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Field education guide
Field education is integral to the social work curriculum in preparing students for professional practice.
Many graduates and practicing professionals say that it was their field experience they valued most during their program. In the field is where theory turns into practice. You have the opportunity to put what you have learned in class into finding your professional self while being at an agency, in addition to learning and then applying the knowledge and skills of social work practice. In the classroom, you are learning to know and understand; in the field, you are learning to do.
Field Education Manual
The VCU School of Social Work Field Education Manual is required reading for all students and contains more detailed information about the expectations and policies of field education. It is important to check this first to see if your question has already been answered before asking your field liaison.
About field experiences
You will be assigned to an agency in the field, and you will have a field instructor at this agency who is responsible for assigning you tasks that provide appropriate learning opportunities and who provides you with ongoing feedback about your performance. You will meet with your field instructor every week for an hour to review your work, professional development, and growing knowledge and skill in applying social work concepts to practice in the field. To own your responsibility for making these conferences with your field instructor productive, you must prepare a list of topics or issues you wish to discuss in the form of a conference agenda. Within the first few weeks of being placed at an agency, you will develop a working contract that specifies the agreement between you and the field instructor regarding your weekly schedule in the field.
You are also assigned a faculty field liaison from the VCU School of Social Work who is primarily responsible for facilitating student learning that takes place in the field. The field liaison will monitor your progress, advocate for appropriate educational opportunities and evaluate your achievements.
M.S.W. field placements
Students in 60-hour regular standing tracks have two field placements at separate agencies; the 900 hours – 600 at the specialist placement and 300 at the generalist placement – exceed the requirements by our national accrediting organization, the Council on Social Work Education.
Students in the 42-hour advanced standing track have one placement totaling 750 hours (600 specialist and 150 generalist).
B.S.W. field placements
During Senior Field Practicum (SLWK 494 and SLWK 495), B.S.W. students complete a total of 400 hours over fall and spring semester at the rate of approximately 14 hours per week.
Due to the nature of field education, the actual learning activities at each agency vary widely. However, there are general objectives, or competencies, that you are expected to meet by the end of the internship. These competencies are demonstrated through your practice, as well as through several standard written assignments. Within the first few weeks of fieldwork, you will develop a learning plan with your field instructor that will specify what you will learn and how the learning will take place.
You will also be required to write at least one monthly process recording, which is an integral part of the learning experience in the field. These recordings provide you the opportunity to reflect on your work, build your self-awareness and share your experiences and thoughts with your instructor, and teach you how to relate theory to practice. The focus of any process recording could be work with an individual, family or couple; a small client group; a professional meeting; or a critical analysis of macro practice (*disclaimer). Process Recording 101 for students has been developed as a resource to help you get the most out of this educational assignment.
The Office of Field Education resources are available on the documents and forms page.
The Office of Field Education uses Tevera, a field education software for students applying for their field placement and, once placements start, for tracking field hours and completing required field education learning documents. This allows students, field instructors and field liaisons to easily navigate through the field placement experience in one platform. Students are invited via email to join Tevera upon entry to the VCU School of Social Work when it is time for them to fill out their first field application.
During your time in the field, your performance as a learner and a practitioner will be evaluated on an ongoing basis. If you are not receiving ongoing feedback from your field instructor, you are encouraged to ask for it during your supervision conference. You should also have a formal, verbal midsemester evaluation with your field instructor and a written final evaluation that you will complete with your field instructor and submit to your field liaison for final grading.
The Office of Field Education resources are available on the documents and forms page.
Ready to apply?
Complete and submit your completed field application online. All relevant application deadlines are on the VCU School of Social Work student calendar.
Need help?
Please contact the Office of Field Education at swfld@vcu.edu.
Application deadlines
Stay up to date on upcoming field application deadlines by checking the field calendar.