Field Practicum
Resources for students as well as current and potential agencies.
What is a Field Practicum?
While classroom learning focuses on discrete knowledge and theoretical background, your field placement (what other disciplines refer to as internships) will expose you to a wide range of problems and possibilities.
Unlike cognate disciplines, all accredited social work programs require students to complete at least one field placement before they graduate. Undergraduate social work students complete one block placement in their final semester. Students in the two-year MSW program complete a year-long placement both years. Advanced Standing MSW students complete one year-long field placement.
Field placement is a meaningful experience that allows students to practice social work skills under the guidance of an experienced social worker and to gain work experience before entering the job field.
Dr. Stephanie Francis, PhD, MSW, MSRA, is the Director of Field Education and a senior lecturer in the School of Social Work. She earned her PhD in Social Work and Master's degree in Social Work from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also holds a Master's degree in Therapeutic Recreation. Her direct practice experience includes work with victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
Professor
Trinette
Boone-Langley, MSW is
the
BSW
Field
Coordinator
and
a
lecturer
for
the
School
of
Social
Work.
Professor
Boone-Langley has
served
in
our
MSW
and
BSW
programs
since
2019.
Her
professional
social
work
experience
includes
15
years
of
practice
in
juvenile
delinquency,
prevention,
child
abuse
and
neglect
investigations,
school
social
work,
health
disparities,
and
social
work
staff
development.
Her
passion
and
main
areas
of
research
are
child
abuse/neglect,
domestic
violence,
and
adult
learners.
Trinette
volunteers
with
various
agencies,
including
the
Imagination
Station,
Salvation
Army,
and
the
Hope
Station.
She
is
secretary
and
board
member
of
Especially
for
You,
a
non-profit
organization
in
Rocky
Mount.
Michelle Guarino, MSW is the MSW Field Coordinator and a lecturer for the School of Social Work. She earned a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a Masters of Social Work from New York University. Michelle is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has worked with gang-affiliated / high-risk youth and families since 1996.
What A Practicum Can Do for You
Social workers need particular knowledge and skills to work with individuals, families, groups and systems. Field education gives you the opportunity to assess these situations and to develop, implement, and evaluate social interventions. Your field placement will prepare you to engage in culturally-competent practice with diverse client populations, with particular attention to historically-oppressed populations and a variety of populations at risk.
Field education integrates classroom and field experiences. These combined opportunities allow you to apply your knowledge of social and economic injustice and inequality. You will learn to see how inequality and injustices are created and maintained by structural arrangements made up of dominant and subordinate social groups based on race, class, gender and sexual orientation.
Whether you plan to explore social work from a micro or macro perspective, you will be able to critically analyze social structures and how they impact individuals, families, groups and systems.
Social Work is a Growing Field
The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics estimates that the need for social workers and those in related social work professions will increase by 12% from 2014 - 2024
Visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics websiteField Practicum – Social Work News More Stories
