B.S.W. Campus
Bachelor of Social Work Program
Laurentian University, Science buildings 2010

The Program Field Practicum
Program Leading to the B.S.W. (Honours) Degree Second Degree and Transfer Students
Program Requirement Checklist Electives in Social Welfare
Application for Admission to the Professional Years
2012 - 2013		 Academic Regulations of the School
Challenges  

    Coordinator - Karen McCauley, 705 675-1151 ext. 5068, kl_mccauley@laurentian.ca

The Program

The B.S.W. is a four-year academic program, the first professional degree in social work. The program encourages a generalist approach to practice. Students are expected to take courses in social policy and social welfare as well as courses in intervention with individuals, families, groups and communities. The program is offered to students on a full-time and part-time basis at Laurentian University in Sudbury and at the affiliated college in Orillia (Georgian campus).    [ Top ]

Admission to the Professional Years

For admission to the professional years of the social work program (2nd year +), students must formally apply to the School of Social Work before March 1 in their 1st year of study.

Students must successfully complete all first-year program requirements to be eligible for admission to the professional years. This includes SWLF 1005 or SWLF 1006/1007 with a minimum of 70%, Introduction to Sociology, Introduction to Psychology both with a minimum grade of 60%; and 12 credits of electives in Humanities and Social Sciences, Natural Sciences or Mathematics. The admission process includes an application form.  The applicants are rank-ordered and admitted until all spaces are filled.   [ Top ]

Second degree and transfer students

A program of study is designed by the School of Social Work.  Director for second degree students. According to University policy, students must complete a minimum of 60 credits for a second degree, but more credits may be required to fulfill the obligations of the social work degree. Second degree students may be permitted to take SWRK 2315 and SWLF 2106/7 concurrently with SWRK/SWLF courses from the 3000 series, but will be expected to defer commencement of the field practicum (SWRK 3605) until the following academic session.

Students who are admitted to professional years and are transferring from other programs, affiliates, or universities may not take SWRK 3405 unless they have completed the equivalent of 60 university credits, including SWLF 2106/7 with a minimum of 70%.

Program Leading to the B.S.W. (Honours) Degree


The following is the recommended pattern of courses, for a full-time student, leading to the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) degree. Deviations from this pattern must be discussed with the student's academic advisor, and approved by the school.* Generally the program consists of 66 Social Work (SWRK, SWLF) credits, and 54 credits in the arts and sciences taken over four years.  [ Top ]


First year
SWLF 1006 E Introduction to Social Welfare (required)
SWLF 1007 E Introduction to Social Work (required)
Psychology - an introductory course (6 credits)
Sociology - an introductory course (6 credits)
12 credits from the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences or Mathematics.

Second year
SWLF 2106 E Political Economy of Social Welfare (required)
SWLF 2107 E Human Service Organizations (required)
SWRK 2315 E Basic Intervention Skills in Social Work Practice (required)
6 credits in Psychology (upper year)
6 credits in Sociology (upper year)
3 credits Introduction to Statistics (Social Sciences)(required)
3 credits Introduction to Research Methods (Social Sciences) (required)

Third year
SWRK 3405 E Foundations of Practice (required)
SWRK 3505 E Applied Research in Social Work (required)
SWRK 3727 E Social Work with Groups (required)
SWRK 3605 E Field Instruction I (required)
3 credits from SWRK or SWLF electives (required)
6 credits from the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences or Mathematics.

Fourth year
SWRK 4915 E Integration Seminars for Social Work Practice (required)
SWRK 4436 E Social Work with Individuals and Families (required)
SWRK 4727 E Strategies for Social Change (required)
SWRK 4726 E Contemporary Issues in Social Policy (required)
SWRK 4605 E Field Instruction II (required)
3 credits from SWRK or SWLF electives (required)
6 credits from the Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences or Mathematics

*Consistent with University academic regulations, students in the B.S.W. (Honours) program must complete at least 30 credits, normally the last 30 of the program, at the School of Social Work.

To monitor your progress towards the completion of the B.S.W. degree, please use the following   

  Program Requirement Checklist           [ Top ]

Academic Regulations of the School

The Academic Regulations common to all students, and outlined in the general section of the Calendar, apply to students registered in the School of Social Work. The following further regulations apply to social work students.

Requirements for degree

To graduate with an Honours Bachelor of Social Work a student must:

  1. complete 120 credits which satisfy all stated requirements for the degree;
  2. complete all Social Welfare and Social Work required courses with a minimum grade of 70%, as well as grades of "Satisfactory" in SWRK 3605 and 4605;
  3. complete 6 credits of Social Welfare and Social Work elective courses with a minimum grade of 60% after no more than two attempts;
  4. complete all courses presented for the degree with an overall average of 60%. Only courses completed at Laurentian University are included in the calculation of averages.

Academic status

To be in good academic standing in B.S.W., the student must meet all conditions of admission;

  1. complete all SWRK and SWLF  required courses with a minimum grade of 70%
  2. achieve a minimum of 70% in SWLF 1006/7, 2106/7, SWRK 2315, 3405, 3505, 4915;
  3. obtain a "satisfactory" grade in both of SWRK 3605 and 4605;
  4. achieve a minimum grade of 60% in 6 credits of upper year SWRK/SWLF electives; and 

have an overall average of 60% on all passed courses in the previous year or in the previous 30 consecutive credits with no failures in any course attempted.  [ Top ]

Probation

Students who fail to attain academic standing in a given year may be allowed to continue in that program on probation by petition to APR with a positive recommendation from the school for no more than one year or 30 consecutive credits. If after one year, such students fail to attain academic standing, they must withdraw from the program.

Students failing to meet the minimum grade requirements may continue in the program on probation for no more than one year or 30 consecutive credits. They must include the specified course in their program in the probationary year. Should they fail to meet all program requirements in the probationary year, they must withdraw from the school.

Refer to the Academic Regulations common to all students for further information on transfers.

Suspension

Students will be required to withdraw from the University if they have been required to withdraw from a professional program and have not been permitted to transfer to another program. The School of Social Work, through its faculty and appropriate committees, reserves the right to suspend a student who, not withstanding her/his academic performance, fails to adhere to ethical and professional standards incumbent upon members of a helping profession

Field practicum

Field Instruction I (SWRK 3605) consists of a minimum of 300 and Field Instruction II (SWRK 4605) consists of a minimum of 400 hours of work in a practice setting approved by the School of Social Work. Considerable flexibility is permitted to students and their agency-based Field Instructors to determine appropriate work schedules. This may result in the field practicum being offered in a block (3, 4 or 5 days per week) or concurrently (2 or 2-1/2 days per week) throughout the session. Practicum settings must be approved by the field coordinator and learning contracts (including work schedules) are approved by an assigned Faculty consultant. Given the range of agency requirements and student priorities, learning contracts and work schedules differ, but all are subject to the mutual consent of the parties concerned.

Fieldwork I and II are graded by the assigned faculty consultant on a satisfactory/fail basis.

While engaged in field practice, students are expected to abide by all School, University and professional codes of conduct. In addition, students are required to respect the particular standards of the field placement setting and the policies and procedures outlined in the Field Education Manual. 

Electives in Social Welfare

All SWLF courses are available as electives in social welfare to students in other programs. These courses are intended to give members of other professions or related disciplines an understanding of the ways in which society organizes services in the meeting of individual and social needs and of the role of the professional social worker.

Challenge

Many students in the program are individuals with experience in social services related fields. For students with a minimum of three years full-time experience in social services, the program offers challenge examinations which, if passed, constitute credit for SWRK 3605. 

Challenges            [ Top ]

Webmaster
Updated: December 2011
School of Social Work
8th floor, Willet Green Miller Centre
Ramsey Lake Road
Sudbury, Ontario
P3E 2C6


Telephone
705 673-6560

Fax
705 671-3832
 
 
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