We are extremely grateful to government, nonprofit, and public service agencies who share our devotion to serving vulnerable individuals, families, and communities while cultivating excellent future practitioners. In exchange for offering learning opportunities and instruction, agency partners receive 100,000 service hours annually.
We identify, recruit and select practicum sites that meet the following criteria:
- Share our mission of serving vulnerable populations in alignment with the values, approaches and ethics of social work;
- Employ a qualified practicum instructor who holds an MSW degree from an accredited program, has two years or more of post-MSW work experience, and has worked for the agency for at least one year;
- Provide the practicum instructor with adequate time to provide orientation, clinical instruction, and administrative supervision to MSW students (no less than one hour per week and often more than this);
- Make a wide range of appropriate learning opportunities students so they may achieve overarching competency objectives; and
- Collaborate with School faculty to assess, teach and evaluate social work students as they assume practice roles.
About our Practica Instructors
In a recent survey:
- 77 percent of our Practic\uma Instructors indicated they served in the role because they “love mentoring younger professionals”
- 70 percent indicated they were licensed in California
- 60 percent have held their MSW for more than 10 years
- More than 50 percent had worked in their agency for five years or longer.
Recruitment and Selection Processes for New Agencies
We recruit and screen interested practica agencies twice a year. Spring recruitment begins in January. Agencies found to be appropriate and fitting during fall recruitment can participate in the practica placement process for second year students, which begins in mid-to-late April. Spring recruitment begins in March. Agencies found to be appropriate and fitting during the spring recruitment cycle can participate in the practica placement process for first year students, which begins in May. More information about first and second year placements
2025-2026 Recruitment
Please note that, of November 2024, all New Agency Webinars are postponed while we are in the process of hiring a new Practicum Director. If you are interested in becoming an approved agency at Berkeley Social Welfare, please fill out a New Agency Application and reach out to swfield@berkeley.edu for any additional questions that you may have about our placement process.
We have monthly New Agency Webinars for agencies interested in hosting an MSW student intern for 2025-2026: (Choose One Date)
- Wednesday, September 4, 2024, 12-1 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 12-1 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 6, 2024, 12-1 p.m.
- Wednesday, December 4, 2024, 12-1 p.m.
- Wednesday, January 8, 2025, 12-1 p.m.
- Wednesday, February 5, 2025, 12-1 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 12-1 p.m.
- Wednesday, April 2, 2025, 12-1 p.m.
If you would like to be considered as a practicum placement site, please do the following:
- Sign up for a new agency webinar
- Once you have participated in a webinar, we will send you an application to complete and submit
Annual training and access to the Social Welfare Library are provided to all approved practica instructors and sites.
Recruitment and Selection Processes for New Practicum Instructors
We recruit and screen interested practica instructors throughout the year. We host a New Practicum Instructor Training each August.
New Instructors at Agencies with Existing Practicum Placements
If you are a new Practicum Instructor at an agency with existing placements with Berkeley Social Welfare MSW students, please contact swfield@berkeley.edu to be added to our database, and we will send you an application.
Questions?
Contact swfield@berkeley.edu