Social Work Field Education
The signature pedagogy of social work education - the Field Practicum - brings academic knowledge to life, offering students the critical opportunity for application, integration, and socialization into social work roles.
The field education process is pivotal to launching competent professional social workers and is a partnership involving the Social Work Program, Field Education Program, Social Work Faculty and Staff, Community Partners, Field Instructors, and Social Work Students. Field practicum experiences occur in a variety of settings, including child welfare, medical, educational, criminal justice, mental health, addiction, and a wide range of other settings where generalist and advanced clinical practice can be learned and applied. Students have the opportunity to work with many diverse ethnic and cultural groups and may work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities and governmental and non-governmental entities.
The Social Work Field Education Program at Westfield State University partners with organizations and programs that are in alignment with the NASW Code of Ethics, provide a range of learning opportunities, and demonstrate their commitment to student education by offering the skills, time, and knowledge of their staff to social work students.
The materials below provide useful resources for students applying for field placement, students currently in the field, and for our Field Instructors. You may also contact the Field Education Program at any time - we welcome your questions as well as your ideas and suggestions to continue to strengthen our field education process.
Field Practicum Applications
* Please read prior to selecting the appropriate application *
- Applications for Field Practicum are available December – May.
- The application must be downloaded and saved to your device prior to completing. DO NOT complete the application via the webpage.
- Once downloaded and saved, open the saved version for completion.
- Please utilize Acrobat/Adobe or equivalent PDFviewer when completing the application.
- Without completing the above steps, your application will not save properly nor will the information be viewable and/or accessible upon receipt.
- Specific instructions for the submission process are available and included at the beginning of each field practicum application.
- Application for MSW Field Practicum
- Application for BSW Field Practicum
- Application for Employment-Based Field Practicum
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Field Instructor Manual
- MSW Field Education Manual
- FAQ MSW Field Education
- BSW Field Education Manual
- FAQ BSW Field Education
- Central Region DCF Employment-Based Internship Guidelines 2021
- Western Region DCF Employment-Based Internship Guidelines 2021
- Tips for the Field Placement Interview Process
- Learning Agreement Guide, BSW & MSW Foundation Edition.
- Learning Agreement Guide, MSW Advanced Edition.
- Tips for Writing a SW Field Placement Resume
- Field Placement Resume Example
FIELD DOCUMENTATION SYSTEM
IPT (Intern Placement Tracking) – our web-based system for students, field instructors, and faculty liaisons – easy access and completion of all field-related documentation.