Undergraduate Group Major

(29 Units -- At least 9 classes) -- All courses for the major must be taken for a letter grade.

SW 110, Social Work as a Profession (3 units) (formerly listed as SW 102)
(SW 110 must be taken prior to or simultaneously with any other core course.)
SW 112, Social Welfare Policy (3 units)(formerly known as SW 100)
SW 114, Practice in Social Work (3 units) (formerly known as SW 103)
SW 116, Current Topics in Social Welfare (2 units) (formerly known as SW 105)

Each core course is offered every academic semester: Fall, Spring, and Summer. Students accepted to the major will be assigned a specific semester to start the core courses with the gateway course - SW 110 -- when their declaration is processed. Students can then complete the remaining core courses at their own pace in any order they choose.

All Social Welfare majors must complete at least 5 approved electives. At least three of those electives must be selected from the Master List of Approved Electives in the Primary Social Sciences (commonly known as the Purple List). The remaining two electives may come from either that list of Primary Social Sciences or the Master List of Approved Electives in the Secondary Social Sciences (commonly known as the Green list). The five electives must total at least 18 units, or else additional approved electives must be taken. **There is no restriction on what departments may be chosen. The former rule that majors had to form a "concentration" by taking 3 courses in a single subject is no longer required.

There are five departments designated as the PRIMARY SOCIAL SCIENCES: Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology.

All other departments that offer approved electives are considered the SECONDARY SOCIAL SCIENCES and include African American Studies, American Studies, Asian American Studies, Chicano Studies, City & Regional Planning, Demography, Education, ESPM, Ethnic Studies, Gender & Women's Studies, Health & Medical Sciences, History, Legal Studies, Native American Studies, Peace & Conflict Studies, Public Health, Public Policy, and UGIS.

Edited Primary and Secondary Lists

Here are edited versions of the lists of approved Primary Social Science and Secondary Social Science electives. These edited lists only include courses offered in the Fall 2008 Semester. These lists should make it easier to choose your enrollments for the Fall 2008 semester.

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The five electives must equal at least 18 units. Students who choose five electives that do not add up to 18 units will need additional coursework to supplement the five electives. Supplemental units could come from additional approved electives from either a Primary or Secondary department; or elective Social Welfare coursework such as SW 195, SW 148, SW 174, SW 107, etc.; or community service course work thru Education or SW 98/198/97/197.

Students who meet minimum grade point requirements (3.3 overall and 3.5 in the major) and have completed SW 102 and SW 100 may elect to participate in an honors seminar in the fall and write an honors thesis in the spring of their senior year. To graduate with honors, students must achieve a G.P.A.of 3.3 overall and 3.5 in the major. Interested students should see the Undergraduate Advisor for information.

Procedures and Forms for Special Studies Courses in Social Welfare [click here]

Earn academic credit for volunteer work performed in community agencies or on campus. Students may enroll in a SW 97/197 course through one of two ways: working individually with a Social Welfare professor; or in a group SW 97/197 section offered by a classroom format by various groups and/or individual. If you work individually with a professor, he or she will establish the parameters of the workload. If you enroll in the group section, in addition to performing volunteer work, all students will meet for a weekly seminar. Information on community service for academic credit is available in the Undergraduate Advisor's office.

The School of Social Welfare offers the opportunity to study specialized topics in a small seminar setting. In past semesters, topics included Community Work in Urban Settings, onfronting Racism, and Social Welfare Program Evaluation.

While priority for enrollment in graduate level social welfare courses is reserved for grad students, the instructors will sometimes consider undergraduates for enrollment when space is available. The instructor has total discretion in determining the suitability of the undergraduate for enrollment in a graduate course. The list of courses that will consider undergraduate enrollment is available in the Undergraduate Advisor's office.

Each summer the department offers elective undergraduate Social Welfare classes in addition to the four core courses. Students wishing to accelerate graduation, or free up their senior year in order to more easily do field work and/or a thesis, or just ease the unit load they take during a regular semester, can take Social Welfare classes during the summer.