Direct Practice: Health Specialization
Pattern of Enrollment
The following patterns of enrollment are for incoming students in the current academic year. For all patterns of enrollment including those for prior academic years please see the MSASS Registrar’s page on patterns of enrollment.
Health Specialization
The Health specialization prepares social workers for community-based practice with individuals, families, and groups coping with acute and chronic illness in diverse healthcare settings. Particular attention is given to a systems approach that emphasizes the interactions of individuals with their environment. Additionally, the effects of poverty, gender, and minority status on individual, family, and community health are examined.
Policy and service delivery issues such as equitable distribution of resources, access to health care, service reorganization, health policy development and implementation, regulatory strategies, and international health issues are explored in detail. Advanced elective course work permits students to tailor their educational programs to personal learning objectives and career goals.
Field Placement Opportunities
Students complete their advanced field placements in approved field settings that address the health needs of individuals or groups on either an in-patient or out-patient basis.
The Health specialization is offered in the Full time program only.
Model Schedule / Enrollment
The following is a model Pattern of Enrollment for students enrolled in the full time, two year program. It is not necessarily your schedule. It is featured here to give you an idea of what your schedule at MSASS may look like. We encourage you to consult with your faculty advisor to develop your actual schedule.
| First Year | Semester Hours | |
| SASS 477 | Direct Practice Methods Skills* | 3 |
| SASS 484 | Theories of Oppressions and Social Justice* | 3 |
| SASS 440 | Human Development in Context I: Child & Adolescent* | 3 |
| SASS 470 | Social Policy* | 3 |
| SASS 441 | Human Development II: Adult* | 3 |
| SASS 478 | Macro & Policy Practice Skills* | 3 |
| SASS 426 | Research Methods in Social Work* | 3 |
| SASS 495 | Field Education Seminar* | 1 |
| SASS 601 | Field Education I* | 2 |
| SASS 602 | Field Education II | 3 |
| Second Year | Semester Hours | |
| SRCH 530 | Practice Evaluation | 3 |
| SPPP 511 | Issues in Health Policy & Service Delivery | 3 |
| SASS 547 | Problems Identification, Screening and Assessment/Diagnosis | 3 |
| SASS 549 | Theory/ Practice Approaches in Direct Practice Social Work | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| SASS 589 | Social Work in Health: Chronic Illness | 3 |
| Elective | Choose one: SASS 517 Family Systems Interventions or SSWM 518 Death & Dying | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free Elective | 3 | |
| SASS 603 | Field Education III | 3 |
| SASS 604 | Field Education IV | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours Required for Degree | 60 | |
|---|---|---|
* Foundation Curriculum. BSW students may waive foundation courses if undergraduate coursework grades are B or better.