THE FIELD REQUIREMENT

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Berkeley's social welfare curriculum provides students the opportunity to apply classroom learning by engaging in supervised practice. Field work involves a substantial amount of student time and credit hours. The School has a staff of field work consultants who, in addition to teaching courses and seminars, develop and maintain relationships with a wide array of social agencies that provide field instruction.

Introductory Field Seminar (SW 400) & First Year Field Work (SW 401)

The structure of first year field work is the same for all students regardless of specialization. The first year is designed to introduce students to mainstream social work in different fields of practice and to provide basic skills of intervention. Preparation for field work begins in the fall in a field seminar meeting two hours a week. The seminars, taught by field work consultants, are organized by specialization to provide an introduction to the agencies, practices, and issues in the various fields of practice. Seminar meetings also focus on the special nature of field learning, including the role of supervision. During the first six weeks of the Fall term, the regular Thursday two-hour field seminar will be supplemented by special presentations by community practitioners and field visits on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Students will have an opportunity to discuss their individual learning goals individually with their field work consultant, and also in the seminar. Based on these meetings, and other information, the consultant staff will select each student's field work placement agency. Students will then meet with the agency field instructor to confirm the arrangement. Your field instructor provides weekly supervision and instruction and oversees your entire placement experience.

Available placements cover a wide geographic range; most are outside of Berkeley. Students should be prepared to travel some distance to a placement. Since efficient public transportation may not be available, a dependable car and a budget for gas, tolls and maintenance is necessary to ensure a range of agency choices. All students must be available for placement all day on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Field work begins in mid-October and continues two days a week through the end of the Fall semester (please refer to the field work calendar for exact dates). You and your agency field instructor will work together to develop a learning agreement that will govern the placement. The learning agreement specifies the goals and tasks that will be accomplished in the placement and provides the basis for periodic evaluations of your work.

During the Winter holiday vacation in December you are responsible for arranging coverage for any work you are assigned. Regular field work resumes in January and continues for 2 days a week through April (see field work calendar for exact dates).

Since the first year of the MSW program is designed to provide a broad introduction to social work and social welfare, field agencies are selected by consultants for their ability to familiarize students with key approaches and institutions in each specialization field. Special attention is given to the public and voluntary agencies that provide services to culturally diverse, disadvantaged groups. Modes of practice in these settings involve brief or supportive models of direct practice including case management, emergency intervention, and counseling with individuals and groups. Psychotherapy training is not a goal of our program. Indirect services students often work with large, complex bureaucracies, smaller non-profit agencies, funding organizations, and advocacy groups.

Beginning professional social work tasks in agencies can be an emotionally and intellectually challenging process. Several resources are available to help students at this time and throughout the placement. Field work consultants visit agencies to meet with you and your field instructor to discuss and approve your learning agreement and to resolve any problems. The field seminars also provide a forum to learn from other students about different settings as well as to discuss common field issues and experiences.

Second Year Field Work

Preparation for second year field work begins in the second semester of your first year with discussion of your learning goals in the field work meeting. Reviewing information provided by available agencies and meeting with field work consultants, you will identify placements you wish to visit for placement interviews. After these visits you will indicate your agency of preference. While agency and student requirements influence the placement process, we attempt to provide each student with the type of setting that best fits particular learning goals for the second year. Second year placements tend to be more specialized than first year experiences, and a broader range of settings is available.

Second year students are in their placement three days a week. In your second year, in addition, you will probably be working on a research project linked to your agency setting. Your research seminar will provide support and guidance for this work.

Second year MAP students are also expected to enroll in SW 402, MAP Field Work Seminar, during the Spring semester. Second year Direct Service students will attend five field work section meetings during the year.

Types of Placement Settings

The list of agencies on the back pages of the School of Social Welfare Announcement are examples of MSW placement settings. Please be aware that specific agencies and placements vary from year to year and that some agencies take only first year students and some take only second year students.

Evaluation & Grading

Grading in the field work seminar (SW 400) and in the field work placement (SW 401) is on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. This does not affect your use of the S/U option for academic classes.

A structured, written evaluation takes place at the mid-point and at the end of each placement year. The agency field work instructor recommends a grade to the school although the determination of your actual grade is made by the school's field work faculty. Concerns about performance deficits reflected in the first year placement may have a bearing on the setting and tasks selected for the second year placement.

An Unsatisfactory final grade in either a first or second year field placement will subject a student to dismissal, whatever their performance in the academic program.

Appeal Process for Unsatisfactory Field Grade

Students who receive grades they believe unfair should meet with the agency field work instructor and the school field work consultant. (The school field work consultant typically initiates this meeting). If the school field work consultant concurs with the recommended Unsatisfactory grade, the student may appeal to the Director of Field Work, Bart Grossman. If the Director of Field Work also concurs with the recommendation, the student should follow the grade appeal process outlined in the Grades and Grade Appeals section of this handbook.