26 undergraduate courses in the 2026–27 Undergraduate Calendar.
SWREN 111RFoundations of Critical Social Work: Social Justice and Helping0.50 units
In this course, you will explore the "helping" role of social work through a social justice lens. You will be supported to deconstruct common understandings of, and approaches to, "helping" by critically examining concepts and terms that are foundational to contemporary social work ethics, philosophies, theories, and approaches to practice. You will begin to build the skills and knowledge necessary for becoming a reflexive practitioner in the field of social work. Emphasizing critical reflexivity, critical reflection, and consciousness-raising, the course will prepare you for the subsequent Bachelor of Social Work curriculum and Social Work’s commitment to the pursuit of social justice.
SWREN 212RSocial Work Storytelling and Critical Trauma-Informed Practice0.50 units
In this course, you will consider social work, story, and critical trauma-informed engagement. This trauma-informed approach to storytelling will frame a critique of current practices to individualized recovery narratives based on principles that pathologize people and their experiences of trauma. In this course, you will critically analyze the various contexts in which people experience trauma, accepting that people's recovery from trauma cannot happen until the contexts in which they live stop oppressing them and reproducing trauma. You will learn social work practice skills, invite storytelling and storylistening into your practice; support service users in their processes of "being heard" and creating "counter narratives"; and facilitate an empowering critical consciousness that can create opportunities for change, both at the personal and community level.
Prerequisites
Complete all of the following
Must have completed the following:
SOCWK220R - Social Work with Individuals - Theory and Practice 1 (0.50)
SWREN 261RIndigenous Knowledges and Decolonizing Social Work Practice with Indigenous Peoples0.50 units
In this integrative practice course, you will examine colonial impacts on social work policies and service delivery that adversely affect Indigenous Peoples in Canada. You will examine Indigenous knowledges and the importance of cultural practices for healing that is central to shifting colonial notions of "best interest". You will engage in a reflexive stance to gain an inward gaze and analysis of the structural powers that work to sustain political, economic, environmental, and social injustices, as well as the identification of and actions towards decolonizing social work practices, relationships, and allyship with Indigenous Peoples.
SWREN 314RInterviewing and Assessment in Social Work Practice0.50 units
As a student in this social work methods course, you will explore the theory and skills of generalist social work practice, with particular attention to interviewing, communication, and assessment skills used with individuals, families, organizations, and communities. Emphasis is placed on your developing capacity for "critical reflection" on the social work practitioner's professional and personal self.
Prerequisites
Complete all of the following
Must have completed the following:
SOCWK220R - Social Work with Individuals - Theory and Practice 1 (0.50)
SWREN 322RMacro Practice: Critical Considerations of Community Organization0.50 units
As a student in this course, you will examine and compare the strengths, limitations, differential uses, and interconnections of the range of skills needed for community organization, social planning, and social policy practice. You will explore practical applications such as conference planning, proposal writing, and fundraising.
SWREN 323RSocial Work Knowledge and Skills for Diverse Group Work Practice0.50 units
The aim of this course is to develop your knowledge of different approaches to social group work practice, and the ways in which specialized knowledge of clients' life conditions, life circumstances, and significant life events informs social work practice with groups within a generalist framework. You will conceptualize and analyze group-work skills and the capacity for self-directed practice with groups directed towards increasing the resiliency of the group as a whole and the resiliency of individual group members. A salient goal for your learning in this course is the use of democratic means so that group process in all social work groups reflects a vision of social justice.
Prerequisites
Complete all of the following
Must have completed the following:
SWREN314R - Interviewing and Assessment in Social Work Practice (0.50)
SWREN 324RSocial Work Activism and Social Policy0.50 units
From critical and intersectional frameworks, in this course you will examine the development, implementation, analysis, and impact of social policies in contemporary neoliberal Canada, with an upstream focus on understanding the unique roles that social work advocates play in advocating for social change. You will engage with transformative change strategies that promote social justice and human rights. Through case studies, experiential learning, and dialogue, you will understand the connection between micro and macro knowledge and skills that are necessary to influence policy to address current social issues in Canada.
Prerequisites
Complete all of the following
Must have completed the following:
SWREN322R - Macro Practice: Critical Considerations of Community Organization (0.50)
SWREN 334RSelected Theories for Social Work Practice: Analysis and Application0.50 units
In this course, you will be provided an overview of selected theories that guide a generalist-eclectic approach to social work practice. You will have the opportunity to engage in the critical analysis and application of contemporary theories by integrating theory with social work values and principles. You will focus on the critical use of theory to understand, critique, and transform the social work profession.
Prerequisites
Complete all of the following
Must have completed the following:
SWREN314R - Interviewing and Assessment in Social Work Practice (0.50)
SWREN 411RIndigenous Knowledges and Decolonizing Social Work Practice with Indigenous Peoples0.50 units
This integrative practice course examines colonial impacts on social work policies and service delivery that adversely affect Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Indigenous knowledges and the importance of cultural practices for healing central to shifting colonial notions of 'best interest' are examined. Engagement in a reflexive stance encourages an inward gaze and analysis of the structural powers that work to sustain political, economic, environmental, and social injustices, as well as the identification of and actions towards decolonizing social work practices, relationships, and allyship with Indigenous Peoples.
SWREN 412REnvironmental Justice and Community Action0.50 units
Social workers are being called upon to centralize land and incorporate environmental well-being and healing into structural and systemic practices and considerations of social justice. Throughout this course, you will explore and share ideas about what environmental justice can mean to a social worker. Shared considerations of environmental justice will be related to health inequity and social determinants of health, environmental racism, white supremacy, pollution as colonial violence, environmental intersectionality, activism, and how this impacts local and global communities. You will develop social work practice skills related to decolonizing approaches, activism, strength-focused healing, intergenerational trauma responses, and land-centered critical thinking and healing.
SWREN 414RInterviewing and Assessment in Social Work Practice0.50 units
This social work methods course explores the theory and skills of generalist social work practice, with particular attention to interviewing, communication, and assessment skills used with individuals, families, organizations, and communities. Emphasis is placed on developing capacity for "critical reflection" on the social work practitioner's professional and personal self.
SWREN 416RTransnational Social Work and Transmigration0.50 units
In this course, you will explore the impact of transnationalism on social work theories and practices. You will examine how transnational institutions and structures shape lives in the current global context, focusing on the relationship between transnationalism and transmigration. Understanding that more people lead transnational lives, you will consider how social work can support this shift. You will examine social work theories and practices that bridge the global and local levels. You will consider current transnational activism through an examination of global inequality as rooted in colonialism and imperialism. You will also address the oversight in migration literature, which is often disconnected from Indigenous Peoples and their lands. You will fill this gap by exploring how social work can connect transmigration to Indigenous sovereignty and anticolonial projects.
SWREN 422RMacro Practice: Critical Considerations of Community Organization0.50 units
The course examines and compares the strengths, limitations, differential uses, and interconnections of the range of skills needed for community organization, social planning, and social policy practice. Practical applications such as conference planning, proposal writing and fundraising will be explored.
SWREN 423RSocial Work Knowledge and Skills for Diverse Group Work Practice0.50 units
The aim of this course is to develop student's knowledge of different approaches to social group work practice, and the ways in which specialized knowledge of client's life conditions, life circumstances, and significant life events informs social work practice with groups within a generalist framework. Emphasis is placed upon conceptualizing and analyzing group-work skills and the capacity for self-directed practice with groups directed towards increasing the resiliency of the group as a whole and the resiliency of individual group members. A salient goal is the use of democratic means so that group process in all social work groups reflects a vision of social justice.
As a student in this course, you will apply critical and anti-oppressive theories to examine how organizations shape social work practice. You will investigate the relations between social workers, service users, agency colleagues, and other institutions in particular practice settings, and how these are influenced by policies, mandates, forms, and other institutional texts. Key concepts that you will explore include diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, decolonization, and institutional (in)justice.
SWREN 431RPractitioner Research in Social Work: Intersectional Considerations0.50 units
As a student of this course, you will examine contemporary fields of practice. Your attention will be given to historical developments, service delivery systems, and practices. You will engage in research activities to help develop a critical understanding of how social experience impacts the ways that people with diverse experiences access and encounter some of the major fields of practice.
SWREN 434RSelected Theories for Social Work Practice: Analysis and Application0.50 units
In this course, students are provided an overview of selected theories that guide a generalist-eclectic approach to social work practice. It offers students the opportunity to engage in the critical analysis and application of contemporary theories by integrating theory with social work values and principles. The course emphasizes the critical use of theory to understanding, critiquing, and transforming the social work profession.
This first practicum phase helps students understand the general structure and functioning of the helping network and the place of agency-based community settings in it. Simultaneously, the students begin to integrate interviewing and assessment skills to formulate an intervention plan with sensitivity to the diversity of the setting. A bi-weekly seminar runs concurrently with the practicum.
The second practicum phase develops students' intervention skills. Opportunity is given to enhance social work practice skills specific to particular client populations within the context of diversity, and to develop awareness of one's professional self in relation to social work practice within the agency context. A bi-weekly seminar runs concurrently with the practicum.
Prerequisites
Complete all of the following
Must have completed the following:
SWREN414R - Interviewing and Assessment in Social Work Practice (0.50)
The third practicum phase helps students demonstrate understanding of, and ability to use, a range of interventions within the context of diversity. Professional identification and the integration of theory with practice are emphasized. A bi-weekly seminar runs concurrently with the practicum.
Prerequisites
Complete all of the following
Must have completed the following:
SWREN414R - Interviewing and Assessment in Social Work Practice (0.50)
This first practicum phase will help you to understand the general structure and functioning of the helping network and the place of agency-based community settings in it. Simultaneously, you will begin to integrate interviewing and assessment skills to formulate an intervention plan with sensitivity to the diversity of the setting. A bi-weekly seminar runs concurrently with the practicum.
The second practicum phase develops your intervention skills. You will have the opportunity to enhance social work practice skills specific to particular client populations within the context of diversity, and to develop awareness of your professional self in relation to social work practice within the agency context. A bi-weekly seminar runs concurrently with the practicum.
SWREN 470RMental Health Landscapes, Concepts, and Practice Approaches0.50 units
As a student in this course, you will use an intersectional lens to critically explore social work practice and distress, mental health, and substance use. You will explore, understand, and apply different knowledges, worldviews, and intervention frameworks related to distress, mental health, and substance use, including national policy frameworks and Indigenous approaches to wellness and healing. Key topics in mental health and substance use are considered including trauma and trauma-informed services, harm reduction, and recovery-oriented principles and services as they are relevant to social work practice. You will be introduced to community- and peer-based approaches to distress and recovery.
SWREN 471RSocial Work with Older Adults: Critical Issues and Future Trends0.50 units
Focusing on social work practice, policy, and research, in this course, you will examine issues of aging such as health, economic changes, role transition, family dynamics, and losses. You will look at implications of societal issues and the influence of recent Canadian research in the field of aging. You will also examine current innovative and traditional programs for their relevance for future work with populations of older adults.
SWREN 472RInternational Context of Practice: An Experiential Learning Opportunity0.50 units
This course provides a framework for understanding a developing country through a comparative study with Canada. The collective responses of citizens in meeting community needs in the context of colonial legacies and contemporary global influences are highlighted in both settings. The international learning experience usually takes place during Reading Week and is complemented by three days of pre-trip learning focusing on Canadian realities and one post-trip day to reflect upon the comparative analysis.