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The Practicum Education Department at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work is responsible for the practicum placements of over 300 Master of Social Work (MSW) students each year. We maintain long-standing partnerships with over 600 practicum placement sites including hospitals, mental health treatment centers, and other social service agencies in the Greater New York Area, and throughout the U.S., Canada, and Israel. In these settings, each MSW student completes 1,200 hours of practicum over 4 semesters of study, under the supervision of licensed social workers. 

Practicum comprises a major portion of your MSW education. The Practicum Instruction Office designs and evaluates first- and second-year practicum placements, which allow students to develop the required practice skills with individuals, families, groups and communities. This extensive practicum training ensures that all our students across the live virtual classroom (synchronous), on-campus, and (asynchronous) options are well-prepared for professional practice. As a student conducting practicum, you learn engagement, assessment, intervention, evaluation and termination in a range of settings that provide diverse clients for you to serve. Through the weekly supervision and feedback from your social work practicum instructor, you develop self-reflection and improve your use of self with clients. You have maximum opportunities to build relationships with clients while learning to integrate classroom knowledge and professional ethics within your client interactions.

Settings such as hospitals, child welfare agencies, mental health and psychiatric facilities, child and family services, gerontology support programs, school-based services and substances abuse treatment all provide unique options for you to encounter clients and develop skills necessary to offer professional help and service. As a first-year student, you develop foundation practice skills, and in your second year, you deepen practice skills in your selected concentration area.

The directors in the Practicum Instruction Office develop practicum placements for students in all Wurzweiler programs: concurrent students who are given placements in a practicum agency; PEP students whose practicum placements are developed at their employing agencies; and block students coming from broad geographic area nationally and internationally.