Internships and Student Projects

Master of Social Work Field Education

The Foundation internship is 400 hours and can be completed in a Spring semester block or can be spread over both the Spring and Summer semesters. This first practicum experience provides experiential learning of generalist social work practice in selected human service agencies.

The Concentration internship is 500 hours and can be completed in a Spring semester block or can be spread over both the Spring and Summer semesters. This practicum experience provides the student with an individualized, educationally focused experience in advanced generalist social work practice.

Employment based internships for those students already employed in a social work setting are encouraged, as long as a new learning experience can be provided to the student. Guidelines for employment based internships can be found in the TSU-MSW Field Education Manual.

Master of Social Work Student Projects

During student internships, there are many additional opportunities that are provided to students seeking to complete their field hours.

Faculty Research Opportunities

Our faculty members are often engaged in research projects, initiating scholarly inquiries, and collecting/analyzing program data. Interested students can contact TSU faculty to see if their interests and skills align with faculty research opportunities.

Interprofessional Training & Community Partnership Opportunities

Our faculty members are actively engaged with collaborative partnerships that deliver training in interprofessional collaboration, research, and community-building opportunities for students in the TSU-MSW Program. Information about these opportunities is provided by the Field Education Coordinator.

Online Training Opportunities

During your field experience(s), you will be given several opportunities to complete online trainings that connect with your field agency's mission and your career interests as a social worker.

Integration Clinic

The Integration Clinic is a fun, informative training and event that helps both BSW and MSW students learn how to develop good, integrated treatment plans. Student teams compete with each other by creating and presenting the best treatment plan based on a client from a case study. The training helps student teams prepare their treatment plans and the event is the treatment plan presentation competition. Included in the event is a panel discussion about treatment planning from local experts in the social work field.

Hollace Brooks Symposium and NASW Social Work Day-on-the-Hill

The Hollace Brooks Symposium is celebration of Dr. Hollace Brooks, a former faculty member and Director of the Social Work Program. The symposium is a policy analysis competition between student teams on both the BSW and MSW levels. Each team presents a policy analysis of an NASW-TN legislative priority. The winning BSW and MSW teams from the Hollace Brooks Symposium then compete in the statewide competition at the NASW Social Work Day-on-the-Hill.