Goals

The goals of the Social Work Department reflect the mission of MSU Denver and the purposes of the social work profession:

  1. To prepare students for generalist social work practice with diverse populations at risk including individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities and larger systems.
  2. To prepare students to be competent and effective professional social workers providing leadership and service in service delivery systems that address the needs of diverse populations.
  3. To provide students with the knowledge and skills for understanding the dynamic nature of social problems, social policies, social agencies and social change in the context of a diverse environment as an evolving ecological system.
  4. To provide an ethical foundation to guide students' in beginning and continued professional social work practice in keeping with social work values.
  5. To prepare graduates to further develop their potential for life-long learning and continued professional growth and development.

 

Objectives of the Social Work Department

  1. Apply critical thinking skills within the context of professional Social Work practice.
  2. Demonstrate the values of the Social Work profession with an understanding of and respect for the positive value of diversity including ethnic minorities, gays/lesbians, the aging, women/children and the developmentally disabled.
  3. Practice without discrimination and with respect, knowledge and skills related to clients' age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.
  4. Integrate practice, research and policy skills and utilize the strategies of advocacy and social change to ameliorate the distress of diverse populations who often experience(d) social and economic injustice.
  5. Understand and interpret the history of the Social Work profession and contemporary structures and issues.
  6. Begin generalist practice with the theoretical knowledge and skills essential for social work with diverse client systems of all sizes.
  7. Apply the theoretical and conceptual knowledge base of the four sources of human behavior (biological, psychological, sociological and cultural) across the life span to their understanding of the interactions among individuals and between individuals and families, groups, organizations and communities.
  8. Formulate, influence, and analyze the impact of social policies on diverse populations, workers and agencies.
  9. Evaluate research studies, apply findings to practice, and evaluate their own practice interventions and those of other relevant systems.
  10. Use communication skills differentially with a variety of client populations, colleagues, and community.
  11. Utilize supervision and consultation when applying generalist social work knowledge and skills on behalf of all client systems.
  12. Function within the structure of organizations and service delivery systems, and under supervision, seek necessary organizational change.