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Method Specialization Course Plans

Columbia MS in Social Work students finish their degrees with a Specialized Year. The timing of your Specialized Year depends on your MSW degree pathway. For example, some students on accelerated pathways take these courses as soon as their first fall term, while others on extended pathways will enter their Specialized Year after two or three years of coursework. While most students finish this Specialized Year in two terms, 100% Part-Time pathway students may take up to four terms.

The Specialized Year curriculum is shaped by your method specialization. This allows you to develop the specialized skills most relevant to the settings and populations you want to serve.

Below are example course plans for each method specialization available to Online Campus students in the Two-Year, Advanced Standing, Part-Time to Full-Time (Extended), One-Year Residency for Working Professionals (Reduced Residency), and Transfer pathways.

Students in the 100% Part-Time pathway follow a modified course sequence. View the Specialized Year course plans for part-time students.

Advanced Clinical Practice Method

Fall Term

Prerequisites: T7102, T7103.

This course offers students in-depth exposure to differential assessment and intervention. Students register for this course by their designated field of practice. All sections explore direct practice modalities for individuals, families, and groups. This includes case management, core themes, and a variety of clinical interventions.

Prerequisite: T6501

This class introduces students to tools that document the effects of social work intervention and measure the effectiveness of social work practice.

Students will learn to: 1) critically assess procedures to identify and clarify problems for intervention; 2) identify and use methods that have proven value from rigorous research when available; and 3) conduct ongoing practice evaluation. They will also learn basic measurement, how to select and use self-monitoring, standardized, observational, and unobtrusive measures of client change along with single case design options, data plotting, and visual analysis of data.

T69XX – (3 credits)

Choose one:

This course takes a problem-identification and problem-solving approach to the delivery of social work services in health, mental health, and disabilities, with content about the social policies and organization structures that characterize our current health-care system.

The focus is upon policies, systems, and programs that support healthy child development and address individual, familial, and community risk factors. The course examines the historical, legislative, and regulatory framework for service delivery and the interplay between state and family decision-making.

Practicum education is a central component in each student’s professional education, and it requires 21 hours a week, three days a week. Placements provide a range of experiences to integrate with theoretical learning from class work and to develop knowledge, values, and skills for social practice.

Elective (as needed)

Spring Term

This course is split into two mini courses. These build on the general framework of T7113 Specialized Clinical Practice to address problems in a particular field of practice.

Students select two seven-week courses in which they develop their knowledge and skills through in-depth study of service delivery to specific client populations, the application of specific intervention methods, or selected clinical practice issues. Topics are updated annually to reflect new developments in clinical practice.

Past topics have included: grief, trauma-informed psychotherapy treatment, understanding depression, reproductive justice, clinical practice with couples, mindfulness in clinical practice, and the professional use of self

Practicum education is a central component in each student’s professional education, and it requires 21 hours a week, three days a week. Placements provide a range of experiences to integrate with theoretical learning from class work and to develop knowledge, values, and skills for social practice.

Elective (as needed)

Integrated Practice and Programming Method

Fall Term

Prerequisites: T6501.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of social services evaluation. Students will learn to design an evaluation of a social service program, analyze evaluation data using descriptive and inferential statistics, conduct a simplified cost-benefit analysis and explain the limitations of this type of analysis when dealing with human subjects. They will also identify political, organizational, regulatory, and other contextual factors that affect program evaluations. Finally, they will develop client outcome measures for social service programs and explain the uses and benefits of qualitative research methods in the evaluation of social service programs.

Prerequisite: T7102, T7103

Students learn to think and practice as integrated social work practitioners. Emphasis is placed on helping students to develop a conceptual framework with which they can differentially assess the multiple, interrelated interventions needed to respond to clients’ issues. The course focuses on advanced direct practice; assessment of the service needs of individuals, families, client populations, and neighborhoods; case management; and community social work with vulnerable populations.

T69XX – (3 credits)

Choose one:

This course takes a problem-identification and problem-solving approach to the delivery of social work services in health, mental health, and disabilities, with content about the social policies and organization structures that characterize our current health-care system.

The focus is upon policies, systems, and programs that support healthy child development and address individual, familial, and community risk factors. The course examines the historical, legislative, and regulatory framework for service delivery and the interplay between state and family decision-making.

Practicum education is a central component in each student’s professional education, and it requires 21 hours a week, three days a week. Placements provide a range of experiences to integrate with theoretical learning from class work and to develop knowledge, values, and skills for social practice.

Elective (as needed)

Spring Term

Prerequisite: T7133

This course is split into two seven-week mini courses. The first seven weeks focus on program development and evaluation and grant writing. In the second seven weeks, students select a topic either in IPP and professional practice issues or in IPP within and across populations. Past topics have included: abolition in social work, reproductive justice, trauma interventions across systems, psychoeducation, and telebehavioral health care delivery.

This course extends the integrated practice conceptual framework to program development and supervision. It includes program design and conceptualization with community and task groups for social action and organizational change; client care in the context of cause and function; and social work practice with organizational groups.

Practicum education is a central component in each student’s professional education, and it requires 21 hours a week, three days a week. Placements provide a range of experiences to integrate with theoretical learning from class work and to develop knowledge, values, and skills for social practice.

Elective (as needed)

Policy Practice Method

Fall Term

Prerequisites: T6801, T7103.

This is the first of a two-course sequence in which students will develop knowledge and skills in identifying policy issues, policy analysis, and advocacy. Each student will analyze a policy question over the course of the year, drawing on data and expertise from their field placement and other sources. This first course focuses primarily on issue identification and gathering information for analysis.

Prerequisite: T6501

This course is a year-long sequence. Students registered for this course will also be registered for the corresponding lab section (T7813 for fall).

The first term focuses on microeconomics and the second term on macroeconomics. Students will learn both microeconomic and macroeconomic theories and their applications to public policy.

Topics will include demand and supply, equilibrium, price controls, the concept of elasticity, nominal versus real prices, production, technology, scale, cost minimization, monopoly, economic growth, and aggregate demand.

This is the fall-term lab section of T7811 Microeconomics and Policy Analysis.

T69XX – (3 credits)

Choose one:

This course takes a problem-identification and problem-solving approach to the delivery of social work services in health, mental health, and disabilities, with content about the social policies and organization structures that characterize our current health-care system.

The focus is upon policies, systems, and programs that support healthy child development and address individual, familial, and community risk factors. The course examines the historical, legislative, and regulatory framework for service delivery and the interplay between state and family decision-making.

Practicum education is a central component in each student’s professional education, and it requires 21 hours a week, three days a week. Placements provide a range of experiences to integrate with theoretical learning from class work and to develop knowledge, values, and skills for social practice.

Elective (as needed)

Spring Term

Prerequisite: T7143

This is the second of a two-course sequence designed to develop knowledge and skills in identifying policy issues, policy analysis, and advocacy. Each student will analyze a policy question over the course of the year, drawing on data and expertise from their field placement as well as other sources. This second course focuses primarily on policy analysis and translating policy analysis into action.

Prerequisite: T7811

This course is a year-long sequence. Students registered for this course will also be registered for the corresponding lab section (T7814 for spring).

The first term focuses on microeconomics and the second term on macroeconomics. Students will learn both microeconomic and macroeconomic theories and their applications to public policy.

Topics will include demand and supply, equilibrium, price controls, the concept of elasticity, nominal versus real prices, production, technology, scale, cost minimization, monopoly, economic growth, and aggregate demand.

This is the spring-term lab section of T7812 Macroeconomics and Policy Analysis.

Practicum education is a central component in each student’s professional education, and it requires 21 hours a week, 3 days a week. Placements provide a range of experiences to integrate with theoretical learning from class work and to develop knowledge, values, and skills for social practice.

Elective (as needed)

Leadership, Management, and Entrepreneurship for Social Justice Method

Fall Term

Prerequisite: T7103

In this required practice course, students will develop the knowledge base and core competencies necessary to design and acquire resources for social service interventions to meet contemporary needs. Students will utilize case examples and skills presented in class to plan group interventions. They will also have the opportunity to critique a formal program plan and gain skills in grant writing and other forms of fundraising through formal workshops and exercises. Finally, students will learn how to modify programs and program plans to meet various exigencies that an organization might face due to funding reductions or other difficulties.

This course will help students to understand the significant contribution human resources makes to the function of the social agency. Students will explore the options open to administrators in designing human resource strategies that optimize the motivation and creativity of personnel as well as maximize the organization’s outcomes. The legal environment is reviewed as a context in which this aspect of administrative practice takes place. Basic to this course are the theories of leadership, supervision, and creating a learning culture.

Prerequisite: T6801, T7103

This course will provide students with theoretical, conceptual, and practice models as they relate to community development. The course explores the role of community organizations in community development. It focuses on assessment of a neighborhood: its human, physical and institutional characteristics.

Although the focus of the course is on cities and rural areas in America, attempts will be made to relate these to international settings. Students will learn to apply professional social work practice skills to assessing and developing communities. Case examples of practice models that have demonstrated effectiveness will be discussed.

T69XX – (3 credits)

Choose one:

This course takes a problem-identification and problem-solving approach to the delivery of social work services in health, mental health, and disabilities, with content about the social policies and organization structures that characterize our current health-care system.

The focus is upon policies, systems, and programs that support healthy child development and address individual, familial, and community risk factors. The course examines the historical, legislative, and regulatory framework for service delivery and the interplay between state and family decision-making.

Practicum education is a central component in each student’s professional education, and it requires 21 hours a week, three days a week. Placements provide a range of experiences to integrate with theoretical learning from class work and to develop knowledge, values, and skills for social practice.

Spring Term

Prerequisite: T6501

This course provides a comprehensive overview of social services evaluation. Students will learn to design an evaluation of a social service program, analyze evaluation data using descriptive and inferential statistics, conduct a simplified cost-benefit analysis and explain the limitations of this type of analysis when dealing with human subjects. They will also identify political, organizational, regulatory, and other contextual factors that affect program evaluations. Finally, they will develop client outcome measures for social service programs and explain the uses and benefits of qualitative research methods in the evaluation of social service programs.

This course introduces students to the theory and practice of financial management in nonprofit organizations. Students will develop a beginning working knowledge of the elements, concepts, systems, tools and techniques of financial management. Included are such concepts as accounting, budgeting, resource allocation, problems of fiscal control, fiscal record keeping and reporting, cost analysis, continuation budgeting, and activity-based costing. The course will require use of financial management software, case examples, a required text, lectures, discussions, and journal articles. Students will complete several budget exercises.

This course is split into two seven-week mini courses. Past topics have included: effective leadership, staff development and coaching, managing NGOs, fundraising, corporate social responsibility, and board development.

Practicum education is a central component in each student’s professional education, and it requires 21 hours a week, three days a week. Placements provide a range of experiences to integrate with theoretical learning from class work and to develop knowledge, values, and skills for social practice.

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