Helen Bader School of Social Welfare
2015 STUDY ABROAD COURSES IN
SOCIAL WORK AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
1) Summer Study Abroad in Linz, Austria
2) Summer Study Abroad in South Africa
3) Spanish Immersion in Grecia, Costa Rica
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS (SOC WRK 297 & 497; CRM JUS 297 & 497)
These undergraduate/graduate elective courses allow students to study comparative social work and
criminal justice policy and practice through Upper Austria University in Linz, Austria , the University of
Pretoria and University of the Free State in South Africa, and ACE Spanish Immersion course in
Grecia, Costa Rica.
The Austria course concentrates on social work and criminal justice, with special emphasis placed on
the role of integration of differing cultures, especially immigrant groups, into society. Through
interdisciplinary dialogue and a blend of classroom and field site visits, strategies for preventive and
community-based services are analyzed and evaluated. Questions are posed concerning the
appropriate domain for program development and accountability and students will develop a framework
to compare the different styles of community involvement and service in the Austria and the US.
The South Africa course concentrates on issues of economic, social & health disparities, poverty,
racism, child & family welfare, criminal justice, and family violence services within a changing society.
Through interdisciplinary dialogue and a blend of classroom and field site visits, strategies for
community-based services are analyzed and evaluated. Questions are posed concerning the
appropriate domain for program development and accountability and students will develop a framework
to compare the different styles of community involvement and service in South Africa and the US.
The Costa Rica course is a Spanish language immersion course conducted in Grecia, Costa Rica.
Students live with host-families, spend mornings in class studying Spanish, and afternoons attending
lectures, visiting community agencies and exploring Costa Rican culture. Students will identify a
specific policy issue related to women, children and families (domestic violence, workforce
development, education, poverty, health, or immigration) for study and use this as a basis for a final
paper utilizing a comparative analysis framework provided.
COURSE EXPECTATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS
1) A short description of a social policy or criminal justice issue to be studied during the course is
due 3–4 weeks before departure. Students must meet with accompanying faculty to discuss
before submitting.
2) Active participation in classroom discussion and field visits in country.
3) A final paper is due after return to the US.
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Interest Application
Please save in a Word file, complete the form, and email to Prof. Susan Rose, sjrose@uwm.edu.
1) Please indicate the course in which you wish to enroll:
AUSTRIA (Criminal Justice or Social Work), June 21 - July 4, 2015
SOUTH AFRICA (Criminal Justice or Social Work), July 17– August 2, 2015
COSTA RICA Spanish Immersion (for Social Workers), January 3 – 18, 2015
2) Personal Information for All Students
NAME: Last:
First:
Middle:
(Please indicate any variation on first name preferred)
UWM E-MAIL:
SEX:
M
F
AGE:
3). Academic Status of All Students
a) UWM department?
b)
Graduate
Social Work
Undergraduate? (
Criminal Justice
Freshman;
Other (specify)
Sophomore;
Junior;
Senior)
c) Grade point average (as of last semester):
d) Expected date of graduation:
4) Background Information: All students, please provide a response to each.
a) Please describe your professional and volunteer experiences (fields of service, populations
served, etc.), any relevant work experience, and your current job.
b) Have you ever traveled outside of the US before? Where? For what purposes? What did you
learn from these travels? (3 – 5 sentences)
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c) What do you hope to gain from your study abroad trip? (3 – 5 sentences)
d) What do you know about the culture and history of the country you plan to visit? (2 – 3
sentences)
e) Do you speak any language other than American English? If so, which languages? How fluent
are you in these languages (read, basic phrases, read and speak comfortably, etc.)?
f) For COSTA RICA course only
1. Habla Espanol?
Si
No
2. Please rate your own Spanish-speaking ability below (check all that apply):
None
Can understand some spoken Spanish
Can read at a beginning level
Can speak rudimentary Spanish at a beginning level
Can speak beyond a beginning level
Can converse with native Spanish speakers
Can speak Spanish fluently and could get around alone in a Spanish-speaking country
5) Accommodation Needs for All Students:
a) Ground floor essential:
b) Special diet:
Yes
Yes
No
No (details)
e) Do you have any disabilities that would prevent you from climbing one flight of stairs and
walking for about 20 minutes?
Yes No (details)
f)
Do you have any allergies that would impact your accommodations?
g) Are you a smoker?
Yes
Yes
No. Are you willing to room with a smoker?
h) For AUSTRIA & SOUTH AFRICA course students only:
1. Do you want to room with a specific student on the course?
provide name if “Yes.”
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Yes
No (details)
Yes
No
No Please
i)
For COSTA RICA course students only:
I prefer a host family with (check all that apply):
children
older adult
without pets
another ACCE student (name
I have no preference
Other
)
an
6) Academic Expectations for All Students
Within my preferred concentration (Social Work, Criminal Justice, or other field), I am especially
interested in the following topics for my final paper, in order of preference:
1)
2)
3)
7) Do you plan to use credits from this course to fulfill the Trauma Informed Care Certificate?
Yes
No
This is an interest application only. After review by the faculty of the HBSSW, you will be
contacted to confirm your interest.
*** In order to be accepted and enroll in a study abroad course, you will need to complete the
formal online application for the course through the Center for International Education website.
Please email this form to sjrose@uwm.edu
Susan J. Rose, Ph.D., Professor
Helen Bader School of Social Welfare
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
PO Box 786
Milwaukee, WI 53201.
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