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Social Work Careers
Admission to Pre-Social Work
and Social Work
Welcome from
Head of Social Work
Field
Education
Student Social
Work Association
Chi Beta
Social Work Faculty
Contact ULM
Dept. of Social Work
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Sciences Home Page
ULM Home Page
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A Challenging and Diverse Profession
he ULM Department of
Social Work, located in the College
of Arts and Sciences,
has been an accredited program by the Council on Social Work Education
since 1977. The CSWE Curriculum Policy Statement can be viewed online
at http://www.cswe.org/.
Since that time, the department has continued to grow and
has remained a viable program that is committed to providing an
academically challenging social work education. The
program of study for the degree in social work (BA) requires a
minimum of four academic years of full-time study culminating in a total of
123 semester hours. Of these 123 hours, 47 semester hours of social work
courses are required for a major. Students may choose to complete a second
minor in another field.
The Social Work curriculum is based on a
liberal arts perspective which blends well with the beliefs, values and
ethics of the social work profession. Social work professionals look at
entire systems and all factors that may have an impact on a system. This
requires a broad learning base. Social work deals with very diverse
populations in terms of target populations (individuals, families, groups,
neighborhoods, communities) and problem areas (i.e., discrimination,
poverty, abuse, mental illness, aging, violence). Therefore, it is
imperative that the professional understand and appreciate various
cultures, heritages and diverse backgrounds. The social work professional
must have an understanding of government and the bureaucratic process in
order to impact the political system. The liberal arts courses refine the
ability of the social work professional to look at the whole client system.
Social work is a profession which requires
both intellectual ability and a set of personal attributes appropriate to
the task of helping others. The student who elects to major in Social Work
at ULM is
expected to maintain a level of academic performance consistent with their
major. In addition to academic expectations, social work students must
demonstrate professional behavior which reflects a commitment to the ethics
of the social work profession. Students are expected to read, understand,
and sign the "Student Acknowledgement of Ethical Behavior and
Agreement to Abide: Statement of Ethical Social Work Practice and Program
Requirements and Sanctions for Violations of Ethical Behavior."
The knowledge, values, and skills required for entry into the social
work profession are learned in the classroom and through practical
experience. Practical experience is gained through volunteer work and
through field experience. The volunteer work component of the Department of
Social Work involves serving as a volunteer for 30 hours in Social Policy
and Social Work (SOCW 303) and 30 hours in Interviewing and the Helping
Relationship (SOCW 301). This experience has helped students in
deciding whether social work is the profession they want to pursue and in
selecting a field of practice early in their university career.
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