Field Education

During your senior year, you will be assigned to a field placement site and work under the supervision of a qualified field instructor who is a social worker employed at that site. You can expect that your field placements will provide you with high quality opportunities to learn, develop skills, meet social workers in the community, and make a difference in the lives of the clients you serve. Field placement hours are typically scheduled sometime during the work week (i.e., Monday through Friday, 8am – 5pm). Field placements available with exclusively evening or weekend hours are rare. Field placements are arranged by the School of Social Work and are an important part of the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) curriculum as you grow to assume the role of a professional social worker. As a matter of policy, the Master of Social Work (MSW) program does not accept life or work experience as a substitute for field placement or any other required social work courses. 

The Field Education schedule for each academic year is developed by the field education coordinator and is posted on blackboard at the start of each academic year. Field starts on the first day of classes each semester and ends on the last day of classes. It is the School’s expectation that the field hour requirement is completed during this time unless special permission is granted by the BSW field education coordinator.