Online Course Descriptions

The following are course descriptions only. For dates/times of courses, see the Course Offerings page. 

Review the program requirements to ensure you are registering in the required courses for your program.

SK501: Approaches to Community Organizing and Group Practices

This course provides an introduction to concepts, theories and methods associated with social work practice in communities locally, nationally and internationally. The scholarship on feminist community organizing, group processes, health promotion, advocacy, civic-engagement, grassroots organizing, capacity building, community economic development, international development and social movements inform the theoretical foundations for this course. Working with marginalised populations is an essential component of the course which hopes to promote systematic and reflexive thinking about specific determining factors influencing the lives of marginalized individuals globally and our roles as social work practitioners to be aware of factors such as power, privilege and our capacity to transform these factors.

SK504: Research 1

Textbook Required: Engle, R., & Schutt, R. (2017). The Practice of Research in Social Work (4th Ed.). Sage Publishing.

This course will offer a broad sampling of research methods (both qualitative and quantitative) and an introduction to concepts of data analysis. The aim is that students acquire knowledge and skills for conducting social work research and evaluating professional practices as well as in becoming critical consumers of research. The course also explores how decolonizing, anti-oppression and social justice perspectives can operate in current research approaches to strengthen the research enterprise. An important component of this course is the critical examination of the ethical aspects and issues of the research process. An applied research project offers students the opportunity to integrate the course content with their practicum.

SK507: Social Justice and Transformative Social Work Practices

Transformative social work practice is understood to encompass critical reflexivity and action that aims to disrupt current social inequalities and manifestations of power inherent in the delivery of social services and community work. The fluid concept of social justice will be deconstructed and explored through a variety of theoretical lenses including, but not limited to Indigenous, anti-racist, feminist, queer, disability and transnational perspectives. Theories of progressive social change practices will be explored in order to lead the student to think about concepts such as colonialism, intersectionality, power and resistance within social work practices. Students will also be encouraged to engage in reflexivity with regards to their own experiences of intersecting identities and how they are situated within relations of power.

SK509: Social Work Practice with Groups

This course provides an introduction to clinical group work. The history and evolution of social group work is reviewed. Emphasis is placed on the application of basic knowledge and skills to clinical group work. This includes consideration of stages of group development and other group dynamics, therapeutic factors in groups and generic group work skills. An introduction to the application of various clinical theories to group work is also provided.

SK522: Social Work Practice with Individuals

In this course students learn the basic tenets and skills of a range of theories applicable to practice with individuals. The course emphasizes an experiential approach to teaching and practicing skills. The main elements of the course are: the processes and stages involved in social work practice with individuals; an introduction to the importance of reflexivity and self-awareness in the co-construction of the social work relationship; ethics; skills of interviewing, holistic assessment, and developing a complex understanding of the service user within an ecological systems context; and issues important in working with diverse and marginalized populations, including a trauma-informed perspective and indigenous worldviews.

SK536: Integrating Theory and Practice

This experientially oriented course aims to support students in connecting and applying foundational social work theory to practice and practicum settings. It is offered over the same time period as the practicum. The course provides an opportunity for students to understand the interconnections between research, theory and practice within the context of their own practice including the role of the mind, body, emotions and spirit. It will provide a space for students to grapple with dilemmas arising in placement through the medium of hands-on exercises and simulations.

SK545: Introduction to Ethical Thought and Reflexive Practice

This course is designed to expose participants to ethics and reflexivity as they intersect and are performed in social work practice. Professional and relational ethics, ethical decision-making models and the intersections between the law and professional ethics are reviewed and scrutinized from a critical perspective. Self-awareness as an aspect of reflexivity and as it relates to ethics and values in our working relationships, is considered throughout. Contemporary workplace examples are used to ground theory and reflexivity to practice. Such reflexive practices are rooted and framed by our epistemological foundations – or the ways in which we understand the nature of knowledge and its creation. Thus, a consideration of how we know and how such knowing is socially and culturally constructed will support our considerations of ethics and reflexivity.

SK552: Social Work Practice with Families

Textbook required: Nichols, M.P., 7th ed. (2019). The Essentials of Family Therapy. Boston:Pearson.

This course provides a critical study of widely used approaches to practice with diverse family forms within social work settings. Emphasis will be placed on influential theories that impact and guide the methods used in practice of family social work.

SK598: Field Preparation Seminar

This milestone prepares students towards the field requirements of their program. Students are required to attend workshops and meetings organized by Field Coordinators and complete online modules.

Students complete this milestone during the term identified for their program’s sequence at the time of admission. This must be completed before the field education course can commence (graded as a satisfactory/fail).

SK599: Field Education Orienation 

This course will support students’ placement readiness and practically prepare them for field education as an emerging practitioner in a professional setting. To achieve this, the course will focus on: orienting students to field education and their field course requirements; preparing students for professional practice within their setting of interest; integrating an equity lens in their placement; and orienting students to their future roles as field instructors. This online course will also integrate preparatory labs and seminars with MSW field educators and practitioners.

Students complete this course during the term identified for their program’s sequence at the time of admission. Course delivery timelines may vary for on-campus and online students and are based on the student’s program sequence. Students enroll in this course in the first term of their placement and the course has to coincide with the start of the placement. Students cannot complete this course before the placement starts or after it ends. 15 hours will be credited to a student’s placement upon successful completion (graded as a satisfactory/fail).

SK600: Field Education

The Field Education course is a supervised field experience designed to develop competence pertinent to social work practice. As part of the requirements of the field course, students participate in activities facilitated by the MSW field education office. At minimum, students complete 950 placement hours within pre-approved start and end dates. In some instances, students will be required to complete additional placement hours in order to be adequately assessed by the field instructor and field coordinator. Graded on a S/F basis.

Note: Students will register in this course each term they are actively engaged in their field education placement. This may require up to 4 terms or more of registration.

SK605: Leadership in Social Work Organizations

Given the collective nature of social work practice and the values which inform our profession, the typology of leadership such as transformational leadership, charismatic leadership, strategic leadership, e-leadership, moral and ethical leadership, inclusive leadership, servant leadership, gender and leadership as well as adaptative, situational and collaborative leadership will be at the centre of this course building on the skills we have already developed as social work practitioners.  Case studies bridging theory and practice will be the pedagogical platform upon which we will all learn together.There is a specificity to leadership in social work and this course is designed to critically examine through feminist, anti-racist, decolonizing and class lenses, the concept of leadership within multiple social work settings.  Social work as a profession is uniquely positioned to embrace the complex dynamics of leadership given the ways we are shaped to think about power, human relationships, race relations, conflict, advocacy, consensus building, decision-making and community-building.  This course is designed to encourage micro and macro social work practitioners to understand various aspects of leadership within settings such as child welfare, public institutions, community organizations, health and social services.

SK615: Research 2

Textbook required: Engle, R., & Schutt, R. (2017). The Practice of Research in Social Work (4th Ed.). Sage Publishing. (same textbook as SK504)

Consistent with the social work goal of contributing to social justice and social change, this course aims to expand students' research knowledge and skills. Students will acquire and develop skills in qualitative and quantitative data analysis. This course offers students extended practice and knowledge on a sample of research methods that are designed to expose and transform social arrangements that perpetuate inequalities and marginalization. Emphasis will be placed on how to work in collaborative and participatory ways to generate and analyze qualitative and quantitative data, integrate analyses in mixed methods research, evaluate social work programs, and mobilize knowledge in ways that are respectful.

SK619: Power, Violence and Resilience

This course has been designed to critically explore how we may understand various landscapes of power and the systems of oppression which influence individuals and communities both locally and globally. Course objectives aim to inform our understanding, reactions and interventions relative to individuals/communities in society who have been impacted by colonization, racism, gendered and sexual violence, structural, economic and workplace violence and violence against women in post conflict settings. The course is committed to honouring the resilience of survivors as well as exploring the prevention and coping strategies which inform social work practices. As such, both micro and macro practices are highlighted throughout the course through the exploration of treatment approaches, advocacy, prevention and community building.

SK621: Reflexive Practices

Textbook required: Mandell, D. (Ed.) (2007). Revisiting the use of self in social work: Questioning professional identities. Canadian Scholars Press Inc.

The emphasis of this course is on the use of self as it relates to the direct practice experience of the student. The overall objective is to enhance self-awareness and interpersonal skills that are related to the conscious use of self in social work practice. A focus on self-reflective awareness will include an examination of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that arise in practice interactions, including how these are influenced by personal history, social location and attitudes toward issues of diversity and difference (e.g., race/ethnicity, culture, gender, religion, class, sexual orientation and disability). Graded as Pass/Fail.

SK632J: Interpersonal Anti-Racism

The Interpersonal Anti-Racism course will develop and enhance students’ practical knowledge and skills in anti-racist social work practice. This course will offer a space to learn about all aspects of racism, with a specific focus on how racism manifests in interpersonal contexts through microaggressions, microinvalidations and the impact of these experiences. Students will interrogate their own lived experiences as it relates to race and racism, and will learn how to address racism in their social work practice.  

SK632K: Integrating Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Field Education

Integrating Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) is essential to the development and training of critically inclusive and ethical social work practitioners. This course will orient emerging social work professionals to practical ways of integrating EDI principles and approaches in micro, macro, and mezzo social work settings. Using an EDI framework, students will engage in case-based learning and practice-oriented critical reflections that will further their understanding of structural sources of injustice and inequities and explore interventions that are responsive to diverse field contexts.

SK632M: Eco-Social Work in Climates of Change

As with many other disciplines like economics, social work is mired in a modern worldview that is disconnected from Earthly relations; a disconnection that has fueled both the profession’s colonial growth and contemporary global environmental issues. Eco-Social Work in Climates of Change asks students to reflect on: the Anthropocentric worldview of social work that is part of colonial processes and global environmental issues; possibilities for potential learning with Indigenous understandings on land in relation to the practice of environmental justice and healing; and, those gifts of social work that can be nurtured to help co-create a sustainable future.

SK632N: Afrocentric Social Work Practice

Textbook Required: Title will be forthcoming.

This course explores the intellectual and philosophical underpinnings of multicultural social work practice. It explores African paradigms and argue that the practice of social work in the Global North tend to focus on Eurocentric approaches to the detriment of racialized students particularly Blacks whose background are often different from the frameworks and theories being propounded. Afrocentric practice thus embraces indigenous ways of knowing, using values like spirituality, reciprocity, collectivity, and interconnectedness. The course will provide information on theoretical and conceptual thinking about African centered social work to respond to the dearth of insights pertaining the African culture. For the profession to be relevant in the face of marginalization, discrimination and oppression, African centered theories and approaches to practice should be vital to social work education and practice. 

SK632P: Digital Social Work Realities

COVID-19 has transformed the delivery of social services, and the mechanisms social workers use to support individuals and communities facing harsh realities due to lack of resources, infrastructure, and rural isolation. This course explores the necessity of using technology in ways which are relevant, responsive and mutually beneficial. With digital technologies expanding as a rapid pace in social work practice, this course also explores emerging realities for online social work practice while learning about the ethical implications of digital technologies in specific micro, mezzo and macro settings. Learners will be encouraged to move towards a practical understanding of the intersection of technologies in social work services, how their practice can be strengthened by understanding the affordances and limitations of innovative technologies, and as a result, further their digital fluency to engage in future practice.

SK632X: Advancing Racial Equity

Textbook Required: Title will be forthcoming.

This course provides students with the models, practices and strategies for advancing equity. Working from the assumption that students will be engaging this issue when they graduate, the course develops concrete skills for addressing racial bias and microaggressions, assessing organizations, developing action plans, and implementing change. Within the mandates that are typically available to social workers (as front-line service providers, supervisors and managers, Board members, equity and inclusion managers, equity committee members, and human service executive directors), the course will build individual, organizational and leadership efficacy for advancing racial equity.

SK641: Critical Social Policy and Activism

Textbook required: McKenzie, B., & Wharf, B. (2016). Connecting policy to practice in the human services (4th ed.) Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press.

This course provides a critical overview of the historic processes of marginalization and resistance in social policy development in Canada, starting with First Nations since colonization up until the present. It outlines the roots of social welfare and the role of neoliberalism, globalization, state restructuring, social inclusion/exclusion, citizenship and the impact of policy on social identity. Policy development will be examined in relation to colonization, capitalism, racism, sexism, ableism, ageism and homophobia. Practical skills will be taught in relation to activism, advocacy and collaboration in order to critique social policies and bring about social policy change.

SK649: Advanced Field Education

The Advanced Field Education course is a supervised field experience designed to develop competence pertinent to social work practice. As part of the requirements of the field course, students participate in activities facilitated by the MSW field education office. At minimum, students complete 500 placement hours within pre-approved start and end dates. In some instances, students will be required to complete additional placement hours in order to be adequately assessed by the field instructor and field coordinator. Graded on a S/F basis.

Note: Students will register in this course each term they are actively engaged in their field education placement. This may require up to 2 terms or more of registration.

SK651: Advanced Social Work Practice with Individuals

Textbook required: Regehr, C., & Glancy, G. (2014). Mental Health Social Work Practice in Canada (2nd Ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

This course builds on SK522 by taking a more in-depth look at the integration of theory and practice in clinical work with a variety of client presenting problems. It includes an overview of major classes of psychiatric diagnoses and a critical look at the value of such diagnostic categories considering race, culture, class, gender, sexual orientation and so forth. The strengths and weaknesses of various theoretical approaches to intervening with specific client problems and populations are reviewed.

SK656: Death, Dying and Bereavement 

This course is designed to assist students in developing an understanding of, and gaining insight into the many realities faced by individuals and families in the context of death and dying. This course explores concepts and theories, both modern and post-modern, related to death, dying and bereavement. Various practice issues and cultural beliefs are examined and students are supported in developing a critical analysis of grief therapy and "grief work". Throughout the course, students are encouraged to examine personal attitudes and responses to death and grief.

SK665: Relational Accountability: Transforming Social Work with Indigenous Peoples

Textbook required: Kennedy-Kish (Bell), B., Sinclair, R., Carniol, B., and Baines, D. 2017. Case Critical: Social Services and Social Justice in Canada, 7^th Toronto: BTL Press.

This course provides students with the conceptual tools and knowledge for understanding the nature of First Nations historical/structural problems; the role and operation of social services in Indigenous contexts; alternative (culture based and healing focused) methods of intervention; and present day Indigenous concerns and issues including concepts of Indigenous title.

SK668: Social Work Practice with Survivors of Trauma

This course increases knowledge of the range of potentially traumatic experiences to which human beings are exposed and the spectrum of human responses to traumatic events. Themes examined include: the meaning of trauma and traumatic events; assessment and intervention; violence in the home; insidious cultural and historical trauma; torture, war and organized crime; trauma and memory; witnessing and testimony; retraumatization and the healing process; vicarious trauma; and self-care. While the course examines theoretical approaches, it places particular emphasis on issues of assessment and intervention.

SK681: The Political and Organizational Contexts of Social Work Practice

Social work practice is embedded in policies and organizations that represent conflicting views about the source of social problems and their solutions. The purpose of this course is to facilitate a basic understanding of the development and implementation of social policies, with emphasis on the role social workers can play in formal policy making processes, and in the shaping of policies as they are being implemented. The course will provide students with strategies for maintaining, changing and disrupting particular policies and organizational practices. 

SK690: Inequality, Poverty and Income Support

This course focuses on the nature of inequality in the context of Canada and Canadian public policy. Recent theories tie social inequality in its various forms to social exclusion and to citizen disengagement. Social work roles in shaping policy, in social planning and in community development are considered in responding to these divisive social issues. The nature and types of inequality and why it arises are all explored. Poverty is associated with many of the social problems that affect social work clients. This course examines theories about poverty and considers the ways that it might be addressed. Why, in Canada are the poor often racialized, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ, and First Nations? We will discuss the current ideas about poverty alleviation including a living wage, welfare and a guaranteed annual income. Comparative policy research, theories and practices will be addressed including how to understand and resolve these issues. Comparative policy analysis will examine different policies within Indigenous nations, Canada, the United States and other industrial countries including European countries. These approaches will be contrasted to the situation and approaches used in the global south. A major focus of the course will be upon what is working and for whom.

SK693: Crisis Intervention

Students will be provided with a background in theories and intervention strategies that deal with crisis situations. A number of important themes will be addressed, including: the crisis interventionist/person(s) in crisis relationship, suicide intervention, violence against women, sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse, recovery and aftermath of trauma, crisis related to substance use, illness, death and loss, poverty and homelessness, and community programs for crisis intervention. Strategies of crisis intervention such as specific crisis intervention models, feminist, brief solution focused therapy and narrative therapy will be discussed. Would be also examined issues of historical and structural disadvantage as well as marginalization based on factors such as race, class, gender, culture, sexual orientation, etc. and other circumstantial and situational factors involved in ‘crises’. Students are expected to identify and be aware of personal values and belief systems that inform their social work practice and its implications in crisis intervention. Students will have an opportunity to share their knowledge and practice crisis intervention skills through group exercises and class discussions.