The Practicum Experience is Essential for Your Success

To become a well-rounded, fully qualified social worker, you need firsthand experience in addition to coursework. Social work is rooted in relationship development and personal service, so success demands practical understanding and supervised interaction with real clients. For most students, including those at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, this initial exposure comes through the practicum experience.

You’ll complete our practicum throughout your first and second years in the online Master of Social Work (MSW) program. It will bring your studies to life. Through dialogue with diverse clients, you’ll be empowered to practice social work with true cultural sensitivity and responsiveness, fully understanding all facets of the client relationship, including:

  • Engagement
  • Assessment
  • Intervention
  • Evaluation
  • Termination

Video Transcript

Stacey Bendet:
I am the mother of ten children and I have a masters in education and wanted to further my education by getting a masters in social work. My field placement was actually in a all girls high school. As an educator, I was able to really relate to the administration and the teachers of the school, but I was also able to take all the classes and skills that I'm learning in a master's in social work and apply them into a classroom.

The way they issue the university set it up that they provide you with a field instructor if you need one. Really just opened the doors and was able to help guide me through weaving the educational and social work piece to better enhance the lives of students.

Discover a New Focus in Social Work

As you progress through the online MSW program, you will have an opportunity to focus on specific service areas, including:

  • Advanced clinical practice with individuals and families
  • Group work
  • Community practice

These areas of emphasis will carry over into your practicum opportunities as you begin to integrate your classroom knowledge into client exchanges at hospitals, welfare agencies, mental health facilities, schools and more.

Practicum is especially crucial for students pursuing the Gerontology and Palliative Care Embedded Certification or the Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) credentialing. You’ll complete a second-year advanced practicum in an agency related to or partially serving the population in which you specialize.

Contact the Field Instruction Office
212-960-0803
wsswfield@yu.edu

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Download the MSW Practicum FAQ Sheet

For more information about the MSW practicum, including planning, placement and scheduling, consult our Practicum Planning FAQ document.

Download the FAQ Sheet

Partner With the Best

As a Wurzweiler online MSW student, your practicum will be supervised by the experts at one of our many well-established partner organizations. Past partners include:

American Red Cross
North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center
The Jewish Board
New York City Department of Education
Volunteers of America Utah
Johns Hopkins Medicine
North Mississippi Health Services
Children’s Aid

Discover More at Wurzweiler

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Prepare to Journey Ahead

The Wurzweiler Admissions Outreach Team is on standby to answer your questions about our online curriculum, application process and student support resources. Invest in social equity. It’s time to earn an MSW from a leading university for social work.1

Visit Admissions
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More Than a Career—It’s a Calling

At Wurzweiler, we understand that your choice to pursue social work is more than a simple career decision: it’s based on a deep commitment to serving others. Let us help you explore that inspiration and guide you toward meaningful employment opportunities.

View Career Resources