Master of Social Work Elective Registration
Students are required to fulfill elective credits throughout the MSW program in order to meet all graduate requirements. Regular, nonadvanced standing students are required to take nine elective credits to meet this requirement; advanced standing students are required to complete three elective credits. Early registration of electives is highly encouraged, as courses may fill up and/or take time to approve.
Elective credits can be taken during the summer term if preferred in order to reduce academic load during the spring and fall semesters. Please be aware that five credits are required during the summer term in order to receive summer financial aid, and two electives may be taken concurrently.
If students are interested in completing a graduate certificate, it is important to be aware of which certificate courses are offered each semester, as each certificate is designed to be completed over three semesters, with a minimum of one course being offered each term.
Master of Social Work Elective Options
School of Social Work Graduate Certificate Online Courses
These courses can be taken individually as electives, and/or taken as part of Graduate Certificate programs.
Conflict Resolution and Mediation Certificate Courses
Required:
- SOWK 551: Fundamentals of Mediation
Every term
Choose two:
- SOWK 552: Health and Eldercare mediation
Spring of odd numbered years - SOWK 553: Multiparty mediation
Fall of even numbered years - SOWK 554: Workplace Mediation
Fall of odd numbered years - SOWK 556: Divorce and Family Mediation
Spring of even numbered years
Advanced Clinical Behavioral Health Certificate Courses
- SOWK 677: Trauma Informed Care
Spring - SOWK 676: Psychopharmacology and Community Mental Health
Fall - SOWK 678: Social Work Skills for Addictions Practice
Summer
PreK-12 School Social Work Graduate Certificate Courses
- SOWK 560: Social Work Practice in Schools
Fall, Spring, Summer - SOWK 561: School Community: Exceptionalities in Education
Summer - SOWK 562: Functional Behavior Assessment
Summer - SOWK 551: Fundamentals of Mediation
Every term
Nonprofit Administration Graduate Certificate Courses
- SOWK 660: Nonprofit Program Development
Fall - SOWK 661: Nonprofit Financial Development
Spring - SOWK 662: Volunteer Development and Management
Summer
Social Aspects of Human-Animal Interactions (HAI) Graduate Certificate Courses
- SOWK 550: Animal Assisted Therapy and Human-Animal Bond
Fall - SOWK 557: Human-Animal Interventions – Grief and Loss
Summer - SOWK 677: Trauma-Informed Care
Spring
School of Social Work International Electives
- SOWK 482A: Social Work in Costa Rica
Winter
Interdisciplinary On-Campus Electives
The below courses have been approved to count toward your elective requirements. This list indicates when courses are scheduled to be offered, but this may change depending on department decisions. You must contact the department and/or instructor of the listed course if you have difficulty registering or have questions, and it is not guaranteed that you will be admitted into these courses. It’s advisable to contact the relevant department or instructor as soon as registration opens, and some departments may limit enrollment outside of their departments contingent upon capacity. Any questions/issues regarding registration, prerequisites, or admittance to the course should be directed to the respective instructor/department.
Any interdisciplinary electives that are not listed below require approval per the Elective Registration and Approval Protocol.
- ANTH 545: Global Mental Health – Theory and Method
Fall of odd numbered years - ANTH 546: Culture, Mind, and Cognitive Science
Spring of even numbered years - EDCO 500: Career and Employment Concepts
Fall. Offered to Counseling and Career Development students, with the potential for an override to students outside of CCD pending instructor approval - EDCO 550: School Counseling, Program Planning, Delivery, and Evaluation
Spring. Offered to graduate students outside of the Counseling and Career Development Program - EDCO 653: Counseling for Cultural Diversity
Fall. Offered to Counseling and Career Development students, with the potential for an override to students outside of CCD pending instructor approval - EDCO 655: Brief Counseling
Spring. Offered to Counseling and Career Development students, with the potential for an override to students outside of CCD pending instructor approval - EDCO 662: Counseling Children and Adolescents
Summer. Offered to graduate students outside of the Counseling and Career Development Program - HES 620: The Science of Healthspan
Every fall. - HDFS 534: Marriage and Family Therapy
Fall - HDFS 592: Grant Writing for Human Services and Research
Spring of odd numbered years - HDFS 608: Program Planning and Implementation
Fall, Spring - HDFS 610: Risk and Resilience
Fall of odd numbered years - HDFS 611: Early Child Development
Spring of odd numbered years - HDFS 613: Adult Development and Aging
Spring of even numbered years - HDFS 636: Aging and the Family
Fall of even numbered years. - HDFS 644: Foundations in Family Therapy
Summer of even numbered years - HDFS 692A: Family Issues: Intimacy and Human Sexuality
Summer of odd numbered years, also offered Spring 2023 - HDFS 692B: Family Issues: Parenting
Fall of odd numbered years - HDFS 692C: Family Issues: Family Policy and Programming
Summer of odd numbered years - PBHL 520: Health Systems, Policy, and Management
Spring - PPA 557: Advanced Public Administration
Fall, Spring (may be offered online) - PSY 517: Perspectives in Global Health
Spring of even numbered years - PSY 600J: Advanced Psychology – Health Psychology
Fall - PSY 600H: Lifespan Developmental Psychology from social-justice and cultural perspectives
Fall, Spring - PSY 677: The Psychology of Women, Men and Gender
Fall
Interdisciplinary Online Electives
- EDHE 675 – Campus Crisis Management
- PPA 501 – Program Evaluation and Quantitative Methods
Fall, most summers
Master of Social Work Elective Approval Protocol
On-campus students may consider additional interdisciplinary courses to fulfill elective credits, however courses must be approved by the MSW Adviser. Elective course requests should only include courses at the 500 level or above and be relevant towards enhancing social work competency. Please note that courses can take two-three weeks to approve, so students must plan in advance if they would like to pursue approval for an elective. Students interested in taking courses not listed on the above link must follow the below steps:
1. Review CSU’s General Catalog to browse for courses of interest. Review the course description online to determine relevancy to social work It can also be helpful to review the 9 CSWE competencies to help determine relevancy.
2. If you’re interested in a course from the catalog, contact the course instructor or department to request a copy of the syllabus.
3. Please review the syllabus upon receipt and write a one-two paragraph statement of interest that addresses:
a. Reason for interest in this course
b. How this course appears relevant to social work
c. Why this course will enhance your learning in regards to one of the CSWE competencies
4. Please email the syllabus and statement of interest to the MSW Adviser for approval.
5. Upon approval from MSW Adviser, you’ll register for the course through RamWeb.
a. There may be specific program requirements or prerequisites which may prevent you from successfully registering. In most cases, prerequisites can be overridden by the instructor of that course and/or the issue can be handled administratively. If you’re unable to register, you should contact the course instructor immediately in order to allow time for administrative overrides/follow up to occur.
6. Please follow up with the MSW Adviser to confirm successful registration of course, or to request assistance if needed.