Field Manual  (.PDF) Updated 6/14/12

Field education is an essential component of the MSW Program. It is where theories and concepts are integrated with actual social work practice. Field education at FGCU is guided by standards set forth by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and the MSW Program’s Mission.

The standard two-year full-time curriculum is structured so that the student:

• Is assigned to two different field sites: one in the Foundation Year and the second in the Concentration Year;
• Is enrolled in three (3) credit hours of Field Education each semester the student is in field: Field I and Field II in the Foundation Year; and Field III and Field IV in the Concentration Year.
• Completes 500 hours of field education per academic year (250 hours per academic semester; roughly 16-17 hours per week for 15-16 weeks), and
• Is concurrently enrolled in Foundation courses, in the first year, and Concentration courses, in the second year of the program.
• The four-year part-time curriculum is structured so that the student.
• Completes the field work in the second and fourth years of the program.
• Is assigned to two different field sites: one in the Foundation Year placement and the one in the Concentration Year placement.
• Is in field for three (3) semesters: fall, spring, and summer for the Foundation Year placement; and summer, fall, spring for the Concentration Year placement.
• Is enrolled in two (2) credit hours of Field Education each semester the student is in field: Field IA, IB, and IC for the Foundation Year placement; and Field IIA, IIB, and IIC for the Concentration Year placement.
• Completes 500 hours of field education per academic year as follows:
  • Foundation Year: fall (190 hours), spring (190 hours), summer (120 hours).
  • Concentration Year: summer (120 hours), fall (190 hours), and spring (190 hours).
• Is concurrently enrolled in Foundation courses or Concentration courses.

Students are placed in a variety of community-based social service organizations which serve the five-county Florida Gulf Coast University area (Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry, and Glades).

For further information please contact:

Lori D. Carroll, LCSW
Field Education Coordinator
239-590-7726
lcarroll@fgcu.edu