Our dedicated field placement team works to secure fields placement on your behalf. You will work closely with a designated field placement specialist, though you may hear from any team member throughout the process.

The field placement specialist will conduct outreach to identify and qualify your placement. This search will be based on:

Once a placement assignment has been approved, you will be asked to interview or attend a pre-placement meeting. After all relevant steps have been completed, your placement will be confirmed.

The placement team usually will contact you one term prior to a placement start date. This will not be a placement notification, but rather an introductory call regarding the process.

Field placement can be time-sensitive (for example, if there is an interview process or clearance process), so you must respond to the placement team within two business days. The placement team will make the same commitment. 

You are encouraged to participate in the placement process by submitting one or more referrals. You’ll be asked to complete a referral form that outlines an agency and field instructor’s contact information. The listed field instructor must be a personal connection who has either agreed to or has expressed an interest in hosting you for field placement. 

The placement team will reach out to the listed field instructor and take the steps necessary to determine if it will be an appropriate site for field placement. All agencies (referral or secured by the placement team) are subject to an approval process.

You are required to complete an interview process prior to placement confirmation. You must reach out to your assigned field instructor within two business days of receiving an interview notification. The field instructor will receive a similar interview notification, indicating you will reach out, make introductions and determine a meeting time.

The field placement portion of Online Social Work at CWRU is an ongoing commitment. You should prepare to be at your field placement site 10–12 hours per week, totaling 150 hours per semester. You will need to adjust your schedule to that of the field instructor and agency.

If you are working full time, the placement team is not able to guarantee a placement schedule that is exclusively during evening/weekend hours. You may need to adjust your schedule in order to complete field practicum hours and meet the requirements of the placement site.

The placement team will make every reasonable attempt to place you as close to your preferred placement locations as possible. However, if there are insufficient resources for quality placement sites in your area, you may need to travel to complete field placement requirements. All travel to and from a placement site is completed at your expense. You cannot reject an approved placement solely on the basis of site distance or required travel time. 

You may be allowed to complete field placement at your current place of employment. In order to qualify for an employment-based field placement, you cannot work with clients with whom you currently or may potentially have relationships. You must accrue the field placement hours with a field instructor and population completely separate from your professional role (e.g., in a different department that is in the same building or network).

If you are interested in an employment-based field placement, you should inform your Field Placement Specialist in order to receive a copy of the employment-based field placement application. All field placements, including employment-based field placements, must be approved by the field education department.

Your Field Placement Specialist will search for a suitable placement based on the Generalist Year core competencies and your expressed interest for the Specialized Year. If you have a specific interest in a field placement agency, you are encouraged to submit referrals using the referral form.

As state certification processes vary, you are responsible for researching and understanding additional requirements outside of what is provided via graduation by the Mandel School. For example, students in the state of Ohio may be required to apply for the Social Work Trainee (SWT) license issued through the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board.

Some field placement agencies require specific clearances prior to starting field placement. These clearances will be communicated to the student in a timely manner, if applicable. The placement and contracts administration teams will be available for additional support throughout that process.

Online Social Work at CWRU does not guarantee students will be able to receive a field placement outside of the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii. This includes military bases and U.S. territories. Students who require an international placement due to unexpected relocation are responsible for identifying a local placement opportunity that fits their needs and working with our placement team to verify site eligibility and ensure all program requirements are met. Please reach out to your student success advisor immediately if you require this type of placement opportunity to complete the program.