2003-2005 - Graduate School - The University of Alabama

442 The University of Alabamagroups, formal organizations, and communities. Courses in this area cover prenatalstages through the process of aging.• Social welfare policy and services. This area of the curriculum is designed to helpthe student identify, appraise, analyze, and understand social change in its dynamicperspectives; the role and responsibility of social work as a profession in infl uencingsocial policy; and the delivery of service to individuals and society.• Social research. This area of the curriculum is designed to help the student understandsocial work and related research and the use of research for the improvement ofservices to individuals, groups, organizations, and communities.• Field education. This area of the curriculum provides opportunities for students tointegrate and apply knowledge, skills, and values in a social work practice context.In the second year, students select one of fi ve concentrations: services to children,youth, and families; services in health; services in mental health; social work practicewith older persons and their families; or program and agency administration.M.S.W./M.P.H. DUAL-DEGREE PROGRAMThe University of Alabama School of Social Work in Tuscaloosa and the Universityof Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health’s Department of Maternal and ChildHealth jointly offer an M.S.W./M.P.H. dual-degree program designed for people withcareer goals in community-oriented health services for families and children. A programof study leading to both degrees requires 80–83 semester hours of coursework.Contact Chairperson, M.S.W. Program, School of Social Work, The Uni ver si ty of Alabama,Box 870314, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0314; telephone (205) 348-3935; or e-mailcdrolen@sw.ua.edu for more information.PROGRAM REQUIREMENTSFirst-year foundation core requirements. The professional foundation year of commoncore courses prepares students to use a range of social work knowledge, methods,and skills to facilitate change within a continuum of client systems, from individual tosocietal. Field education in the foundation year is generic in focus, exposing studentsto a wide range of clients and programs.Challenge examinations. The master of social work program permits admitted M.S.W.students to demonstrate a mastery of specifi c course content areas by passing a challengeexamination. Challenges are permitted in the areas of policy, research, and humanbehavior. Thus, students in the advanced program may request to challenge SW 576Intermediate Social Work Research, SW 577 Components of Human Development andSocial Systems, and/or SW 578 Social Welfare Policies and Delivery Systems, SocialProblems, and the History of Social Welfare. Students in either the Saturday program orthe regular weekday program may request to challenge SW 500 Social Welfare Policy:History, Problems, Programs, and Analysis; SW 510 Human Behavior and Social Environment;and/or SW 520 Research Methods for Social Work Practice. A student whosuccessfully challenges a course will be permitted to take a substitute course in lieu ofthe required foundation course. The degree-hour requirements remain the same.First-Year Required CoursesNote: First-year courses in Saturday, Hong Kong, and other locations may vary slightly,but are the same total number of hours.Fall SemesterHoursIntroduction to the Social Work Profession and the M.S.W. Program............ 0SW 500 Social Welfare Policy —History, Problems, Programs, and Analysis................................................ 3SW 510 Human Behavior and Social Environments...................................... 3