ELECTIVES

Students must complete three electives (nine credits) in addition to required MSW courses. Electives, available year-round in various formats, can be taken at either Philadelphia or West Chester locations, regardless of the student's home campus. Electives within the Department of Graduate Social Work (SWG) are listed below, but students may also seek approval to enroll in graduate-level courses offered by other departments like Psychology, Criminal Justice, Health, Nursing, and Public Policy and Administration.

Review our current elective rotation for 2024-2026.

Below are past SWG elective options; detailed course descriptions are available in the Graduate Catalog. 

  • SWG 509 Trauma-Informed Social Work Practice
  • SWG 537 Sexuality and Social Work Practice
  • SWG 565 Abolitionist Approaches to Systems that Control and Punish
  • SWG 566 Storytelling and Social Work
  • SWG 567 Social Work, Trauma, and the Arts
  • SWG 569 Contemporary Perspectives on the Child Welfare System
  • SWG 570 Substance Use Disorders: Assessment and Intervention
  • SWG 571 Social Work with Older Adults (Gerontology Certificate course)
  • SWG 579 Social Work in Health Care
  • SWG 580 Social Work in End-of-Life Care (Gerontology Certificate course)
  • SWG 581 Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan
  • SWG 582 Dismantling Ableism
  • SWG 583 The Human-Animal Dynamic
  • SWG 584 Radical Self-Care
  • SWG 586 Motivational Interviewing
  • SWG 588 Critical Theory and Social Work Practice
  • SWG 589 Analysis and Application of Humor in Social Work
  • SWG 592 Advanced Clinical Practice in Integrated Health: Behavior, Health, Nutrition, and Recovery (only available to students in the EPIC program)
  • SWG 593 Green Social Work and Environmental Justice
  • SWG 594 Family Violence
  • SWG 595 Human Rights Exploration
  • SWG 600 Assessment, Intervention, and Evaluation for the School Social Worker (School Social Work Certificate course)
  • SWG 601 Education Law and Policy for Social Workers (School Social Work Certificate course)

We occasionally offer special topics under the course number SWG 590. Below are some past options of SWG 590.

  • Intro to Play Therapy in the Lifespan
  • Radical Social Justice
  • Social Media and Movements
  • Social Work and Organizing for Change
  • Social Work, Media, and Pop Culture
  • Supervision and Leadership 
  • Human Rights and Social Work
  • Human Rights in Philadelphia