Field Contract
Planning for field placements is an integral part of your education in the MSW program. We realize that in doing so there are many things you need to consider including but not limited to your personal interests and schedules. While not comprehensive of all field requirements we hope that by highlighting the following items, we will identify topics that students frequently identify as significant to their planning process. Please review, sign, date, and return the Department of Social Work with the other admission paperwork that we ask for you to complete.
Hourly Requirements: While some flexibility in field hours may be negotiable to an extent, students should expect that they will need to accomplish 15 hours of their internship Mondays through Fridays. There are very few agencies that offer evening and/or weekend hours so students should be prepared to complete their hour requirements during daytime hours, Monday through Friday.This factor may have particular significance for part time student in planning a personal schedule that will accommodate field requirements.Field hours must be accrued outside of paid working hours.
Semesters Required: Field arrangements are designed so that students can remain in a single site for an entire academic year, or over two contiguous semesters. Students must successfully complete two semesters in a sequence without interruption. It is not possible to receive credit for one semester of field, skip a semester and return at a later time to complete the second half of the requirement.
Establishing a field placement: Students’ should save all emails and information regarding deadlines and announcements about field. This information will be communicated via email and it is the student’s responsibility to read and respond to emails issued through the university in a timely fashion. In order to maintain and complete field successfully, it is the responsibility of the student to submit all required documents. This includes logging on to the Intern Placement Tracking (IPT) website, completing their field application, and uploading their resume by the assigned time. Late applications, or students who neglect to arrange a meeting for field placement may not be placed according to the planned curriculum and this could effect a student’s ability to take other courses in which field is a pre or co-requisite.
Paperwork and deadlines: It is important for students to look at the Field Calendar carefully each semester and be aware of due dates for all field assignments. Outstanding evaluations could result in a student receiving an unsatisfactory grade. All assignments should be submitted to the Field Office by the stated due date.
I understand that turning in late paperwork (field application, signing up for a first year meeting for field, liability insurance etc.), will result in restricted registration for field.
Signature: ______Date: ______
Print Name: ______
Adapted with permission from David Pettie, SUNY Albany