Field Education

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BASW Field Education

The field experience engages the student in supervised social work practice and provides opportunities to apply classroom learning in the field setting. The purpose of this course is to provide Undergraduate Social Work Students who have achieved Senior Status with a generalist perspective. Students will participate in a SDSU School of Social Work approved field placement in a community agency for 16 hours per week for a total of 240 field hours per semester, and the Field Experience Labs for 4 Credits per semester. The Field Experience Course Labs are designed to provide an opportunity for discussion and critical analysis of students' fieldwork experiences, with a major emphasis on the understanding of the ethical and value base of the profession, and to sensitize students to a cross-cultural perspective. Students will integrate the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom with knowledge and skills learned in the field experience agency.

This course is the first in a two-course sequence of generalist social work practice, taken concurrently with SW 483A, Generalist Social Work Practice I. The two courses will be taken sequentially, beginning in the fall semester.

Field Experience Course / Internship

There are specific requirements that must be met for eligibility for the Field Experience Course. These requirements are described in the Undergraduate Social Work Handbook. The Field Experience begins only in the Fall semester of the Senior year and continues through the Spring semester for one academic year. Students' field placements are arranged by the Undergraduate Field Faculty Placement Committee in the preceding Spring semester only, with the BASW Associate Coordinator of Field Education having final approval. For additional Field Experience Course eligibility requirements please review below and the Undergraduate Student Handbook, 2009-2010 (pdf).

Student Eligibility for the Field Experience Course(s)

In order to qualify for Undergraduate Field Experience Courses, students must meet the following requirements by the end of the Spring semester prior to their enrolling in SW 489A:

1. Must have Senior status class level 4 (at least 90 earned units)
2. Must have major status (Major code 558201)
3. Must have completed and passed the 15 units of 300 level social work courses (350 / 360 / 361 / 370).
4. Must have obtained a grade of "C' or better in SW 381 and SW 382 (or students must retake course to meet this criteria)
5. Must have a major GPA of 2.4 or higher (includes all upper division social work courses taken - I, SP or U grades will be counted as an "F: in the GPA calculation).
6. Must have a minimum SDSU campus overall 2.0 GPA and be in good academic standing (cannot be on probation or disqualified) at the University.
7. Must have passed the Upper Division Writing requirement.

last updated: 8/03/09

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