Student FAQs
General Questions
We collaborate with hundreds of sites across Washington State (and into Oregon) to offer a variety of rich learning opportunities for our students. Please see the SSW website for examples by Specialization: Administration and Policy Practice (APP), Community-Centered Integrative Practice (CCIP), and Clinical Social Work (CSW).
The Generalist placements must provide students a breadth of learning opportunities that allow them to explore and develop micro, mezzo, and macro skills. Specialized placements emphasize depth and leadership, and must align with the student’s chosen specialization. While the competencies are the same for both placements, the practice behaviors that demonstrate competency are different for each placement year and each specialization.
Practicum, also called field education or field placement, is the supervised hands-on training component of your social work education and the primary means of socializing students to the social work profession. Practicum and classroom learning are interrelated and of equal importance in developing the competence required for professional social work practice. This dual approach is central of social work education.
Throughout your program, you will take complementary classroom and practicum-based courses concurrently. This allows you to bridge the knowledge, values, and skills taught in the classroom into your practice setting, and to share experiences from practicum back to the classroom. Both are required courses for which you will receive credits and grades, and both must be passed to graduate.
Hours/Holidays/PTO Questions
BASW Students
They begin placement at the beginning of Autumn Quarter of their Senior year.
MSW Day/Full-Time Students
They begin the Generalist and Specialized placements in Autumn Quarter of each year.
EDP/Part-Time Students
Their start dates can vary.
- Generalist placements begin in the fourth or fifth quarter, summer of all.
- Specialized placements begin in the eighth or ninth quarter, summer of fall.
BASW Students
They complete a total of 480 hours of practicum (Soc W 415) Autumn, Winter & Spring quarters. 4 credits/160 hours per quarter.
MSW Students
Students complete a total of 1080 hours of practicum. See the table below for a full breakdown of hours for each quarter.
| Track / Quarter | Course | Credits | Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All MSW students | — | 27 cr | 1,080 hrs | Total across both placements |
| Full-Time, Day — Generalist / 1st Year · Soc W 524 | ||||
| Autumn | Soc W 524 | 2 cr | 80 hrs | Monthly practicum seminar |
| Winter | Soc W 524 | 4 cr | 160 hrs | Monthly practicum seminar |
| Spring | Soc W 524 | 4 cr | 160 hrs | Monthly practicum seminar |
| Subtotal | 10 cr | 400 hrs | ||
| Full-Time, Day — Specialized / 2nd Year & Full-Time Advanced Standing · Soc W 525 | ||||
| Autumn | Soc W 525 | 6 cr | 240 hrs | |
| Winter | Soc W 525 | 6 cr | 240 hrs | |
| Spring | Soc W 525 | 5 cr | 200 hrs | |
| Subtotal | 17 cr | 680 hrs | ||
| Part-Time, EDP & Part-Time Advanced Standing | ||||
| Variable quarterly schedule | Soc W 524 / 525 | Variable | 400 / 680 hrs | Same total credits & hours as full-time tracks |
Your UW liability insurance coverage ends on the last day of instruction, in the last quarter you are registered for
practicum. For this reason, all contact with clients or communities served must end by this date. If you wish to stay at your agency beyond this time, you will need to “convert” to volunteer status with the agency. At that point, the UW no longer covers you for professional liability—this becomes a relationship just between you and the agency. Check with your Field Faculty if you have further questions.
On occasion, an agency may require students to engage in onboarding and training activities prior to the start of the quarter. This is acceptable as long as the student is informed of and agrees to this requirement prior to accepting the placement and due to insurance requirements, absolutely none of these activities may engage clients in any way. Students may count up to 16 hours of the required activities towards their first quarter practicum hours. Exceptions for specialized training such as domestic violence advocacy and crisis response may be made on a case-by-base basis, and would need to be approved by both the Field Instructor and Field Faculty.
On occasion and for a variety of reasons, a student might need to start practicum early. Students must consult with and get approval from their Field Faculty and Student Services. Early Start approval is dependent, in part, on whether the student will have concurrent social work practice coursework, since students must follow their program of study. Students’ practicum hours must align with the number of practicum credits they have registered for that quarter. (Reminder: 1 credit = 40 practicum hours.)
Agencies, Field Instructors and Task Supervisors may not require a student to attend practicum and complete extra hours beyond the required hours unless agreed upon by all parties prior to the student accepting the placement. If such an agreement was made, the student is required to meet the agency’s attendance expectations.
Meal breaks: students may take an agreed upon time off for breaks, and they do not need to deduct this time from their practicum hours.
Commuting time: travel time to and from practicum are not counted as practicum hours. However, driving time associated with practicum tasks are counted. The student and Field Instructor will work out these details.
Yes. Students are not required to attend practicum of official Federal Holidays and may receive credit for the numbers of hours they would have attended practicum that day. If students do attend practicum on a Federal Holiday, they are not granted double hours.
No. These hours must be made up.
With the advancement of vaccines, the policy regarding COVID is now the same as other illnesses. Students are allowed two sick days. If a student needs to take additional days off, they are directed to work with their Field Instructor to make up the hours when they are able, but during the current quarter. The site may also give students a project to work on from home, if that makes most sense for the individual situation.
Please see the following links for additional information:
Employment/Pay Questions
Yes, this is referred to as an “Agency of Employment” placement, and it requires an application by the student and approval by agency leadership, the Field Instructor and the Field Faculty. While previously it was required that students engage in new work or new tasks to complete their practicum at work, the Council on Social Work Education now allows students to use their current role if competencies can be achieved, and the student, agency and Field Faculty can attest that new learning can take place. This is articulated in the Agency of Employment application.
This is allowable and celebrated. Field Faculty work with the student and agency on a case-by-case basis to facilitate the
required process of converting to an Agency of Employment placement.
Yes, however, not all sites offer this. The practicum descriptions indicate if they offer any type of compensation. Our office strongly encourages sites to offer stipends to off-set expenses incurred by participating in practicum, wherever possible. Students should be advised that becoming an hourly employee while being a practicum student does entitle you to both the rights and responsibilities of an employee. Before entering into an employment agreement students should seek to understand their commitment to the agency during UW holidays, breaks between academic quarters, and after practicum hours are completed.
Insurance Questions
Students are covered by UW for professional liability through the State of Washington. They are not covered for L&I (Worker’s Compensation) or auto insurance.
Students may not use their own cars to transport clients/program participants. Students may use their own vehicles for other practicum related work, but must have their own current auto insurance. Students who are employees of their practicum site should defer to the policies of the site.
The School of Social Work is not able to reimburse for mileage or parking. Occasionally, agencies are able to reimburse students for these expenses. Students should consider this as a factor prior to committing to a site.
Disruption in Practicum
This is done only in rare circumstances. Students are required to consult with their Field Faculty before any changes are considered.
See more in Section 7: Disruptions in Practicum, Page 36 in the Practicum Manual.
If you have additional questions, please reach out to us at sswfield@uw.edu.