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Programs

Special Programs

Special programs are designated within the SSA curriculum that allow students to tailor their degree program to their professional interests. By using electives in the degree program to meet requirements of a special program, students build a curriculum that uniquely addresses their interests and prepares them for work in a particular area of social work.

Each of the special programs has prescribed requirements, either required courses or sets of courses from which students may choose. Importantly, each program combines study with a related field experience to allow students to connect their theoretical learning with their practical experience.

  1. Community Schools Program
  2. Evidence-based Practice
  3. Family Support Program
  4. The Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy (Social Administration Only)
  5. Older Adult Studies Program
  6. Program on Poverty and Equality
  7. School Social Work Program (Clinical Only)
  8. Violence Prevention

COMMUNITY SCHOOLS PROGRAM

The Community Schools program educates social workers for new roles in schools.  Community school leaders work on many levels within a school, developing effective after-school and youth development programs, fostering effective family-school-community partnerships, and developing effective school communities that promote the physical and mental health, emotional and social development, and educational development of youth. The Community Schools program builds on and links to our programs in community development and family support, but adds a substantive focus on education.

Students interested in community schools take the social administration concentration or clinical concentration, have a second-year placement in a community school, and participate in a year-long integrative field seminar, a special section of SSAD 40100.  In addition, they are required to take SSAD 44800 Urban Adolescents in Their Families, Communities, and Schools: Issues for Research and Policy. The field seminar will provide a link between placements and classroom learning and will engage students in the broad issues and debates surrounding school reform in urban communities.  It will present critical case studies that pose central dilemmas and problems in community schools and provide focused skills-based training.  In addition, students are encouraged to select from a range of courses in community development, management, family support, and treatment of children and adolescents.

For full course descriptions, CLICK HERE

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EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE

Evidence-based Practice is the integration of the best available research evidence with clinical expertise.  Clinical students who elect the EBP program will learn how to formulate evidence-based questions from their practice, conduct a search for relevant evidence, and evaluate the quality of the evidence.  The program will teach how to determine the appropriateness of the evidence for their clients and practice setting, how to implement the intervention, and how to evaluate the outcome of their intervention. The Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment Model (IDDTM) will be used as a practice exemplar of EBP.  In addition to the evidence-based skills described above, students will learn to implement specific interventions for individuals with dual (mental health and substance abuse) disorders.  Arrangements have been made with specific field work settings so that students will be able to use evidence-based interventions and evaluate the outcome of these interventions with their clients.

Students in the EBP program take the clinical concentration, 2 required courses, and a case seminar dedicated to EBP.  Their second year placements will be in sites in which students use an evidence-based approach to social work practice.  The required courses are:

Evidence-based Clinical Practice (SSAD 43212).  Students are introduced to basic EBP skills and IDDTM interventions and develop evidence-based interventions for their clients.

Clinical Research (SSAD 44501). Students will complete their introduction to IDDTM interventions and will begin learning the use of client data in clinical decision making and how to evaluate the outcome of their interventions.

Field case seminar in evidence-based practice (SSAD 40100). The seminar accompanies the field work placement.  It will focus on clinical issues, program development, and organizational and staff issues. It will also include training in motivational interviewing provided for both students and staff at their field agencies.

The recommended courses include Adult Psychopathology (SSAD 42500) and Clinical Intervention in Substance Abuse (SSAD 40000) or Substance Use Practice (SSAD 42001).

For full course descriptions, CLICK HERE

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THE FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM

To meet the growing national need for preventive and community-oriented services for families, SSA created a program in Family Support. The knowledge base is interdisciplinary, drawing primarily from social and biological science theories and research as well as practice theories and research.  Core values include an ecological orientation, a focus on prevention of problems and promotion of desirable outcomes, and a commitment to strength-based partnerships between professionals, participants, and other stakeholders.  Basic skills for family support reflect the full range of social work services:  individual, family, group, organization, community, administration, and policy work.  Family support also draws on a broad range of specialized skills, including program design, implementation and evaluation, formation and facilitation of groups, home visiting, community building, and interagency collaboration.

Students interested in Family Support can be in either the clinical or social administration concentration and have a placement in an agency that practices family support principles.  Clinical students take a year-long case seminar required by the clinical concentration.  In addition, all students take two required courses in Family Support.

Family Support Principles, Practice, and Program Development (SSAD 42700) is taken in the Autumn and explores the theoretical principles and values underlying family support.  Work and Family Policy:  Policy Considerations for Family Support (SSAD 42912) is taken in the Winter and provides students with the knowledge and skills to consider policy issues related to work and families.  A special section of the field case seminar (SSAD 40100) is designated for students specializing in family support.

Students who specialize in family support choose an internship specifically designed for this program.

For full course descriptions, CLICK HERE

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THE SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM

The school social work program provides students with the knowledge, skills, values, and experience needed to prepare them for certification as school social workers. Through the combination of course work and field work, students in the school social work program are provided a specialized curriculum that will enable them to become effective practitioners within the context of the public school system.

In addition to the requirements of the clinical practice concentration, students in the school social work program are required to take three courses specifically designed for their specialization. Students are required to take 40100 Field Case Seminar, 41600 Public School Systems and Service Populations, and 43300 The Exceptional Child. The course on exceptional children is directed at the role of the school social worker in providing service to children and their families in a school setting. Methods of evaluating disorders and current research in the field are covered. The course 41600 Public School Systems and Service Populations is designed to acquaint students with the organization of the public schools, implementation of special education mandates, services to culturally and economically diverse populations, how to recognize elements of an effective school, and the role of the social worker in a variety of public school settings. In addition, students are required to take 40100 Field Case Seminar, a specialized three-quarter case seminar that integrates academic work with field experiences in the school setting. Students bring case material to the seminar for analysis and discussion.

Students interested in the school social work concentration for Illinois Type 73 Certification need to pass the basic skills test administered by the Illinois State Board of Education before beginning their school social work placement.

For full course descriptions, CLICK HERE

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OLDER ADULT STUDIES PROGRAM

To advance the preparation of geriatric social workers and to strengthen the quality of care given to a growing older population, SSA developed an Older Adult Studies program.  Social workers bring a unique, multi-faceted perspective to working with older adults. Their training develops the capacity to respond to an older person's need for support and intervention in multiple domains. Social workers bring an understanding of an older person's strengths and resiliency as well as strong assessment, problem-solving, and advocacy skills. This program combines an understanding of the person-in-environment as well as an awareness of the web of institutional relationships linking the older adult to society and social policy.  Students will be prepared to practice in an evolving healthcare environment. 

Students interested in working with older adults take either the clinical or social administration concentration, two required courses, and a placement in which they work with older adults.  Clinical students in the program take a clinical case seminar required of all clinical students.  Students can take either Introduction to Aging: 21st Century Perspectives (SSAD 61200), or Aging and Mental Health (SSAD 42100). Both integrate the theories and practice skills needed for effective clinical work with older adults and their families. Aging and Public Policy (SSAD 49012) which helps students to understand the design and delivery of services and their implications for the social, economic, and physical welfare of the aged and their caregivers.  In cooperation with the Hartford Foundation and the New York Academy of Medicine, we offer a unique approach to field learning which provides the student maximum exposure to the aging person and the services and systems designed to support older people and their families. 

For full course descriptions, CLICK HERE

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PROGRAM ON POVERTY AND INEQUALITY

Poverty and inequality create enormous challenges for contemporary modern societies. In the United States, despite more than a century of social welfare efforts - public and private - these conditions continue to present fundamental problems to our society and polity.  This program offers students professional training to take up problems of poverty and inequality in their professional careers.  It provides the basic knowledge and field experience needed to prepare social workers to engage in efforts to alleviate poverty and inequality as program managers, policy analysts, and community advocates.  The program will expose students to issues regarding poverty and inequality both in the United States and in international settings.

Students selecting this program will be expected to take two foundation courses, one addressing poverty, Poverty, Inequality, and the Welfare State (SSAD 60400), and the other addressing workforce issues, Workforce and Workplace Development: Inequality in Employment (SSAD 60300/59300).  Students in the program can select electives drawn from a variety of courses offered at SSA and in other parts of the University. For 2007-2008, a recommended elective is Perspectives on Urban Poverty (SSAD 47712).

For full course descriptions, CLICK HERE

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VIOLENCE PREVENTION

While the social work profession, as well as allied professions, have traditionally responded to interpersonal violence after the fact, violence prevention continues to grow rapidly as a discernable and distinct set of programs and intervention strategies, and as a field with developing policy initiatives and implications.  The field of violence prevention therefore increasingly requires professionals with the intellectual and skill set training to address the problem of interpersonal violence proactively and strategically.

Students interested in violence prevention can take the clinical or social administration concentration.  They will have a second-year placement focused on violence prevention and will take Seminar on Violence Prevention (SSAD 61100).  In addition students will take a relevant elective from the following list: Clinical Treatment of Abusive Family Systems (SSAD 41700); Advanced Seminar on Violence and Trauma (SSAD 44201); The Youth Gang Problem: Policy, Programs, and Research (SSAD 46500); and Child and Adolescent Trauma (SSAD 60800).  Students can also select an elective from other parts of the University.

For full course descriptions, CLICK HERE

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THE GRADUATE PROGRAM in HEALTH ADMINISTRATION and POLICY

Founded in 1934, the Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy (GPHAP) has an impressive legacy of providing students with the preparation and competitive advantage they need to be leaders in the health care field.  Today, with more than 900 alumni, GPHAP continues this tradition as an interdisciplinary program that draws students from the Graduate School of Business, the Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, the School of Social Service Administration, and Pritzker Medical School.

GPHAP is intended for those considering careers in health services, management, policy, research, consulting, and finance.  Building on the core training provided by the participating schools, GPHAP students must complete a series of academic, practical and co-curricular requirements.  The program aims to provide the conceptual frameworks and analytical skills students need to graduate prepared to be effective in a broad range of health care careers. With a strong foundation in economics, organizational behavior, policy, and financial management, the core curriculum is complemented by internships and co-curricular activities.

Social administration students interested in careers related to health services may simultaneously earn a certificate in health administration and policy through the normal course load required for the master's degree.  Concurrent to SSA requirements, GPHAP students must take four health-related courses and one finance course.  In addition, GPHAP students are expected to complete health-related field palcements and engage in co-curricular activities such as seminars, workshops, and networking events.

As a part of GPHAP, students are also eligible for opportunities such as fellowships, research assistantships, and internships, all of which develop leadership skills and augment academic credentials.  GPHAP students also benefit from a range of exclusive program activities including special events to help students explore a variety of career options, alumni networking events, and notification of health-related workshops and seminars on and off campus.

Further information about GPHAP is available from the Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy. CLICK HERE

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