Proseminars

They also provide opportunities for interaction with other social work students and exposure to social work-specific norms, standards and trends (e.g., publishing, job market, funding).

3 credits

This proseminar critically examines how social systems undergo change and the role of social work in those intervention processes. Students will examine: 1) how various systems change over time and in response to various stimuli; 2) how a system’s structures and components, surrounding contexts, and intersection with other systems affect change processes and outcomes; 3) how to conceptualize, initiate, respond to, and assess system change. Students will examine processes of and potential for change in relation to the wide range of systems (e.g., individuals, families, groups, communities, organizations, political systems), systems of care, and fields of practice (e.g., clinical intervention, community intervention, administration, policy) in which social work is engaged.

3 credits

This proseminar is a critical, multidisciplinary survey of theories of the complex functions and interrelations of social systems. Students will examine theories for their fundamental assumptions, socio-historical origins, philosophical underpinnings, empirical bases, and ramifications for various systems and in various contexts. This process of critical and comparative analysis will emphasize the role of theory in guiding social work practice and research and help students recognize the steps and skills required of theory-building. Theories studied in the course will reflect the wide range of systems (e.g., individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations), and fields of practice (e.g., clinical intervention, community intervention, administration, policy) in which social work is engaged. 

3 credits

This proseminar will prepare students to apply advanced quantitative research methods and analytic approaches to the study of social issues. The course will provide students with the necessary foundation to design and carry out an independent research project (e.g., a dissertation). It is taken in concert with statistics and advanced analysis courses in other disciplines and is not expected to replicate the content of those courses. The course includes material related to measurement, sampling, research design, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation in quantitative approaches to research. The methods studied will be relevant to the wide range of social systems (e.g., individuals, families, groups, communities, organizations) and fields of practice (e.g., clinical intervention, organizing, administration, policy) in which social work is engaged. 

3 credits

This proseminar will prepare students to apply advanced qualitative analytic approaches and mixed research methods to the study of social issues. In the course, students will critically examine social theory and philosophical issues that underlie qualitative research methodologies, including questions of epistemology, role of the researcher, ethics, power, and racial and social justice.  Students will be introduced to various strategies of qualitative inquiry and analysis (such as narrative analysis, critical discourse analysis, interviewing, focus groups, ethnographic observation, grounded theory, case study, participatory action research, photo elicitation, archival and secondary analysis, etc.). This course will also provide an overview of mixed methods research, consisting of the philosophy and assumptions about approaches to inquiry, purposes and characteristics of mixed methods research, and types of major mixed methods designs.