Berkeley Social Welfare may consider a student’s current or former place of employment as the site for an approved, MSW student internship. Approval of these settings is not automatic, and requires collaboration between the student, the employing agency, and the Director of Field Education.
Incoming students are queried about this option in their pre-placement questionnaire. Existing students applying to an advanced (second year) internship must initiate questions about an internship in an employing agency with their currently assigned Field Consultant.
For Berkeley Social Welfare to consider an internship in an employment setting, students must first work with their employer and proposed internship supervisor to complete an “Employment Based Internship Application.” These applications are distributed upon request by the Practicum Education Office during established periods in the placement processes.
In general terms, the application helps to ensure:
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the employment setting offers the MSW student well-defined opportunities to meet all Berkeley MSW field education standards and requirements
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the availability of a qualified MSW field instructor who is not the same person as the student’s employment supervisor
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an appropriate field placement internship schedule that accounts for required coursework
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a commitment on the part of the agency to offer new or enhanced tasks or project assignments that are separate from regular, day-to-day employment duties, and directly correlate with all identified competencies for field education
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proactive consideration of anticipated problems and strategies for resolution
Supporting materials for the application typically include the student’s resume and a copy of their current job description.
The Director of Field Education is responsible for evaluating and approving requests for employment-based field placements and determining if the proposed placement arrangement meets all standards and requirements for the Berkeley MSW field education program.
As part of the determination process, the Berkeley Social Welfare practicum consultants and/or administrator typically review the proposal with the student, and confirm their understanding of the educational costs and benefits of this arrangement vis-à-vis other available practica opportunities. Students may be asked to interview concurrently for other types of practica so that they can fully consider the comparable educational benefits of all potential MSW practica opportunities.
Before approving the request, Berkeley Social Welfare must confer with the intended agency-based field instructor and program manager to ensure that all educational requirements can be met throughout the intended duration. We offer strategies to protect the students' learning and to separate out educational goals from their employer-based needs. Specifically, we discuss “time walls” between a student’s educational time and their employment time so that there will be an accurate accounting of each and a separate reporting and evaluation relationship for each. Finally, we enlist their commitment to continue the student’s educational internship for the entire length of the intended duration even if employment should cease for whatever reason.
In exceptional circumstances, the Director of Field Education may approve a student to complete both of their placements in one agency where they are or have also been employed. This generally involves consideration of the student’s career goals, the type of agency, the variation and quality of learning assignments available for both placements, and a comparative analysis of the benefits of other available placements that may enrich and broaden the student’s graduate learning.
If Berkeley Social Welfare becomes aware that practicum learning tasks or educational supervision are not occurring as planned, we reserve the right to terminate the employer-based placement and to ask the student to complete another educational placement of full length.
Although we encourage the agency and the student to make clear agreements about pay and benefits during the internship portion of employment, Berkeley Social Welfare cannot enforce agreements related to employment, only those related to programmatic education standards.