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Welcome to the exciting journey of field education! Every social work student will engage in field education as a part of their social work degree program. The Office of Field Education is here to support undergraduate and graduate social work students every step of the way as they complete their field placement in a community agency.
All students begin the process of finding a field placement by attending a Field Information Session. Students will receive email communications from the Office of Field Education ([email protected]) with details about field information session dates and times as they become available.
FIELD INFORMATION SESSION – Students attend a mandatory information session to become familiar with and ask a question about the placement process.
APPLICATION (in Sonia) – Students complete an application for field placement in the Sonia Field Database where they list both the skills and knowledge they hope to acquire in placement, as well as populations, settings, and social issues they wish to gain more experience in. Students have the option of requesting specific agency placements. Please review the Student Sonia Guide to complete this process.
PLACEMENT MEETINGS – Students will sign up for one on one meetings with their designated Placement Navigator in Sonia. Students will meet with their designated Placement Navigator to discuss placement options and be referred to up to 5 different agencies to which they will apply. *Optional for MSW Concentration students
PREPARE & CONTACT – Once students are referred to agencies, agency contact information will be sent to students via email. Students carefully review the Next Steps document (see Search Forms section below). Students update their resumé and craft cover letters and make contact with approved agencies to request internship interviews.
INTERVIEW & EVALUATE – Students interview at assigned agency sites so that both the agency and student can mutually determine if a placement is a good fit.
CONFIRMATION – Once students have been offered and accept a field placement in the Sonia Field Database, students must complete the Field Confirmation Form in Sonia to finalize the placement.
STUDENT FIELD ORIENTATION – Students will participate in a mandatory student field orientation through Canvas and virtually via Zoom before the start of the fall semester.
Students are required to complete a set number of hours in their agency setting during the academic year. The accompanying field seminar course (offered face-to-face, online, and in hybrid formats) meets every other week throughout the course of the two semesters of Field Experience. The seminar course is taught by a Faculty Field Liaison and provides a forum for students to critically reflect on their experiences out in the field in an environment geared towards promoting professional development.
In order to meet learning objectives and meet program requirements, students are required to complete the following number of hours over the course of their two-semester internship.
Total number of hours for the year: 400
Total number of hours for the semester: 200
Total number of hours for the week: 13 to 14
Total number of hours for the year: 500
Total number of hours for the semester: 250
Total number of hours for the week: 16 to 17
Students will be asked to complete a Learning Agreement in the Sonia Database System within the first few weeks of class of each semester. The purpose of the Learning Agreement is to create a roadmap of your learning for the year and to ensure students will be engaging with the CSWE 9 Social Work Competencies.
Sonia Guide – Student Learning Agreement
Students and their agency supervisors complete a Field Evaluation in our Sonia Database System at the end of each semester to evaluate the student’s demonstrated performance and learning throughout the semester. Evaluations are designed to allow both students and supervisors to give honest and constructive feedback.
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