www.ssw.umaryland.edu/field_instruction/ Field Instruction is an important component of graduate social work education. Included in a student's plan of study will be two different field placements in social services agencies, departments or other service delivery systems located throughout the State of Maryland and surrounding areas. Foundation Field Instruction Practicum
The first placement is referred to as the Foundation Field Practicum. It is part of the foundation curriculum and has been designed to provide the student with a generic social work experience. Students doing their Foundation placement spend two full days a week (16 hours) at a field placement site to which they have been assigned. Placements are either on Monday and Wednesday or on Tuesday and Thursday and are generally within a 50-mile radius of the student's home. All Foundation placements begin in the Fall and continue through the Spring semester. There is one course outline and student performance evaluation form for the Foundation Practicum. Advanced Field Instruction Practicum
The second placement is referred to as the Advanced Field Practicum. This placement supports the concentration and specialization that the student chooses as the focus for his/her advanced study. The student's preference for particular placement site is a consideration in arranging this placement. Advanced Field Practice begins in the Fall and continues through the Spring semester. The only exception to this Fall-Spring sequence is the Summer-Fall sequence which is available only in faculty-based field instruction units such as those in the School's Social Work Community Outreach Center (SWCOS), the Education for Public Child Welfare project (Title IV-E), and Family Connections. Summer-Fall placements are dependent on the student's concentration, specialization, and availability of space in the particular field instruction unit. Students doing their Advanced placement spend three full days a week (24 hours) at the field placement site. The placement days are generally Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. A student applying for an Advanced Field Practicum may request an extended field placement which requires him/her to be in a field placement two days a week from the beginning of the semester to the end of July. Once a student has begun a placement based upon this model he/she will not be allowed to shift to the three-day a week model. Students who choose this field placement model will not graduate until the end of July. There is a course outline and a student performance evaluation form for each concentration. Application for a Field Instruction Practicum
Students are required to apply for a field instruction practicum placement. Information about the placement process, including placement opportunities and requirements, as well as application deadlines, is made available to students through announcements in the Student Bulletin. Employment-Based Field Instruction
The School has developed an Employment-Based Field Instruction option for those students who want to have their field placement at the agency where they are employed. Employment-Based Field Instruction proposals involve the participation of the student, his/her agency supervisor, the agency administrator, and the potential Field Instructor. The agency is required to demonstrate that it has the capacity to provide the student with a field placement that is separate and distinct from his/her work assignment and provides the student the opportunity to achieve the learning objectives set forth in the field curriculum. A copy of the Employment-Based Field Instruction policy and the form for the proposal are available in the Field Instruction Manual. Agencies and Field Instructors
Agencies and Field Instructors must be approved by the Assistant Dean for Field Instruction. Agency administrators and social workers interested in becoming approved field placement sites and Field Instructors should contact the Field Instruction Office to discuss this interest. All referrals for placement of a student must originate in the Field Instruction Office. Field Instruction Manual and Calendars
A Field Instruction Manual, which contains the policies and procedures for the Field Instruction program, is published bi-annually. It is given to each student as part of the Introduction to Field Instruction and to each Field Instructor at the beginning of the academic year. It is also available online. Two Field Instruction Calendars are also published annually. One is for all Foundation students and Advanced Field Practice students on the regular schedule. The other is for the Advanced Field Practice students on the extended field placement schedule. Students are expected to take responsibility for meeting all expectations set forth in the Manual and on the calendar. End of semester evaluations must be submitted to the Field Office in duplicate on or before the date they are due in order for the student to be assured that his/her grade will be submitted to the registrar on time
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