Herzing has a hands-on policy for supporting students and students are encouraged to explore agencies in their community which they are interested in completing a field practicum. The Director of Field Education and Herzing faculty are there every step of the way to ensure you have an agency practicum setting to begin your field education. The step-by-step process from the Field Education Handbook reads:
Locating a Field Practicum: Step by Step Process
- The first 8 weeks of the first semester and prior to admission to the Generalist Practice Field Placement, students are required to participate in an 8-week program orientation and field practicum readiness training.
- During the first weeks of the semester, students meet with the Director of Field Education to discuss their interests for field placement.
- Between weeks 1 and 4 of the semester, students identify three agencies/organizations for their two-semester field practicum placement and submit the information to the Director of Field Education.
- After each student identifies agency/organizations for potential field placement, the Director of Field Education contacts the agency and potential qualified supervisor to ensure the placement is appropriate. The Director of Field Education will then approve the student contact to request an interview with an agency/organization. When the student is approved to do their internship at the agency, the Director of Field Education will ensure the agency provides the appropriate opportunities and has a qualified supervisor.
- The Director of Field Education will verify the qualifications of the potential field instructor as specified by CSWE, the MSW program, and state licensure requirements. The Director of Field Education works with the Field Instructor to approve the individual as a Visiting Field Faculty through Herzing University.
- The Director of Field Education notifies each student of the formal acceptance from the prospective agency and sends the agency the MOU agreement. The practicum placement is finalized when the agency/organization submits the required practicum placement contract to the Herzing University MSW program. The start date is established for the first week of classes the following semester.
Learn more about MSW field education
* Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics 2022 / Occupational Outlook Handbook 2022. BLS estimates do not represent entry-level wages and/or salaries. Multiple factors, including prior experience, age, geography market in which you want to work and degree field, will affect career outcomes and earnings. Herzing neither represents that its graduates will earn the average salaries calculated by BLS for a particular job nor guarantees that graduation from its program will result in a job, promotion, salary increase or other career growth.