Current Field Instructors

We want you to feel well-prepared for this role. Field Instructors are required to complete an orientation and training. This training is offered annually on each campus in a face-to-face format and is also available online. It is free to Field Instructors, and the college provides training certificates for licensure contact hours.

You have a team supporting you! UT employs full-time faculty called Field Coordinators to support students and agency field instructors. Additionally, each Field Instructor and student has an adjunct Field Liaison who conducts a site visit, provides problem-solving support, and signs off on all required paperwork.

Students complete a field placement application and then meet with their assigned UTK Field Coordinator to discuss their interests and educational goals. The UTK Field Coordinator will reach out to appropriate agencies and facilitate the placement process. Agencies determine how they would like to move forward with the student, i.e., emailed resumes or online applications. Agencies are not required to accept students and are encouraged to interview students for goodness of fit. The final decision for placement assignment is made by the Field Coordinator. 

The field team works hard to minimize paperwork requirements for our Field Instructors! Field paperwork is completed electronically in a user-friendly online system. Field Instructors work with students to develop a learning plan for each semester, which details the learning activities and projects the student will undertake to meet the learning competencies for the field course. Field Instructors also provide evaluations of students at midterm and at the end of the semester and are expected to document their supervision with students on the student’s time sheets.

The minimum time required for field instruction is one hour per week of supervision. However, Field Instructors should expect to spend additional time orienting students and providing any specialized training that is needed. Field Instructors are expected to be available to students for consultation between weekly supervision sessions. 

We are unable to provide payment to Field Instructors, but we do offer free and discounted trainings that can be used for licensure requirements and access to online resources through the UT library system.

Yes, the University of Tennessee provides professional liability insurance for students in field. We can provide you with a copy of this.

That will depend on their program of study, but typically 16-24 hours/week over two to three semesters. BSSW students complete 500 hours. MSSW generalist students complete 400 hours at their agency, and concentration year students complete 600 hours.

The 400-hour MSSW Generalist placement enables the student to develop competence in generalist social work practice. This includes assessment, engagement, intervention, evaluation, advocacy, and policy practice at multiple client system levels. The 600-hour MSSW concentration placement is focused on the development of advanced knowledge and skills for practice within the student’s chosen concentration and is a more specialized placement experience. The two concentrations in the MSSW program are Clinical Practice (CP) and Organizational Leadership (OL).

Yes, if the agency meets our college’s requirements for an Employment-Based Placement

Yes, we strongly encourage agencies to provide stipends. Also, students may be eligible for Employment-Based Placements with your agency. For more information, view this link: https://csw.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/employee-based-field-placement-1.pdf