The UCLA MSW "Comprehensive Exam"

Second year students in UCLA's MSW program were recently emailed information about the elusive "Comprehensive Exam," a required exit exam for all second year students that contains both a written and oral component.

I practically laughed out loud after reading the "notice." To be frank, the description of the exam reads more like busy work rather than something that warrants the disconcerting name of COMPREHENSIVE EXAM.

In case students outside the second year class are interested, I've posted instructions below.

UCLA MSW Comprehensive Exam

UCLA MSW Program: Winter Quarter Class Reviews

Due to the time demands of my clinical internship at a Community Mental Health Center, I decided to only take two "real" classes this past quarter. I selected a health policy class and a direct practice class, in addition to my independent study research class (2 credits each quarter) and my field internship. By front loading a heavier schedule in fall quarter, I was afforded the luxury of taking less classes during the winter and spring quarters. As an MSW student about to start looking for a job, I find it extremely beneficial to have a lighter academic schedule to free up some time to research agencies, go on interviews, etc.

Below is a brief review of the classes I took this quarter. As I always mention, the following is a synopsis of my experience of academic classes within UCLA's MSW program, and does not represent other students' opinions. 

290M Health Policy and Services: This class is designed to provide students with an introduction to topical issues about health care financing, delivery, and reform. A significant amount of time was spent deciphering major public health care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, in addition to analyzing their relationship to issues of access, quality, and cost of care to diverse and vulnerable populations. As someone who wanted to learn more about the Affordable Health Care Act, I found this class extremely helpful in deciphering changes to our country's convoluted health care system. Additionally, a portion of each class was devoted to newspaper articles related to health care. In addition to its focus on contemporary issues, I thoroughly enjoyed the student diversity. Because the class is cross-sectioned as a public health class, about half the students were from other disciplines.

Average reading/week: 75-120 pgs
Texts: Introduction to U.S. Health Policy: The Organization, Financing, and Delivery of Health Care in America, various online articles
Major Assignments: Debate summary and presentation, country summary and presentation, take-home final exam
Caveats: Class lectures from the professor ran about an hour and a half to two hours before switching over to debates or newspaper article reviews. Students might benefit if lectures were slightly more interactive.

231G Substance Abuse Intervention: Given its prevalence and severity among populations that social workers engage with, I was very much looking forward to taking a course about substance abuse and dependence. Luckily, this class did not fail to disappoint my expectations. This class was a great introductory course to the concept of substance abuse, in addition to learning how to assess and provide interventions to affected individuals. Katrina Dornig, the instructor of the class, was excellent, not only due to her broad base of knowledge about substance abuse, but her extensive experience treating individuals suffering from substance abuse disorders. I very much appreciated her insights and accounts from first-hand experiences. Additionally, I enjoyed the variation in classes, with a mix of field visits, guest lectures, in-class exercises, and video recorded mock therapy sessions. Overall, an excellent class.

Average reading/week: 100-200 pgs
Texts: Dual disorders: Counseling clients with chemical dependency and mental illness, Rethinking Substance Abuse: What the science shows, and what we shoulddo about it, Recovery options, in addition to various internet articles. 
Major Assignments: 12 Step meeting visit plus reflection, motivational interviewing mock therapy video plus reflection, midterm research paper, and in class final exam.
Caveats: The professor of the course is not the easiest grader. Some students were also surprised by questions included on the final exam. Keep in mind that the final exam review sheet is a guide, and not comprehensive. 

UCLA MSW Program: Fall Quarter Class Reviews

Apologies for the lack of posting in the last few weeks. I always tend to drop off the map after finals week. Although I attend my internship over the winter break (this depends on agency requirements, but is typical for students with weekly clients), I am finally beginning to relax and enjoy the winter holiday festivities.

For those who read my blog somewhat consistently, you know that I like to post quarter-end "reviews" of the classes I took at UCLA's MSW program. I hope this can provide a window into the curriculum experience for prospective students, and help guide first year students in their scheduling decisions for their second year. Please keep in mind that the following is a rundown of my experience of the classes I took, and does not represent other students' opinions.

231A: Advanced Theory and Methods of Direct Social Work Practice With Couples and Families
This is a continuation class in the 230 direct practice class series, with a focus on couples and family therapy. All students in the micro track are required to take this course. I want to first give a disclaimer that despite my general disappointment in the structure of the class, I did learn a ton about attachment focused therapies, largely because my teacher leans towards this orientation. Although faculty recently revamped the 10-week curriculum, it showed, unfortunately, in a negative way. There was far too much theory/material/reading packed into a short 10-week quarter. As a student, I prefer depth, not breadth, while learning about therapeutic orientations. Just to give you an idea, class topics included but were not limited to family systems theory, structural family therapy, strategic family therapy, integrative behavioral couples therapy, solution focused therapy, narrative couples therapy, interpersonal neurobiology, emotionally focused therapy, attachment focused therapy, etc. I would have liked to see a more didactic approach to learning how the theories are applicable to intervention strategies we can use with clients, and less time spent summarizing and presenting reading material in class.

Average reading/week: 150-250 pgs (depending on if you do recommended reading)
Texts: Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy, Family Therapy Concepts and Methods
Major Assignments: Group Presentation on one week of reading, Midterm Assignment Paper, Final Assignment Paper
Caveats: Both the midterm and final assignment are painfully long. Below are the "prompts" so readers can see for themselves.
231A Final Prompt 231A Midterm Promt

231F: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Theory and Methods 
Everything about this class, the instruction (Ulises Ramirez taught the class), the text, and the class content was excellent. As I mentioned above, I am a huge fan of learning one or two therapeutic interventions/approaches in depth, rather than learn several in a very broad way. The neatest part about the class is that students self-administer Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) interventions on a self-identified problem behavior. For example, students might wish to reduce procrastination, lose weight, start a hobby, etc. Once students identify a problem behavior, students complete two to three CBT interventions/homework assignments in order to achieve a specific outcome. I really enjoyed this part of the class for two reasons. 1. Students really learn how to conduct CBT interventions because they go through the motions themselves and, 2. Students experience what it's like to be on the receiving end of the interventions and can begin to relate to clients undergoing CBT. After taking the course, I feel 100% comfortable in utilizing CBT interventions in my own therapeutic practices.

Average reading/week: 75-120 pgs
Texts: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Basics & Beyond
Major Assignments: Midterm Exam, Behavioral Modification Writeup (revisions and a summary of weekly homework assignments), and Final Case Conceptualization Writeup
Caveats: Self-administering CBT interventions, otherwise known as "homework," can be tedious and downright annoying. Make sure to pick a behavior that you truly want to work on, and don't mind revisiting daily.

MGMT 285B: Managerial Interpersonal Communication
I decided to take an Anderson Business School class in order to fulfill my elective requirement (students are required to take one class outside the department of Social Welfare). While I wasn't crazy about the instructor, the class material was outstanding. While Social Welfare classes tend to have laborious weekly reading assignments, this class incorporated concise yet powerful articles from several leading business strategists and managers. A new topic was covered each week including motivation and personal development, enhancing your personal brand, clarifying purpose and maintaining poise, using narrative and storytelling, listening and empathy, establishing authentic rapport, building relationships, managing your network, and adding genuine value to others. While many b-schoolers think of the material as "soft," the topics are extremely practical and relevant to the field of social work. I highly recommend this course as a nice adjunct to the material we learn in the MSW department.

Average reading/week: 20-40 pgs
Texts: Course Pack
Major Assignments: Midterm and Final reflection paper (max of 5 pgs), Group Presentation
Caveats: The class was held from 7-10 p.m. on Monday evenings, which, if tacked onto an internship day, can make for a very, very long day.

UCLA MSW Program: The Human Development Proficiency Exam

As part of a curriculum overhaul in the UCLA MSW program, incoming students are now required to take a human development proficiency exam prior to start of the school year. Passing the exam places students out of a quarter-long human development course. The exam consists of 100 multiple choice, matching and true/false questions, and students who score a 75% or above on the examination fulfill their human development requirement. Those who did not pass the first time are given an opportunity to take a make-up exam, and any student who does not pass the second proficiency exam is required to take a human development course.

I remember feeling extremely nervous when I received an email just prior to the start of the school year announcing the placement exam. To ease our nerves, faculty set up a human development "bootcamp," a day long seminar designed to give us a broad overview of the topics covered on the exam. The bootcamp is absolutely essential to passing the exam, and I highly recommend that incoming students attend. The professor who taught the bootcamp, Jorja Leap, gave us outstanding notes and hinted at topics we needed to pay close attention to.

Students are also encouraged to form study groups and review texts in order to prepare for the exam. In my opinion, it is not necessary to purchase the recommended text books, however, if you do not have a social science background, it might be helpful to do so. I have a gently used copy of Dimensions of Human Behavior: The Changing Life Course, if anyone is interested in buying it.

If you are anything like me, and like to get a head start when prepping for an exam, I have provided the overview of topics covered, in addition to the notes I took while attending Professor Leap's bootcamp. Please keep in mind that the topics and materials covered in the following documents might not necessarily be included on this year's placement exam. I just wanted to provide my readers with a general sense of what type of material to expect on the exam. Good luck!

UCLA MSW_Human Development Topic Outline


UCLA MSW_Human Development Bootcamp Notes

UCLA MSW Program: Spring Quarter

Last Thursday, I took my last final and I'm officially a second year in the UCLA MSW program! For the next three months, I don't have to worry about writing papers, reading course packs, or battling horrendous traffic on the 405. Since MSW students complete internships during the year, I've decided to take the summer off and do some extensive traveling. I'm spending three weeks in South East Asia, and then doing a one-month language immersion program in Costa Rica. Both trips are a tremendous opportunity to reconnect with friends and also mentally prepare for next year. 

Before I leave for my first trip at the end of this month, I wanted to write the last post in a three-part series. If you read this blog somewhat consistently, then you're familiar with the curriculum reviews I post after I wrap up each quarter. To read my reviews for fall and winter quarter, please refer to this fall post and this winter post.

Please keep in mind that the following is intended to give potential UCLA MSW students a general overview of my spring quarter experience, and does not represent other students' opinions.

202A: Human Behavior and Social Environment (aka the DSM class)
Students planning to major in the micro track are required to take this course. The main objective is to teach students how to conduct a 5-Axes diagnosis for individuals with a mental disorder, in addition to understanding how to integrate the diagnosis into a biopsychosocial assessment of the client's general level of functioning. The class size was large by my program's standards (about 60 students), and was taught in a lecture-format. This class is absolutely essential for any student who wishes to become a competent mental health professional. It's also a  tremendous opportunity to learn the proper terminology for the symptoms many of us saw our clients dealing with in our placements. Additionally, students intending to sit for the licensing exam must be familiar with the DSM in order to pass.

Average reading/week: 50 pgs
Texts: DSM-IV-TR; course pack reading
Major Assignments: Group midterm paper assignment (10 vignettes for groups of 4-5 students), Final exam (case vignette)
Caveats: The DSM is quite dense (it's nearly 1000 pages), and does not make for the best reading.

221A: History of Social Welfare Policy
This course was intended to provide students with a general understanding of key historical events that have shaped current social welfare policy. As a foundational course, the entire cohort took this class together. For the majority of class meetings, the first half was devoted to lectures, and the second half was devoted to section discussions. Not to be negative, but this class was definitely a disappointment. Class lectures and assignments were elementary and section discussions felt very contrived. Additionally, the professor enforced rigid rules from the get go (no eating or laptops), making the class experience less than enjoyable. While some of the lectures were interesting, the topics covered were disjointed and not exactly insightful.

Average reading/week: 30-60 pgs
Texts: Social Services and the Ethnic Community: History and Analysis, Social Work, Social Welfare and American Society
Major Assignments: Social Problem midterm paper, Social Policy final paper
Caveats: Because class participation was worth nearly as much as the midterm and final (at 30%), there was a lot of pressure to contribute. In my opinion, a lecture style classroom is not very conducive to group discussions.

230C: Theory and Methods of Direct Social Work Practice
This class was the last component of a three-part series. Particularly helpful for those planning to be clinicians, the focus of the class was to teach students a generalist perspective for direct practice with families and groups. Although my perspective is biased because of my intended major (mental health), I felt that I learned the most out of any class thus far in my program, primarily due to the commitment from the professor and the quality of the reading material. Because the professor plays such a large role in the success of the class, I highly suggest you take it from Ava Rose if you have the chance. Not only were concepts explained in an organized way, but Ava intertwined an experiential component that was incredibly helpful. For example, students role-played one of their own clients in one of three mock therapy groups. Small groups of students then participated in a mock therapy session in front of the whole class, to demonstrate group therapy concepts that we had been learning all year. I felt these experiential activities were critical to my understanding of concepts like interpersonal neurobiology, staying in the here-and-now, and understanding how to manage conflict in group therapy settings.

Average reading/week: 50-80 pgs

Texts: Direct Social Work Practice, The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy, course pack

Major Assignments: Midterm paper, Final paper

Caveats: I don't necessarily see this as a negative thing, but Ava tends to be a harder grader than other section leaders. Expect to work a little bit harder, but also know you will reap the benefits.

280B: Knowledge Acquisition, Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) and Research in Social Welfare

As part of the curriculum overhaul, faculty had students in the MSW program take the first five weeks of this course in the fall quarter, and finish the second five weeks in spring quarter. I'm not sure why faculty decided to split up the course like this, but I did appreciate that this quarter's course was taught in small sections of 25 students, rather than one large lecture. Primary concepts covered including single subject design and program evaluation research carried out in various practice settings. What I liked about this class was the link made between the classroom and the practice setting. For the main assignment, students were encouraged to design a hypothetical single subject design or program evaluation for their current internship placement. For me, this brought to life many of the concepts we learned throughout the class.

Average reading/week: 30-50 pgs

Texts: Practitioner's Guide to using Research for Evidence-Based Practice, course pack

Major Assignments: Single subject design OR program evaluation final paper

Caveats: If you have no research background, the class assignment might prove to be a bit more challenging.

UCLA MSW Program: Winter Quarter

As mentioned in a previous post, faculty at UCLA rolled out a brand new curriculum for the MSW program for the 2010 - 2011 academic year. For the most part, changes appear to be positive. However, as expected with the rollout of any new program, students have a few qualms about the curriculum content and design. For example, many students feel that the program does not focus enough on topical issues such as the LGBT social rights movement.

While fall quarter was relatively stressful (transitioning back to a grad school does pose a few challenges), winter quarter definitely felt more relaxed. This was largely driven by the fact that we had the majority of Fridays off.

For those interested in learning specifics about the program's curriculum, the following is a brief rundown of my schedule and class experience for winter quarter.

M: Field Placement (8-5)
T: 240B (9-12), 201B (2-5)
W: Field Placement (8-5)
Th: 230B (9-12), 201C (2-5)
F: No scheduled classes

201B: Development, Risk, Resilience, and Attachment Relationships in a Multicultural Society
This human behavior course provided an overview of how empirically based theories can be applied to individuals, groups, organizations, and macro systems. The first five weeks was heavily focused on attachment theory, while the second five weeks covered ego psychology, object relations, and social learning theory. The teacher did an excellent job applying the theories to case vignettes and real-world examples. If nothing else, students gained a strong understanding of how secure and insecure attachment relationships play a role in the lives of our clients across the life span. The teacher, Sharon Chun-Wetterau, is also fantastic. I highly recommend taking a class from her.

Average reading/week: 50-80 pgs
Texts: Inside Out and Outside In: Psychodynamic Clinical Theory and Psychopathology in Contemporary Multicultural Contexts
Major Assignments: Midterm exam (case vignette); Final term paper (10-12 pgs)
Caveats: Those who majored in psychology or related fields in their undergrad might experience some repetition.

201C: Dynamics of Human Behavior: Community and Organizational Perspectives
While I am a micro student with a mental health specialization, I thoroughly enjoyed this policy class. Main themes discussed in the classroom included issues of diversity, inequality within the school system, and the dynamics of racism intersecting with other forms of oppression such as heterosexism, ableism, classism, ageism, etc. We spent a significant portion of the class evaluating Paul Tough's journalistic account of The Harlem Children's Zone, called Whatever it Takes. The final project required students to design an intervention utilizing a theory of change (my section was required to develop one for school-aged children in LAUSD).

Average reading/week: 40 pgs
Texts: Whatever It Takes
Major Assignments: Midterm reflection paper, Group intervention design with presentation and final paper
Caveats: Unfortunately, the sentiment I have of the class was not shared among all sections of my cohort. Numerous individuals felt the final group assignment was assigned way too late, and many felt expectations were not clearly delineated upfront.

230B: Theory and Methods of Direct Social Work Practice
This was a continuation class from the first quarter, and part of a year-long sequence that covers core concepts of generalist social work practice. Students do have the ability to select different professors and sections depending on availability. Class material focused on carrying out evidence-based practices with clients including case management, crisis intervention, brief and supportive therapies, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), solution-focused therapy, and motivational interviewing. Role playing was particularly helpful in grasping core concepts of each intervention. If you have a chance to take the course from Rebecca Danelski, I highly recommend her.

Average reading/week: 40 pgs
Texts: Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skills; course pack reading
Major Assignments: Midterm exam (case vignette), Final exam (case vignette)
Caveats: While this class is essential for micro students, course material is not as relevant to macro/policy students. Also, one quarter is not nearly enough time to cover evidence-based practices. As little as one class was devoted to a given theoretical perspective.

240B: Theory of Social Work Practice in Organizations, Communities and Policy Settings
This was another continuation course from first quarter. However, students were required to stay in the same section as the fall quarter in order to continue a macro project investigating mental health barriers in an older adult population. My particular section had a lot of flexibility to define the terms of our final project. We decided to create a market segmentation of underserved older adults who are in need of additional mental health services. The final "prezi" can be viewed HERE.

Average reading/week: 30-60 pgs
Texts: Social Work Macro Practice
Major Assignments: Program Logic Model, Community Project Final Report and Presentation
Caveats: As I mentioned previously, the macro project took up an overwhelming portion of time both in and outside of class.