All students, except those with baccalaureate degrees from programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, are required to take all of the foundation courses. These courses contain a body of knowledge, values, and skills essential for social work practice. This common base is transferable among settings, population groups, and problems areas. The foundation curriculum consists of courses in generalist social work practice with corresponding field instruction, human behavior and the social environment, psychopathology, introductory social research methods, social welfare policy and services, and a course focused on diversity, oppression, and the legal environment of social work practice. Successful completion of the foundation program is required before beginning the advanced curriculum.

The required foundation courses are:

 19:910:500, 501  Social Work Practice I,II (3,3)

 19:910:502, 503  Human Behavior and the Social Environment I,II (3,3)

 19:910:504  Social Welfare Policy and Services I (3)

 19:910:505  Methods of Social Work Research I (3)

 19:910:506  Diversity, Oppression, and the Legal Environment of Social Work (3)

 19:910:507  Psychopathology (3)

 19:910:508, 509  Field Practicum I,II (2,3)

Students admitted on conditional status without an introductory statistics course that covers descriptive and basic inferential statistical procedures may not enter the advanced program until they complete such course with a grade of C or better.