Clinical Program and Curriculum

Our Clinical Social Work Program

While promoting a professional social work identity, the Master of Social Work program at the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) is proudly a program of study with a focus on clinical social work.

Utilizing multi-dimensional clinical assessments, clinical social work aims to restore, maintain and enhance physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Additional focus expands to include improving the overall human condition through positive structural changes and enhancing diversity and equality at a micro, mezzo and macro scale.

A clinical social worker at UBCO is trained to conduct individual, family, couple and environmental assessments, diagnose or understand human and ecological problems, and identify effective interventions.

Informed by theory and available evidence-based practice, clinical social workers emphasize the centrality of helping relationships, while adhering to the social work code of ethics and the policies of the British Columbia College of Social Workers (BCCSW), and other social work regulatory bodies nationally.

Curriculum

Our focus is on a clinical social work program of study. The MSW curriculum consists of core courses, field education, and electives.

Field education provides students with supervised opportunities to apply their course knowledge in a practice setting.  You are assigned to community-based agencies and service providers for a set period of days with a focus on learning goals, ethical practice and social work competencies. You complete 450 hours in a field education practicum per year of study. Visit our Field Education page to learn more about the available practicum streams.

Here are the required courses, elective options and field work practicums based on whether you are on the Foundational or Advanced track:

Foundational-Track Year 1 Core Courses (30 credits)

An introduction to social work with emphasis on ethical decision making and preparation for professional practice.

Advances students’ understanding of major theoretical frameworks and treatment modalities for clinical and direct social work practice and their relevance to and application within the planned change process.

Theoretical perspectives and foundational skills for assessment in clinical social work.

Meanings, dynamics, and impacts of diversity in social work practice. Students examine their own identities and social locations and a range of theories and orientations to inclusion and social justice.

Historical and current forces shaping Canadian legislation, policies, programs, and services; impacts of these on social work practice and service users.

Overview of historical and current issues confronting social work with First Nations, Mtis, and Inuit individuals, families, and communities within Canada including but not limited to child protection; critical assessment of theories for social work practice with Canada’s Indigenous peoples.

Links classroom education with field education. Consists of independent readings, invited speakers, and online discussions.

Development, application, and integration of core social work knowledge and skills in social work practice settings.

Empirical and theoretical knowledge of human development relevant for clinical social work practice across the lifespan.

Advanced-Track/Foundational-Track Year 2 Core Courses (21 credits)

Integrates theory and practice with attention to relational principles and a complex analysis of personal and social problems. Consideration of the dynamic interaction between the individual and the social world, and the possibility of intervention at multiple levels.

Knowledge and skills for utilizing empirical evidence to guide clinical social work practice.

Explores relevant mental health issues to social work practice in a broad range of settings. Critically examines social work’s role in providing effective, evidence-based, theoretically sound interventions and treatments.

Knowledge of human service organizations and tools for effective leadership.

Integrates theoretical knowledge and practice experience in direct/clinical settings. This course is graded on a pass/fail basis.

Provides second year Foundational and Advanced One-Year track students an opportunity to apply and integrate theory and practice in clinical social work practice settings.

Electives (9 credits)

As part of the program requirements, you must complete three 3-credit elective courses (9 credits total). You can fulfill the elective requirement by taking approved elective courses, completing a graduating paper, and/or completing directed-studies courses.

Approved elective courses may be found in the Academic Calendar. Electives includes course numbers not included in the above list of courses. Note, however, that not all elective courses in the calendar are offered every year.

msw program objectives

The MSW courses and field education aim to:

  1. facilitate and enhance students’ social work identity
  2. facilitate students’ theoretical understanding of the dynamic interaction between individuals and their social environments
  3. advance students’ knowledge and skills to critically analyze personal problems from social and psychological perspectives in clinical practice
  4. teach advanced skills of engagement, assessment, formulation, planning and intervention, and evaluation
  5. enhance students’ knowledge and skills for reflexive and reflective clinical practice
  6. enhance students’ knowledge and skills for clinical decision-making based on ethical principles
  7. enhance students’ knowledge and skills in the use of evidence to inform clinical practice
  8. develop students’ knowledge and skills to integrate inter-sectionalities of ability, age, class, culture, ethnicity, gender, Indigeneity, power, religion, race, sexual orientation, social condition, among other positionalities, in clinical social work practice
  9. develop students’ advocacy and leadership skills in facilitating organizational, policy, and community-level change
  10. enhance students’ knowledge and skills to work with positional differences in clinical practice

Clinical Professional Registration

In Canada, the process of registering as a social worker is under provincial jurisdiction. The British College of Social Workers (BCCSW) regulates the Social Work profession in BC. BCCSW has two classes of registration, the Registered Social Worker (RSW) and the Registered Clinical Social Worker (RCSW).  As our MSW is an accredited program, and our curriculum offers three courses that meet the Colleges’ RCSW Clinical Course of Study requirement (SOCW 525, SOCW 551 and SOCW 554).  Note: The SOCW 525 course is a part of the Foundational Track curriculum. MSW Advanced Track students should have completed comparable coursework in their BSW. Students may wish to consult directly with the BCCSW to determine if their BSW, or other prior coursework in human development, may be applied to their course requirement.