The field experience for MSW students constitutes 1080 hours over four terms (18 credit hours) for full-time MSW students.
Part-time students who enter without advanced standing also complete 1080 hours (18 credit hours) of field education; however these hours are distributed over a greater number of semesters.
Advanced standing students complete 720 hours (12 credit hours) typically distributed over two terms (full-time students) to four terms (part-time students).
The structure for the MSW Program depends on a student's status as either Full Time or Part Time as well as First Year or Second Year standing. Note: For Field Office purposes, Advanced Standing students are considered to have Second Year standing.
First Year students complete a Generalist Field Placement. Standard Second Year students and those granted full Advanced Standing status complete a Specialized Practice Area Field Placement.
Further details about the structure of field placements for each term can be downloaded in a PDF document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Field Education Schedule
Field Education Handbook
Online Field Directory
Internship/Field Placement Descriptions
MSW Field Placement Request and Confirmation Forms
Field Learning Plans and Evaluation/Timesheet Documents
- The Office of Field Education will be providing each student a unique link to their electronic Learning Plans (beginning of the term) and Evaluation plus the Time Sheet documents (about 7 weeks before the end of the term) for all students for all terms starting Summer Semester 2017.
- Each student will receive an individualized link for the Field Learning Plan and Field Evaluation respectively to their Pitt Email Account (see an example of this email). The student is responsible for sharing this link with their Field Instructor (see outline of guidelines).
- As you work on these documents, your progress will be automatically saved, however it is important that you save the link that was sent to you in order to return to your Field Learning Plan or Evaluation plus the Time Sheet.
- All documents will be signed electronically within the forms and submitted electronically. The signature of your field liaison will be secured by the Field Office after you submit the document to the Office of Field Education.
- Please contact your field coordinator(the person who matched you to a field site) in the Office of Field Education or the Administrative Assistant for the Office of Field Education Ms. Riley A. Riley at riley.riley@pitt.edu with any questions regarding this process and/or these forms.
Example Field Learning Plans
These documents are meant to be used by Field Instructors and their students to brainstorm applicable tasks and activities by providing good examples from previous successful Field Learning Plans.
- Generalist Example
- Direct Practice Mental Health Example
- Direct Practice Home and School Visitor Example
- Direct Practice Gerontology Example
- Direct Practice Integrated Health Care Example
- COSA Concentration Example
Example Field Evaluations
- These documents are meant to be used by Field Instructors and their students to show constructive evaluations as good examples from past successful students.
- Direct Practice Mental Health Example
- COSA Concentration Example
- Downloadable copies of Gerontology, Integrated Health Care, Home and School Visitor, and Generalist Evaluations are COMING SOON.