Content areas in accredited social work programs

Presence of required content in Social work, Psychology & Sociology Degrees:

Social Work Psychology Sociology

1) Knowledge of history & values of social welfare

Extensive coverage forming a foundation for rest of curriculum

Not included

May be mentioned in a “Social Problems” course

2) Knowledge of human development from a social systems perspective

Required coursework in development across the lifecycle, integrated with systems approach

Some coverage in “Developmental Psych” but without study of the social environment

Not included

3) Knowledge of human diversity, racism, & sexism

Required coursework plus inclusion in all skills courses

Not required, possibly an elective in “individual differences”

Brief mention in introductory course, possibly an elective

4) Knowledge of professional social work values & ethics

Focus on national and state ethical codes and links to practice

Not included (Ethics for Psychologists would be a graduate level topic)

Possible mention of research ethics; no coverage of professional ethics

5) Social welfare policy analysis skill

Required coursework on welfare policy issues

Not included

Possible mention of policy issues

6) Program eval. & practice research skills & experience

Required coursework on research, with applied skills in evaluation

Lab research and single-subject design; no program evaluation

General research skills but no focus on applied evaluation

7) Intervention skills for working with individuals, families, groups, and communities

Required Methods courses for working with all sizes of client systems with a focus on skills & knowledge building

Generally not covered at the undergraduate level (reserved for graduate training in clinical psychology)

Possible mention of community activism but no social work skills training

8) Supervised field experiences in social work agencies

Required minimum of 400 hours of supervised fieldwork (most do more)

Field experiences are generally not required (esp. in social agencies)

Field experiences are generally not required (esp. in social agencies)