Welcome current and prospective MSW students to the UA School of Social Work’s Practicum Education Program! Practicum is an important component of your graduate social work education.
What’s Ahead
Students are matched to agencies for their foundation placement. Placement assignments for this practicum education experience are made by the practicum education coordinators during prior semesters.
During the concentration year of study, students are assigned a practicum placement that matches their educational and professional goals. All students are required to complete the SW 595: Concentration Field course, which includes the option to request a Washington, D.C. or international practicum placement.
View or Download Practicum Calendars
Advanced Standing Traditional Practicum Calendar
Practicum Requirements
MSW students, both traditional and primarily online, are required to complete the following practicum requirements based on their Plan of Study:
| 60-Credit-Hour MSW/MSW DL | Advanced-Standing MSW |
| Two supervised practicum placements | One supervised practicum placement |
| Practicum is taken in the fall and spring | Practicum is taken in the spring |
| A minimum of 500 clock hours, respectively | A minimum of 500 clock hours |
| In practicum placements Monday-Friday for 20 hours per week for 25 weeks | In a practicum placement Monday-Friday for 32-40 hours per week for 15 weeks |
Academic credit for life experience and previous work experience will not be given in whole or in part in lieu of a practicum education course or any other course in the MSW program. Variable practicum placements are available for Advanced-Standing MSW and require students to complete a minimum of 16 hours per week.
MSW Practicum Placements
While we do our best to match students to agencies based on student feedback and interest areas, we cannot guarantee practicum placements in a specific geographic area. MSW practicum placements are offered internationally and nationally with a primary focus in the state of Alabama.
Students who hope to complete the Washington, DC field placement must take the course SW 525 prior to the spring semester of their concentration year. If chosen for the Washington, D.C. internship for their concentration year, selected students from either MSW concentrations may complete their practicum education practicum experience and the co-requisite SW 501 Advanced Social Welfare Policy Analysis course in Washington, D.C. The course SW 501 Advanced Policy Analysis is offered in Washington, D.C. each spring semester and is a co-requisite to the Washington, D.C. section of the course SW 595.
MSW students who are interested in an international practicum placement or the Washington, D.C. field placement for their concentration year, should contact Courtney Chapman Thomas, Practicum Education Director & Clinical Assistant Professor of Practice, at courtney.thomas@ua.edu or internationalsocialwork@ua.edu right away.
Working with Practicum Instructors and Faculty Liaisons
At the advanced-field practicum level, students work closely with practicum instructors and faculty liaisons to develop, integrate and apply the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom to real-life practice.
Students are supervised by a practicum instructor — an individual with a master’s degree in social work, usually someone employed at the agency. Practicum instructors, in conjunction with MSW faculty, play an important role in helping students select agency assignments that are related to the student’s individual learning needs. Our goal is to ensure every MSW graduate is well-prepared to transition from student to social work professional.
A faculty liaison, is responsible for monitoring a student’s educational progress and making assessments regarding the quality of the experience. The faculty liaison meets with the student and the practicum instructor at least twice during the practicum and is available to both the instructor and the student for discussions of the practicum experience and assistance with resolving any problems that may arise.
Applying for Practicum
All in-state MSW students preparing to enter practicum are expected to submit an in-state ABI/FBI background check prior to beginning their placement. Your background check can take time. In-state students should use the In-State Background Checklist to start the background check application. Out-of-state students should start a background check application here.
Students must apply for practicum via the School’s Social Work Information System (SWIS). SWIS is designed to provide you with a user-friendly mechanism to apply for practicum education. Please review our practicum application instructions carefully before logging into SWIS.