Spanish for Social Work | Briar Cliff University

Undergraduate Program

Social Work

Concentration

Why This Program?

Strengthen your social work degree with cultural and linguistic skills for engaging in culturally grounded practices with Latino clients and families.

Engaging in community.

The Department of Social Work and the Spanish Programs promote social change, development, cohesion, and the empowerment of people and communities. As the Hispanic/Latino population in the Tri-State region becomes in one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in Siouxland and the nation, social workers must be knowledgeable about the culture and the language on how to effectively serve this population. This program provides opportunities for social work students to learn all factors can influence a social worker competency and the ability to from professional relationships with Latinos.

Enhancing cultural competency: Students will develop the cultural and linguistic skills for engaging in culturally grounded practice with Latino clients, and families, along with providing students with opportunities to learn the critical, cross-cultural factors that influence a social worker's competency to understand the social, linguistic, and cultural context with Latinos and the Latino community
Immersion experience: You will have the option to travel abroad for two weeks to participate in a complete immersion experience of the Spanish language and culture. Students will visit the University of Cadiz in Spain or the University of the Andes in Santiago, Chile and learn about doing business (Courses delivered in English) in Europe or Latin America.
Choose your classroom experience: Get the convenience of in-person, hybrid or an online program without sacrificing the classroom experience. Content is delivered with online modules and weekly webinars. You can login from anywhere and interact with your classmates and professor.

There is a high demand for Spanish speaking social workers. The community is unable to meet the current demand for Spanish speaking social workers. Linguistic and multicultural awareness is critical for social worker-client relationships.

More About the Program

The goal of the Concentration in Latino Cultural Competence in Social Work is that students develop the cultural and linguistic skills for engaging in culturally grounded practice with Latino clients, and families. The concentration provides students with opportunities to learn the critical, cross-cultural factors that influence a social worker's competency to understand the social, linguistic, and cultural context with Latinos and the Latino community. This concentration provides opportunities for social work students enhance their competency in working with the Hispanic/Latino population. When working with Latino clients, the clinician should avoid stereotypical and pan-ethnic ideas that fail to distinguish group differences by grouping similar ethnicities together.

Required Courses:

SPAN 205: Latinos USA

SPAN 303: Spanish for Careers (Social Workers and Health Care Emphasis)

SWRK 385: Engaging in Cross Cultures

SWRK 385L: Engaging in Cross Cultures*

*can be either working with a diverse population within the United States or serving internationally. This can also be replaced with SWRK 455: Field Experience if the field experience is in an international placement.

Additional Courses Suggested:

SWRK 330/PSYC: Human Sexuality

SWRK 465: Gerontology

SWRK 345: Child Welfare

SWRK 310: Trauma Informed Practice

SOCY 240: Racial, Ethnic and Gender Inequality

SPAN 312: Cultures and Civilizations of Latin America

SPAN 450: Study Abroad

THEO 202: World Religions

Student Testimonials:

Ximena Pérez

"Being bilingual will benefit you tremendously in your career." We have all heard that sentence hundreds of times. Being bilingual myself, it is not something I had given much thought to. When I chose both Social Work and Spanish as my majors, I began to think about that sentence more and realized how important it actually is. We live in a country where there is diversity everywhere. There are hundreds of languages spoken in the US and Spanish is one of the major ones. Spanish is my first language but i wanted to perfect it and majoring in it seemed like the perfect option. Not only that but learning a more professional Spanish is extremely beneficial with my social work major. When I began to take social work classes I realized that people who are more likely to need social workers are minorities. My passion in social work is to help the Latino community, specifically the Latino immigrant community. Because of my Spanish degree, I will be able to communicate and create a connection with future clients which is something extremely important in social work. It will also be much easier to advocate for clients as my Spanish major is helping me perfect my profession Spanish vocabulary. Social Work and Spanish majors might not seem like they have much in common but they go hand in hand perfectly. There is so much diversity in this country and as a Social Worker, being able to connect and communicate with people in their own language is something extremely important.

Olga Guevara

My name is Olga Guevara; I am the director of an organization that serves the Latino community in the Siouxland area. The Spanish program from the University of Briar Cliff prepared me with the tools that allow me to perform my job day after day. It is not enough to be raised in a home where Spanish is spoken. One must study and practice to develop skills; otherwise, the risk of losing our history is probable. My desire to learn professional Spanish was born out of my love for my culture. Born in Mexico and raised in the U.S., I realized that language is strongly tied to maintaining our traditions. I am very proud of my origins and heritage; that is why I strive to keep learning Spanish in all its expressions.