Field Education

In accordance with the university transition plan and COVID all Social Work department faculty and staff are working remotely.

MSW Field Coordinator Contact Information:

Nancy Zamora, LCSW, PPSC
Phone: (209) 667-3776
Office: DBH 122B
Email: nzamora1@csustan.edu

Field Practicum

Four semesters of supervised field practicum in a social work agency is part of the core curriculum. Students are expected to be in their placements during the agency's normal hours of operation. No credit is given for life experience or previous work experience. Field practicum is a central component of social work education. The practicum provides comprehensive supervised practice experience, which consolidates content presented in the classroom. The practicum provides students with the opportunity to apply foundation knowledge, skills, values and ethics, and practice skills to enhance the well being of people and ameliorate environmental conditions that adversely affect people. It is essential for professional development that social work students demonstrate knowledge, values and skills of social work practice within the context of the practicum. Practicum placements provide students with a range of learning assignments encompassing areas of social work practice. The practicum is a supervised experience affording students the opportunity to develop a range of professional practice skills and to evaluate the effectiveness of their interventions.

Students must complete 250 Agency Field hours per semester (500 hours for each academic year), attend all seminars, and successfully complete the Learning Plan competencies in order to a receive a passing grade for SW5040 or SW5041. Students in the hybrid program complete 500 hours each summer. All students must complete a total of 1,000 field practicum hours.

Frequently Asked Questions about the MSW Field Placement (Internship).pdf

Field Practicum Manual.pdf

General questions regarding the stateside field program can emailed to mswfield@csustan.edu.

For Title IV-E field questions email Jenell Thompson at jthompson22@csustan.edu. The placement process for the Title IV-E Child Welfare Training Program is different than traditional non-IV-E placements based on grant requirements and other particulars.

Stateside Field Resources

Field Practicum Calendar
Record of Practicum Hours

Hybrid Field Resources

Learning Plan & Evaluation Forms

Foundation Students (1st Year Placement)

SW 5040 FOUNDATION Learning Plan & Evaluation.pdf (currently being revised)
SW 5040 Foundation Learning Plan & Evaluation.doc (MS Word)

Advanced Students (2nd Year Placement)

SW 5041 ADVANCED Learning Plan & Evaluation.pdf (currently being revised)
SW 5041 Advanced Learning Plan & Evaluation.doc (MS Word)

To access and use the PDF learning plan you will need to use Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this program on your computer, you can download a free copy of the software from https://get.adobe.com/reader/