Practicum Education
Engage in a learning experience outside of the classroom that provides opportunities to gain first-hand knowledge while growing your professional skills.
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Gain hands-on experience working in professional settings
Students in both our undergraduate and graduate programs gain meaningful work experience through practicum placements, often referred to as field placements, with social service agencies and other community partners. A practicum placement is a degree requirement for students enrolled in our programs.
Practicum is your opportunity to learn, demonstrate your skills and begin to define your professional persona.
Your practicum experience provides enriching opportunities to practice learned concepts as you place them in to action while working in professional settings. You will link previous learning in the classroom to new knowledge and experiences working directly with client populations. Practicum liaisons and supervisors will guide and support you through this educational journey.
Students enrolled in our Couple and Family Therapy program have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working in Kent School’s Relationship Solutions Clinic. Students provide supervised client counseling and gain experience and professional feedback.
The practicum education experience will be a key component to your future success as a working professional.
You will build self-confidence, develop essential skills and make professional, community-based connections prior to graduation. Upon graduation, you will be prepared to address social concerns and tackle problems with the ability to enhance the quality of life for others.
Map shows the expansive reach of our practicum placements for Kent School students.
Practicum education and the Kent experience
Students must demonstrate core competencies in a practicum setting
Through the practicum experience, students engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities as they develop and demonstrate their skills in the nine social work core competencies:
- Competency 1: Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior
- Competency 2: Engage diversity and difference in practice
- Competency 3: Advance human rights and social, economic and environmental justice
- Competency 4: Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice
- Competency 5: Engage in policy practice
- Competency 6: Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities
- Competency 7: Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities
- Competency 8: Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities
- Competency 9: Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities
Be part of our practicum education experience
Kent School continues to create partnerships with individuals and local, national and global agencies to expand our student practicum offerings. If you are interested in learning more, connect with us.
Frequently Asked Questions
BSW students will complete practicum placement the fall/spring semesters of their senior year.
Students will receive invitations to apply via their UofL email. Please check your email and email junk/spam folder for this communication. Students must attend a mandatory practicum information session before beginning their practicum. In addition, many agencies have specific orientation and health requirements that must be completed before beginning an on-site practicum with the agency.
MSSW students will receive invitations to apply for their practicum via their UofL email.
For 1st year Generalist and 2nd year Specialized students, placements are completed in the fall/spring or spring/summer semesters, and summer/spring for Specialized students in the Couple and Family Therapy program.
Notifications to complete the application for practicum placement will occur in January for fall/spring placements and in August for spring/summer placements. If you do not receive the invitation to apply, please check your junk/spam email folders. You may also contact the Practicum Education Office at fieldedu@louisville.edu.
Practicum Education requires students to complete an application for practicum placement.
There are specific application deadlines, so please review the dates and mark your calendar. We suggest that you complete your application as soon as possible to avoid a delay in the placement process. Upon completion, the application will be assigned to a Kent School practicum coordinator. The coordinator will communicate with you and work to locate and secure your placement.
If you are not notified to apply for practicum in January for fall placement or September for spring placement, please contact the Practicum Education Office at fieldedu@louisville.edu
The practicum search and placement process begins once you submit your completed application. A Kent School practicum coordinator will be assigned to you. They will begin the process to obtain a practicum placement, working to match your needs and learning goals with opportunities provided by collaborating practicum agencies. The coordinator will work to establish a practicum placement that supports your practice area(s) of interest and accommodate your geographical location.
The coordinator will communicate and consult with you via your university assigned email. No personal or work emails will be used to discuss potential practicum placement options. It is critical that students regularly check their UofL email, even if they are not in class. Important and time sensitive information may be sent requiring an immediate response from the student.
Prospective practicum sites for student placements are selected based on agencies that have existing affiliation agreements with the Kent School. Practicum coordinators make initial contact with prospective agencies to ensure they are able and willing to host students.
If a student would like to do an employment-based practicum, this should be indicated in their practicum application. The practicum coordinator will contact the student to discuss the requirements, provide the appropriate guidelines and proposal form, and carefully review the request for final approval.
If a student has a specific interest in an agency where they would like to do a practicum, the student should discuss this with the practicum coordinator.
Students should not initiate contact with any agency requesting a placement until they have communicated with their practicum coordinator, and the coordinator has given them direction and approval to contact an agency.
Before students can be placed in their practicum, there has to be a legal agreement between the University of Louisville and the agency. This is called an affiliation agreement. If there isn’t an existing affiliation agreement, this contractual process can be lengthy. Students should return their application forms as early as possible to begin the process with new agencies. Students are not authorized to independently discuss setting up an affiliation agreement with an agency. Requested practicum placements with new agencies without an existing contractual agreement cannot be guaranteed.
The Practicum Education Office and/or the assigned practicum coordinator will initiate contact with the agency and guide them through the process.
When a prospective agency is selected for a student, the student will be emailed a referral letter from their assigned coordinator with direct contact information for the prospective agency. The student is responsible for scheduling a placement interview with the prospective agency by a specified date to determine the suitability of the potential practicum match. The student should treat the interview, whether in-person or virtual, like a job interview. Be sure to arrive early or be timely, dress appropriately and have an updated professional resume in-hand or sent via email to the agency contact prior to the interview.
The student and the agency will complete an agency practicum placement agreement form by a specified date, indicating their respective placement decision.
If both parties agree to the placement, a confirmation letter advising the finalized practicum assignment will be emailed to the student and the agency. This letter will also include important next steps to be carried out by either the student, the agency or both parties to successfully onboard the student to begin practicum.
If either party declines the placement, the coordinator will notify the student to provide additional practicum options, and the referral process will repeat.
Some agencies have additional requirements for students before beginning their placement at the agency. Students may be required by their practicum placement agency to complete a background/criminal records check, fingerprinting, vaccinations, drug screens, specialized trainings, etc. before starting. If the student is interested in a placement at the agency, they need to confirm with the agency what is required. The University does not cover your expenses, but some agencies will. Be sure to inquire with your agency contact.
Some agencies may require the student to provide a criminal background check or drug screen. In those situations the University contracts with a third-party vendor which helps obtain such clearances at a cost which is significantly less than what the student might pay other providers for the same services.
Kent School’s Practicum Education Office requires BSW, 1st Year MSSW Generalist and 2nd Year MSSW Specialized students complete an online orientation.
Orientations are available to students several weeks before the beginning of the semester, and students will be notified via email when an orientation is available. Students will have until the end of the second week of practicum to complete the online orientation. These hours will count toward student practicum hours. The student will follow the instructions for completion of the orientation and loading the hours into SONIA, Kent School‘s designated database. The Practicum Education Office will approve the online orientation hours in SONIA.
Agencies may require students complete an agency orientation prior to the start of the semester. In this case, the student must attend the orientation, but may not begin their on-site practicum until the start of the semester. Agency orientation hours will be approved by the practicum instructor.
BSW and 1st-Year MSSW/Generalist Practicum Students
Students are expected to work directly with client populations served by the agency which should include a diversity of clientele, including women, ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged populations. Students should carry a “learner’s” caseload of individuals/couples/families, participate in the intake and assessment process and carry client assignments which include as many phases of the problem-solving process as possible. Practicum activities should include opportunities for the student to practice the social work roles of conferee, broker, mediator and advocate.
The Generalist practicum experience should include a broad exposure to social work practice opportunities at the micro, mezzo and macro levels of social work. The student should directly work with clients including individuals, couples, families and small groups. In addition, the student should work with committees and/or community coalitions, develop and/or revise policies, conduct program evaluations and research and explore administrative and policy issues significant to the agency and their clientele.
2nd-Year MSSW/Specialized Practicum Students
Specialized practicum students have the same requirements as BSW and 1st-Year/MSSW Generalist students, except they should be challenged with more complex client situations and increased responsibilities in assignments. Macro and policy practice settings should develop “learner’s” caseloads of a variety of policy work, projects and meetings within the agency and community.