School of Social Welfare: Practicum Education

Practicum and class work are integral parts of a whole educational experience and a well-rounded education in social welfare is best obtained by the integration of theory and practice. Throughout a student’s time in the program, they are required to be concurrently enrolled in social work practice courses while completing thirty-three weeks of practicum education.. The requirements for MSW graduation include a minimum of 16 credits in practicum education that are accrued each year at the rate of 4 credits per term, 14 hours per week for 33 weeks. Advanced Standing students are required to complete 21 hours per week over a 33-week academic year, 6 credits per term. The requirements for BSW graduation include a minimum of 12 credits in practicum education that are accrued in the senior year at the rate of 6 credits per term,14 hours per week for 30 weeks.

Practicum education typically takes place Monday through Friday during the day and early evening. Some placements accept blocks of time of less than 7 hours per day, but no placement will be arranged with blocks of less than 4 to 5 hours at a time. Practicum education experiences are available in a broad range of human service programs that meet the needs of individuals, families, groups, and communities and are located throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties, and the greater metropolitan New York area. Placements that offer hybrid (remote and in-person) and evening and/or Saturday hours are few and not ideal learning environments. Therefore students  are required to be prepared to offer day hours for placement purposes. 

In order to measure student competency in practicum education, the school requires written evaluations at the end of each semester, completed by their practicum instructor who is assigned by the practicum agency. The School has developed a set of behaviors that comprise each competency, and students are evaluated on each behavior of each individual competency. Students are rated on each practice behavior, and these scores are added together for a total score on each competency, using a Likert scale. Each of the evaluations (Generalist and Advanced Generalist) use the same rating scale ranging from:

• IP (1) - Insufficient Progress: Has little understanding of the competency; rarely demonstrates the behavior but has had multiple opportunities to demonstrate;
• UP (2) - Uneven Progress: Demonstrates a beginning understanding of the competency and struggles with implementation of the behavior in their work;
• IC (3) - Increased Consistency: Shows evidence of understanding the competence required and continues to strengthen consistency by applying behaviors in their work;
• C (4) - Competence: Understands the competency required and is consistent in applying the behaviors in their work; and
• OC (5) - Outstanding: Demonstrates an exceptional ability to effectively integrate the behavior into their practice.