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Program Requirements
Field Practicum
Students in the three-year B.S.W. program complete a field placement during their second and third years, two days per week, in different settings each year. Students must have completed a minimum of 24 credits of the 90 credits of study before commencing their second year placement, and 54 credits before commencing their third-year placement.
Grading Policy
Students are required to obtain a grade of C or better in all of their Social Work courses (63-66 credits) and also in their 18 social science credits. If students receive a D in any of these courses, they must take additional courses to satisfy the program requirement. Only in an elective course will the grade of D be counted for credit.
Prerequisite for Admission to McGill's Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)
Please note that, although not a requirement for the three-year B.S.W. program, a course in statistics is a prerequisite for admission into the M.S.W. program at McGill. Students in the three-year B.S.W. program who have not previously completed a course in statistics and are planning on completing a graduate degree are, therefore, strongly encouraged to take a statistics course during their undergraduate studies.
Required Courses (63 credits)
U1
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SWRK 220 History and Philosophy of Social Work (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Historical, theoretical and philosophical base of social work which includes the role of social work in the social welfare, modalities of practice, professional codes of ethics, and human rights legislation.
Terms: Fall 2019
Instructors: Orzeck, Pam; Brotman, Shari (Fall)
Restrictions: Limited to BSW U1 students. Not open to students who have taken SWRK 240.
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SWRK 221 Public Social Services in Canada (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Federal and provincial social welfare programs - the intended objectives, program design, issues of eligibility and funding, and comparison with programs in other parts of Europe and North America. Particular emphasis on concepts of social justice and poverty. Programs such as income security, labour market, health, immigration, and social services.
Terms: Fall 2019
Instructors: Hanley, Jill; Chilanga, Emmanuel (Fall)
Restrictions: Limited to BSW U1 students. Not open to students who have taken SWRK 352.
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SWRK 222 Introduction to Practicum (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Basic social work skills.
Terms: Winter 2020
Instructors: Marshall, Zack; Lach, Lucyna Maria; Sirota-Frankel, Corrie (Winter)
Restrictions: Limited to BSW U1 students. Not open to students who have taken SWRK 255.
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SWRK 223 Poverty and Inequality (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Examination and analysis of laws and policies affecting those living in poverty, experiencing inequality, strategies for mitigating these issues, role of social work in advocating for legal and welfare rights of clients and communities.
Terms: Winter 2020
Instructors: Mitchell, Nicole (Winter)
Restrictions: Limited to BSW U1 students. Not open to students who have taken SWRK 357.
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SWRK 224 Human Development Across the Lifespan (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Physical, cognitive, emotional, behavioural and social development in different stages of the life course with a focus on childhood and adolescence. Human development in different social contexts. Theory and research as it relates to social work practice.
Terms: Fall 2019, Summer 2020
Instructors: MacKenzie, Michael (Fall) Mitchell, Nicole (Summer)
Restriction: Limited to BSW U1 students
U2
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SWRK 320 Practice with Individuals and Families 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Introduction to theories and techniques informing clinical social work practice with individual and family systems in a social context. Sexual orientation, race, class, gender, culture, ability and diverse family forms are integrated. Knowledge and skills required for assessment and treatment across a range of practice settings.
Terms: Fall 2019
Instructors: David, Syndie Mirene; Boatswain-Kyte, Alicia (Fall)
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SWRK 321 Introduction to Practice with Groups (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Introduction to theories and techniques informing social work practice with groups. Emphasis on understanding group formation, assessment, and models of group intervention across a range of practice settings and with different populations.
Terms: Fall 2019, Summer 2020
Instructors: Sirota-Frankel, Corrie (Fall) Sirota-Frankel, Corrie (Summer)
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SWRK 322 Field Practice 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Supervised educational experiences in social work practice designed to integrate practice and theory.
Terms: Fall 2019, Winter 2020, Summer 2020
Instructors: Granner, Francine (Fall) Granner, Francine (Winter) Granner, Francine (Summer)
Restrictions: Limited to BSW students. Not open to students who have taken SWRK 355.
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SWRK 323 Field Practice 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Supervised educational experiences in social work practice designed to integrate practice with theoretical knowledge.
Terms: Fall 2019, Winter 2020, Summer 2020
Instructors: Granner, Francine (Fall) Granner, Francine (Winter) Granner, Francine (Summer)
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SWRK 325 Anti-Oppression Social Work Practice (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Social work policy and practice, including an examination of discrimination and oppressions, identity and social location, reflexivity, intersectionality, contemporary anti-oppression movements, access and equity in human services and their implications.
Terms: Fall 2019
Instructors: Boatswain-Kyte, Alicia; Mitchell, Nicole; David, Syndie Mirene; Gabriel, Wanda (Fall)
Prerequisite: SWRK 223.
Restrictions: Limited to BSW U2 students.
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SWRK 326 Practice with Individuals and Families 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Advanced integration of theories and techniques informing clinical social work practice with individual and family systems in a social context. Sexual orientation, race, class, gender, culture, ability and diverse family forms are integrated. Knowledge and skills required for assessment and treatment across a range of practice settings.
Terms: Winter 2020
Instructors: David, Syndie Mirene; Mitchell, Nicole; Sussman, Tamara (Winter)
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SWRK 327 Approaches to Community Practice (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : A comparison of models of community practice in a variety of social settings. An analysis of practice assumptions and methods. Intervention strategies and methods from student practice will be discussed.
Terms: Winter 2020
Instructors: DĂ©brosse, RĂ©gine (Winter)
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SWRK 344 Integrative Seminar 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Building on SWRK 222 Introduction to Practicum, the purpose of this integrative seminar is to facilitate links between theories, concepts and empirical findings introduced in coursework to observations and knowledge students garner from the field. This process will help students integrate their knowledge from the classroom and their experiences from the field into a useful and meaningful whole. In order to support the integration of theory, research and practice this seminar will also introduce students to principles and practices in field education that support student learning. In this way, students learn how they can maximize their field learning experiences.
Terms: Winter 2020
Instructors: Sussman, Tamara; Orzeck, Pam; Sirota-Frankel, Corrie (Winter)
U3
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SWRK 420 Advanced Field Practice 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Supervised educational experience in social work practice at an advanced level.
Terms: Fall 2019, Winter 2020, Summer 2020
Instructors: Granner, Francine (Fall) Granner, Francine (Winter) Granner, Francine (Summer)
Prerequisite: SWRK 323
Restrictions: Limited to BSW U3 and 2-year BSW students
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SWRK 421 Advanced Field Practice 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Supervised educational experience in social work practice at an advanced level.
Terms: Fall 2019, Winter 2020, Summer 2020
Instructors: Granner, Francine (Fall) Granner, Francine (Winter) Granner, Francine (Summer)
Restriction: Limited to BSW U3 and 2-year BSW students completing their last practicum
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SWRK 422 Integrative Seminar 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Analyzing field experiences operationalizing the link between scholarship and practice. Dimensions of equity will be integrated.
Terms: Winter 2020
Instructors: Brotman, Shari; Moscovitz, Nona; Boatswain-Kyte, Alicia; Doucet, Melanie (Winter)
Restriction: Not open to students who have taken SWRK 422D1/D2.
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SWRK 423 Social Work Research (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Appraising and analyzing social work practice research, including the perspectives of the authors, the literature reviewed, the practice questions, the research methodology and analysis and the implications of the findings for practice.
Terms: Fall 2019, Summer 2020
Instructors: Krane, Julia (Fall) RazaviPour Naghani, Erfaneh (Summer)
Restrictions: Limited to BSW U3 students. Not open to students who have taken SWRK 401.
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SWRK 424 Mental Health and Illness (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Symptoms of mental illness and approaches to the delivery of services and programs within various sites of care. Impact of stigma and the place of psychosocial rehabilitation. Biopsychosocial framework and effective practice models examined with an emphasis on policy and its implications for the delivery of services and programs.
Terms: Fall 2019
Instructors: Moscovitz, Nona (Fall)
Prerequisite: SWRK 320
Restriction: Only open to B.S.W. U3 students.
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SWRK 428 Social Policy and Administration (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : An analysis of the administrative structures and dynamics of social service organizations, with special attention to Québec policies and to the role of social workers. Examples are drawn from current field experiences of students.
Terms: Fall 2019
Instructors: Nkrumah, Rodney (Fall)
Prerequisites: SWRK 221
Restriction: Only open to B.S.W. U3 students.
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SWRK 445 First Peoples and Social Work (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : An analysis of Canadian policies and legislation, their impact on First Peoples and on social work practice. Historical and contextual overviews of European-Canadian and First Nations, MĂ©tis and Inuit relations.
Terms: Winter 2020
Instructors: Blackstock, Cynthia; Brown, Zoe (Winter)
Prerequisite(s): SWRK 220
Restriction(s): Open to Social Work BSW U3 students only. Not open to students who have taken SWRK 345.
This course carries an additional charge of $8.73 to cover the cost of transportation to attend a lecture at the Kahnawake Longhouse. The fee is refundable only during the withdrawal with full refund period.
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SWRK 525 Critical Thought and Ethics in Social Work (3 credits)
Overview
Social Work : Use of theory and reflexivity to challenge the various ways knowing and practicing within social work. Critically engage and assess the theoretical basis of social work theories and knowledge acquired over the course of the program. Application of this knowledge to ethical dilemmas that arise in practice.
Terms: Winter 2020
Instructors: Boatswain-Kyte, Alicia; Khoury, Emmanuelle (Winter)
Prerequisite: SWRK 325.
Restrictions: Limited to B.S.W. U3 and M.S.W. students
Complementary Courses (21 credits)
Complementary courses comprise 21 credits of the program. These are selected with the following specifications.
6 credits of Social Work (SWRK) courses.
15 credits of social science courses taken in Anthropology (ANTH), Economics (ECON), Gender, Sexuality, Feminist & Social Justice Studies (GSFS), Geography (GEOG), History (HIST), Linguistics (LING), Political Science (POLI), Psychology (PSYC), or Sociology (SOCI) or humanities courses taken in Art History & Communication Studies (ARTH), English (ENGL), Gender, Sexuality, Feminist & Social Justice Studies (GSFS), Music (MUAR), Philosophy (PHIL), or Religious Studies (RELG) or literature and civilization courses taken in Classics (CLAS), East Asian Studies (EAST), French Studies (FREN), German Studies (GERM), Hispanic Studies (HISP), Islamic Studies (ISLA), Jewish Studies (JWST), Russian Studies (RUSS), Spanish Studies (HISP), or Canadian Studies (CANS), Indigenous Studies (INDG), African Studies (AFRI), International Development Studies (INTD), or Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS). At least 6 of these credits must be taken at the 300 level or higher or at least 9 of these credits must be taken within one department.
Please note from “literature and civilization” programs and departments, students are permitted to select any course except any language courses to fulfill the 15 complementary credits. Language courses can be taken as electives.
Elective Courses (6 credits)
6 credits of electives may be chosen from a discipline other than Social Work.
Only in an elective course will the grade of D be counted for credit toward the program.
Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) Option Policy
Please note, according to University regulations, the S/U option can only be selected for an elective course. See "Registration" and "Courses Taken under the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) Option".