Students are asked to complete a detailed field information and interest form to assist the field office in matching the student with the appropriate field placement site. Information gathered includes background information, past work experiences, special interests, and other factors such as geography, related social work experiences, and the student's own assessment of strengths and learning needs. In the first year of generalist field, the staff of the field placement office makes the assignment, and any concerns relative to placement should be addressed to the field directors.

In the second year of specialized placement, the student works in concert with the field office in determining the field placement site. Here again, the student must complete the field information and interest form. If the form doesn't completely reflect the student's needs for the second year, then a consultation should be scheduled with the field director. Field directors are available throughout the year to assist students with their choices.

Students are scheduled at their field site during normal business hours; however, some agencies require evening hours, in which case, the student would need to discuss this with the field instructor and agree to an arrangement approved by the Field Office Director. A few agencies have been able to provide weekend hours when the field supervisor is available, but this is rare and shouldn't be expected.

Evening- and/or weekend-only placements are not available.

The field program consists of two parts. In year one, full-time students spend a total of 378 hours in the field and earn 5 field instruction credits by participating fourteen hours per week for thirteen weeks in the first term and fourteen weeks in the second term. In year two, full-time students spend a total of 532 hours in the field by participating nineteen hours per week for fourteen weeks during each term, earning a total of 7 credits. Altogether, students spend 910 hours in field instruction.

Part-time students must complete the field practicum in their second and third years of the field program. The total hours required during this period coincide with the requirements of the first and second years of the full-time students.

The work schedule may vary in different agencies and is to be finalized with the field director's approval.

Advanced-standing students (those entering with the B.A./B.S.W. degree) will enter the M.S.W. program with transfer credits from their undergraduate fieldwork. Because it is expected that these students will have already completed a generalist field practicum, advanced-standing students will be required to complete only the advanced field placement in the master's program (532 hours, or 7 credits). Placements for advanced-standing students are assigned, as are placements for all other students in the advanced field.

The Instructor and the Consultant

The field instructor is the staff worker in the agency responsible for student learning throughout the year. All field instructors have M.S.W.'s with at least two years postmaster's experience, and many have much more. They are all required to complete a seminar in field instruction (SIFI) concurrent with having a student for the first time, or they may already have done so with another school. The relationship with the field instructor is a mutual one in which students and instructors work together on the learning goals that they have planned. A learning contract should be written at the beginning of every semester to guide the learning experience. Weekly supervision is required, consisting of teaching, support, information, and direction as necessary for the learning experience to be a productive one.

The field consultant is the liaison between the agency, the school, and the student, and is hired by the school. This person is responsible for a student having a positive experience in the field and may act as an advocate, a teacher, a consultant, an adviser, or a mentor on a student's behalf. The consultant assigns the grade of pass or no credit for the fieldwork, and is a crucial person in the course of social work graduate education.

The Work-Study Option

It is possible to complete the M.S.W. while employed in a social work setting; however, this arrangement requires the approval of the Director of Field Placement Services in the designated region and must strictly conform to the following guidelines:

• The field instructor must be a person other than the usual work supervisor.
• Assignments must be other than the usual workload and must reflect the needs of the student.
• These arrangements must be formalized in a written contract between the school, the agency, and the student.
• All agencies used for work-study will be expected to meet the same requirements for training as all other agencies.