Helpful Links
Hands-on learning in the real world
In their senior year, BSW students develop their professional skills through 440 clock-hours of internship in an organization in the community with social work supervision. Students take a concurrent practice course and practicum seminar that integrates theory and practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Organizations approved as field sites include public agencies, non-profits, schools, legal clinics, healthcare providers, homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, recovery programs and more.
The Office of Practicum Education maintains educational relationships with more than 600 organizations that are approved as field sites. In their senior year, BSW students meet with faculty advisors to select their top internship placements.
Please note: Access to a vehicle is required by some agencies and can widen a student’s practicum placement options.
The Office of Practicum Education and faculty liaisons provide internship options and individualized advising to help students select their top seven choices. Students are then matched with their top choices based on the strength of their experience and interests.
The BSW internship is generalist, meaning that provides a foundational experience to build a social work career in any field. You will have learning opportunities for direct practice, group work, and macro level skills such as program development and grant writing.
At the practicum placement, BSW student interns receive social work supervision. Interns receive at least an hour a week of individualized, educational supervision. In addition, students receive support from a Steve Hicks School faculty liaison with expertise in both social work curriculum and community-based practice.
The practice course is designed to support knowledge and skill-building for students in their internships. The professor who teaches this course also liaises with the student’s internship site and helps students integrate the social work curriculum with the experiential practice in field.
Please contact the Practicum Education Office at ssw-field@austin.utexas.edu.