Fall Practicum Deadlines: Complete Your Intake Form by August 1
Choose Your Path
Start here: Select the option that best fits your situation.
Employment-Based Placement/ Agency Continuation Form
Experiential learning in your community is one of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of earning your degree. The experience is guided and directed by CSU faculty in collaboration with your on-site field supervisor at the agency where you complete the hours.
Looking to do your placement at your place of employment or continue at your current agency? Below you will find a step-by-step guide to getting your placement approved.
- You, as the student, will need to submit a completed and signed Agency Continuation or Employment Based (EBP) form (including an official job description).
- CSU will review and approve form (1-7 business days).
- Once the EBP form is approved, the Placement Specialist reaches out to the site contact for required paperwork:
- Affiliation Agreement (AA) (if needed)
- Field Instructor Resume
- Field Instructor Application Form
- MSW Agency Field Acceptance Form
- Once the Agency Continuation form is approved, the Placement Specialist reaches out to the site contact for required paperwork:
- Affiliation Agreement (AA) (if expiring)
- Field Acceptance Form
- Field Instructor Resume
- Field Instructor Form
- Once the EBP form is approved, the Placement Specialist reaches out to the site contact for required paperwork:
- If AA is needed, the review and approval process can take up to six months due to legal review. Once the Field Instructor paperwork is submitted, CSU will approve within 2-3 weeks.
- Placement is confirmed as all paperwork and approvals have been finalized. Your Student Online Experience Advisor will reach out with updates after your placement has been confirmed.
*Health systems, schools and government agencies tend to take longer
Field Practicum Placement
Experiential learning in your community is one of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of earning your degree. The experience is guided and directed by CSU faculty in collaboration with your on-site field supervisor at the agency where you complete the hours.
Already have a field practicum placement identified? Below is a step-by-step guide to getting your field practicum placement approved.
- Students should submit their field practicum placement information via the Intake Form. If a student secures their field practicum placement after the intake form is submitted, please reach out to the Student Online Experience Advisor for next steps.
- Once the field practicum placement is identified and the student provides the contact information to the Student Online Experience Advisor, our team will reach out to the field placement site, gather all the materials below and verify the Field Instructor meets our program requirements.
- Affiliation Agreement (agreement between the School of Social Work and the field practicum placement agency)
- Field Instructor Resume
- Field Instructor Application
- Field Acceptance Form
- The Affiliation Agreement review and approval process can take up to six months due to legal review.
- Field placement is confirmed when all approvals and documents have been finalized, typically 2-3 weeks. The Student Online Experience Advisor will communicate this confirmation with students.
*Health systems, schools and government agencies tend to take longer
Placement Assistance for Students
Experiential learning in your community is one of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of earning your degree. The experience is guided and directed by CSU faculty in collaboration with your on-site field supervisor at the agency where you complete the hours.
Students that need placement assistance should follow the steps below:
- Students will need to complete the intake form and include their resume.
- A Student Online Experience Advisor will begin to reach out to placement locations near you, within 125 miles from your location.
- When a placement opportunity is identified, a Student Online Experience Advisor will notify you to complete an application and/or schedule an interview
- Students are expected to follow through with the opportunity presented to them.
- If a placement opportunity is offered and the student declines, the student is responsible for securing their own placement and meeting all required program deadlines.
*Health systems, schools and government agencies tend to take longer
Frequently Asked Questions
The requirements to be a supervisor are:
- An MSW, MSSA, or other masters level provider that meets the program requirements
- At least two years of post-graduate experience in an agency/institutional agency
- At least one year of experience at the current site
Typically, students complete their field hours at:
- Community centers/organizations
- Human service agencies
- Counseling and therapy centers
- Addiction and mental health treatment facilities
- Adoption agencies
- Senior care facilities, such as nursing homes
- Correctional facilities
- Hospitals/clinics
If you currently work in a social service setting and have a supervisor who meets the general requirements stated above, then yes.
As of 2022, the Council on Social Work Accreditation now supports the use of employment hours as fieldwork hours, though there are field placement learning contracts and related follow-up required to make sure that CSWE education competencies are incorporated a part of the employment.
