proactive community members by assuming leadership roles in initiating and organizing social planning and social action to remedy social and economic injustice resulting from discrimination and oppression.
4. To prepare students who pursue professional growth and development throughout their lifetimes, including the preparation of students for future graduate education in social work.
5. To provide students with opportunities throughout the social work program to learn, understand, and apply social work values and ethics.

The social work program embraces the following objectives as a means of implementing program goals:

1. To know and understand both the history of the social work profession and the current status, trends, and issues in the field.
2. To know and apply theories or human behavior and the social environment that includes the bio-psycho-social aspects of micro theories and the organizational, community, and societal aspects of macro theories.
3. To understand the dynamics and social significance of discrimination and oppression and how to change systems in order to advance the course of social and economic justice.
4. To apply the knowledge, values, and skills of generalist social work practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
5. To apply the values and ethics of social work in professional practice and to use these values and ethics to resolve ethical dilemmas in practice.
6. To apply communication skills effectively with client systems of all sizes, colleagues, employers, and community members.
7. To demonstrate critical thinking skills through competence in professional social work practice, by applying problem-solving to all levels of client systems.
8. To analyze social policies and their impact on client systems, social work services, and social agencies, and their role in the development of social problems and social and economic justice.
9. To demonstrate a level of professional competence that is based on self-understanding, including a realistic assessment of one's own strengths and prejudices, and the skills necessary to keep one's personal values and ethics from interfering with one's practice.
10. To demonstrate a respect for and competence with client systems of diversity, especially African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, the rural poor, the rural elderly, gay and lesbian persons, socially and economically disadvantaged persons.
11. To demonstrate a respect for and competence with populations-at-risk, including the developmentally disabled, the chronically mentally ill, the chemically addicted, victims of family violence, especially women and children.
12. To understand and evaluate research studies, in order to apply relevant and valid research finding to social work practice.
13. To seek out and utilize supervision in practice in order to monitor and to promote growth in professional practice, and in order to provide guidance in applying research methods to one's own practice or in program evaluation.
14. To demonstrate the ability to assume successfully the role of baccalaureate, generalist social worker in any social agency or host setting.
15. To demonstrate social work leadership by taking the initiative to remedy organizational, institutional, and community discrimination and oppression through social planning, social action, and social change.




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The Admissions Committee is comprised of the Director of Social Work and the Social Work faculty. In addition to fulfilling the University's General Education requirements, Social Work majors must apply for admission to the Social Work Program during the Fall semester of their Junior year. Until Social Work majors are accepted into the program, they cannot enroll in practice courses beyond Introduction to Social Work Practice (SOCW 380), the course in which they apply for admission.

To be admitted to the program, Social Work majors must submit the following to the program's Director:

1. A transcipt that indicates:

a) a cumulative GPA of 2.3 or higher
b) grades of "C" or higher in all Social Work major courses
c) a GPA of 2.75 or higher in the Social Work major courses


(The above requirements must be maintained in order to continue in the major after admission to the program.)

2. A signed statement that indicates one will honor and abide by the Social Work "Code of Ethics."
3. Past Criminal Activity Statement.
4. Documentation that one has completed a 50 (fifty) hour, monitored, non-paid, community agency experience while enrolled in Introduction to Social Work Practice (SOCW 380).
5. Two reference statements. One reference must be from the professional who monitors or supervises one's non-paid community agency experience.
6. A personal statement submitted while enrolled in SOCW 380: Introduction to Social Work Practice.
7. A summary of nonpaid community agency experience.
8. Time log documentation from nonpaid community agency experience.

Students who complete both the Associate Degree and the Transfer and Articulation Agreement can expect to finish a degree in Social Work in two years at Fort Hays State University. The Transfer and Articulation agreement concerns community college general education requirements, and if completed, means that students do not have to complete Fort Hays general education requirements.

The Social Work Program requires 53 hours of social work courses. The program also requires 38 hours of nonsocial work courses that are foundation courses and prerequisites. Students may take many of the nonsocial work courses at the community college. Students may also take some of the Fort Hays State University courses online through the Virtual College before transferring.

The following courses are available online:

• SOCW 260: Introduction to Social Work
• SOC 362: Methods of Social Research

The following courses are cognates:

• SOC 140: Introduction to Sociology
• POLS 101: American Government
• BIOL 100: Human Biology
• MATH 250: Elements of Statistics
• IDS 300: Economic Ideas and Current Issues
• IDS 350: Multiculturalism in the U.S.
• PSY 100: General Psychology
• IDS 400: Bioethics
• MLNG 225: Spanish I
• MLNG 226: Spanish II

Note: SOC 362, IDS 300, IDS 350, IDS 400 will not be available at community colleges. SOCW 260 may be available at some community colleges.

STUDENTS MUST FOLLOW THE SOCIAL WORK CURRICULUM AND TAKE THE REQUIRED NONSOCIAL WORK COURSES EITHER ONLINE FROM FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY OR FROM THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THE BSW DEGREE IN 2 YEARS AT FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY WHEN THEY TRANSFER.

Transfer students will have classes on campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays only for 3 semesters, followed by a full semester field practicum placement that can be taken in one's home community. The average semester load is either 12 hours plus 6 hours in the summers or 15 hours per semester.

Students must complete a minimum of 60 hours of Fort Hays courses in order to graduate with a BSW from Fort Hays State University.

For example:

53 hours of Social Work classes
3 hours Bioethics
3 hours Multiculturalism
3 hours Technical and Report Writing
62 hours Total

^*ECFI 202 Principles of Econ: Macro is allowed in place of IDS 300 for students transferring to FHSU from junior colleges and other colleges or universities.

Students must carry 15-16 hours for 7 semesters and 18 hours for 1 semester in order to reach in 4 years the 125 hours required to graduate. Fewer hours per semester can be taken if a student attends summer school sessions.

** Available through the Virtual College.

*ECFI 202 Principles of Econ: Macro is allowed in place of IDS 300 for students transferring to FHSU from junior colleges and other colleges or universities.

The following cognates are available on videotape or the Internet through the Virtual College:

• BIOL 100 Human Biology
• POLS 101 American Government
• PSY 100 General Psychology
• SOC 140 Introduction to Sociology
• MACS 250 Elements of Statistics
• MLNG 225 Beginning Spanish I
• MLNG 226 Beginning Spanish II
• IDS 300 Economic Ideas and Current Issues
• IDS 350 Multiculturalism in the United States
• IDS 400 Bioethics

Recommended Elective Courses

• Sociology of The Family In America
• Sociology of Death and Dying
• Social Inequality
• Introduction to Ethics
• Principles of Culture
• Abnormal Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Human Heredity
• Humans & The Environment
• Sociology of Sex Roles
• Sociology of Aging
• Medical Sociology
• Medical Terminology
• Non Profit Organizations
• Grant Proposal Developmen
• Internship in Sociology: Advanced Grant Writing

• Topics in Social Work:

a. Social Work and the Law
b. Co-occurring Disorders

• Domestic Mediation
• Spirituality and Aging: The Empowering Relationship
• Workshop in Social Work
• Independent Study in Social Work
• Internship in Social Work

Recommended Certificate Programs

• Ethnic Studies/li>
• Grant Proposal Writing and Program Evaluation
• Life Issues
• Justice Studies
• Leadership Studies
• Addictions