The field placement experience offers students an opportunity for applied learning and to gain direct social work experience as well as transferable skills.
Students can explore the steps to the field placement application process under Incoming Field Students page on MySSW on the School of Social Work website (https://sites.google.com/umich.edu/ssw-field-process/prepare-to-apply ). The steps include:
Preparing to Apply: understand the purpose of field education, understand the application process and understand the difference between an internship and a field placement.
Compose and Submit: review the goal statement guidelines, write goal statement, update resume, finalize your pathway, identify settings of interest and skills to learn, and submit the field placement application.
Interview: research and prepare for your interview by (a), understanding how to navigate different interview formats (b) learning questions you may ask or be asked (c) learning what happens next
Prepare to Start: prepare to start field, be considering how to enter communities and organizations and communicate with your agency about logistics
Students who are unresponsive during the placement process or fail to submit their field application by the due date will have a hold placed on their account and will be unable to register for the subsequent term. If the student subsequently does not reach out to the field office to begin their process in a timely manner, they run the risk of being moved to the following term, which may cause additional financial responsibilities and a possible delay in their graduation date.