BSW Field Placements - General Information

Overview:

The field placement is a required component of BSW education that integrates classroom knowledge and skills with actual practice in a human services agency.  The field placement in the UNC Charlotte Department of Social Work occurs concurrently with classroom education, including a mandatory monthly field seminar class.  Students must take Field Placement I & Field Seminar I together in the fall semester.  Students must take Field Placement II and Field Seminar II in the spring semester.  The Field Placement is completed during the final senior year of study.

The field placement is not to be confused with “paid employment.”  Often students feel frustrated that they are spending a lot of time doing agency work and not “getting paid.”  It is important to remember that you are not at the agency doing work as an employee, but rather building skills, knowledge, and values about social work practice and yourself.  This can be a time of tremendous professional growth through personal reflection of work habits, biases, and knowledge development.

Days & Hours in Field:

During the fall semester, the student is in field placement for two (2) days per week on Thursdays and Fridays.  During the spring semester, the student is in field placement for three (3) days per week on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  These are full days during business hours.  Students will attend their concurrent required social work classes on the days that they are not in field.

On the students first Thursday of classes during the fall semester there will be a mandatory UNC Charlotte Field Orientation at the University, which is considered the first day of field education.  The student then arrives at his/her field placement agency on the Friday of this first week of classes.  The last day of field placement during the fall semester is the Friday before Reading Day.

For the spring semester, the student begins his/her field placement on the first Wednesday of classes and remains in the field placement until the Friday before Reading Day.

The actual number of hours a student completes is based on the academic calendar for the given year.  Students must continue to attend field placement until the end of the semester.

Each student can take up to 16 hours of sick leave per semester if ill.

Students are also required to receive a minimum of one (1) hour per week of supervision by a person who holds a BSW or MSW and has two years of post-graduate employment experience.  If the student’s Field Instructor does not hold a BSW or MSW, then arrangements must be made with the field placement agency for the student to meet weekly with a person who can provide this supervision.

Students carry student liability insurance through the university while in the field placement and it is paid for via student fees.

Students are expected to demonstrate professional social work conduct while in field and it is anticipated that the BSW student will be in the same field placement for the entire academic year.


Employment Based Field Placements:

An employment based field placement can be an option if the employing agency qualifies as a field site for the Social Work Department at UNC Charlotte and the prospective student has been an employee of the agency for a minimum of one (1) year).  CSWE guidelines relevant to employment based field placements must be adhered to by the student and the employing agency.

The designated field instructor must be approved by the Department of Social Work.  He/she must be a BSW or MSW with at least two (2) years post-graduate experience.  The field instructor cannot be the direct paid work supervisor of the student.  The field instructor must attend mandatory field instructor training.

The employing agency must be within a sixty (60) mile radius of the University of North Carolina in Charlotte.

It should not be assumed that a student’s placement will occur within the student’s employing agency just because the agency meets all field instruction and other UNC Charlotte Social Work Program standards and expectations.

The request to complete a field placement in an employing agency must be submitted in writing to the Coordinator of Field Education at the beginning of the spring semester prior to the fall placement semester.

The Coordinator of Field Education will submit the written request to the Field Education Committee where a decision will be made regarding the written request.  The employment based request must include in detail, the proposed learning opportunities for the student.  Field Placement learning experiences must be in an entirely different program or division than where the student is employed.  The learning experiences assigned for the student must meet the requirements of UNC Charlotte field education program and must differ substantially from the student’s employee role.

The level of assignments will be determined by the student’s educational role, not the employee role.  The student will be notified of the decision by the Coordinator of Field Education. All terms of the employed based field placement agreement must be adhered to by the student and by the employing agency.

For FAQ about the BSW program click here.

For a downloadable BSW Field Placement Application please click below:

BSW Field Placement Application (Word)