The Ohio State University College of Social Work embraces field education as the signature pedagogy of the profession. This competency-based education is critical to the successful development of the social work practitioner. The field practicum is the portion of the student’s educational program which takes place in a human service setting under the instruction of an experienced professional social worker. You will be contacted by the field office through your OSU email when the placement process starts for your cohort. If you would like to learn more about field, please check out our website.
Social Work Practicum Experience Process Overview (PDF)
2 Year Traditional Full-Time Students
- In the first year of the MSW field placement, students are placed in human service agencies oriented toward a generalist social work practice.
- In the second year of the MSW field placement, students are completing an advanced placement in the same agency and it is designed to permit students to achieve greater autonomy and to maximize skill development in the integration of theory and practice.
| Autumn Semester | Spring Semester | Total Hours | |
| 1st Year | No field hours | 16 hours/week | 224 |
| 2nd Year | 24 hours/week | 24 hours/week | 672 |
*Student may elect to begin their 2nd year field hours in the Summer semester following their 1st year in the program. This will decrease weekly field hours for the remainder of the 2nd year to approximately 16-20/hours week.
ASAP: Full-Time Students
- ASAP students have obtained their generalist social work practice experience during their undergraduate education. ASAP placements permit students to maximize advanced skill development in their practice areas of interest.
| Autumn Semester | Spring Semester | Total Hours | |
| 1st Year | 24 hours/week | 24 hours/week | 672 |
Part-time Students (ASAP and Traditional)
- Part-time students begin field during their 2nd year in the program. Depending on the student’s individual course plan, the student will spend approximately 16-20 hours/week in field for multiple semesters to meet field hour requirements. Please speak to an advisor for specific course plan options.
Availability for Field Placement:
Field placements are completed during two to three workdays during normal business hours (Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.). To complete field education, employed students must arrange their work schedules to accommodate weekday time in field placement.
Additional field education hours may be approved for weekends and after business hours, with appropriate supervision available by the agency.
*If you are an out of state student, please review the following information as soon as possible so that you can better understand the field placement process.
Employment-Based Placement:
During the placement process, students may request to complete their field placement at their current place of employment by completing an Employment Based Placement (EBP) Application. All EBP’s require final approval from field office staff. If interested, please review the EBP policy here. (PDF)
Out of State Students:
There are a few additional steps in securing a field placement for out of state students:
- Contact potential agencies in your area and inquire about their capacity for an MSW student. Remember to share details regarding required field hours and your timeline for placement.
- Ensure that the agency has an MSW with 2 years post-graduate experience on staff to provide supervision to you (approximately 1 hour/week).
- Gather contact information for the agency: contact person, email, phone number & agency website.
- Be prepared to provide this information for up to 3 agencies to the field office when requested.
Out of State Students please review the Employment-based Policy: EP policy here (PDF)
Once requested, the field office will reach out to the agencies regarding the affiliation process and accepting you as a student. The affiliation process involves a legal agreement between the agency and The Ohio State University. This can be a timely process as the agreement goes through the legal teams of both entities. Please note that you cannot begin your placement until this is entire process is completed and the agency is approved as an affiliate.
Placement Process :
Students will be contacted by the field office regarding beginning the placement process. Students are not permitted to arrange their own field placements (exceptions for out of state students). Please visit our Information for Out of State Students page for more information (link)
Helpful Links:
Field Overview and Requirements
For additional questions, please contact cswfield@osu.edu