Placement/practicum FAQs

What is a practicum/placement?

Practicum is a term used to cover all aspects relating to a social work field placement experience. It is a chance for students to experience with a social services agency. 

How many weeks will I spend on practicums/placements?

In the two-year postgraduate Master of Social Work (Professional) programme, students engage in a 50-day, full-time (Monday-Friday) field placement in Semester Two (August-November) of their first year.

In their second year, they will complete a 70-day, three-days-per-week (Monday-Wednesday) field placement concurrently with other university papers. This placement will begin in April and continue into Semester Two, finishing in October.

How are placements organised?

All placements are organised by and through the social work degree’s Practice Learning Team (PLT). The PLT will teach and get to know students during their pre-practicum skills papers.

The PLT will liaise with individual students to figure out their priority learning needs, make sure they meet fit and proper standards and expectations, and discuss and match students with areas of practice (such as Youth, Child and Family, Homelessness, Family Violence, Mental Health and more).

The PLT will identify an agency within that area of practice that confirms an interest in interviewing and offering student placements at that time. The students will be prepared to present themselves and attend an interview in order to explore and secure a field placement with the agency they have been matched to.

What will I do on placement?

You will learn about the agency, its services and the people it serves, how it operates, what social service sector it operates within, what outcomes are expected from its services and what skills, knowledge, values and attitude are needed to work there.

Students are attached to a person within the agency called a field educator who takes the role of supervisor, coach, and mentor and assesses the student to learn about the agency as the student becomes more comfortable and ready to contribute to the work it does. 

As a student, you operate under very clear expectations, standards and guidelines contained in a Field Placement Handbook, which also has a specific learning contract for you to develop with the agency. 

We partner with agencies to support our students in experiencing, learning, and building the necessary wide range of social work skills and knowledge needed to integrate theory learnt in the classroom into the day-to-day practice of the agency and critically reflect upon both self and society. You are usually part of a team within the agency and often work collaboratively with other agencies who may be offering complementary services.

Can students choose the organisation in which they do their placement?

The PLT matches the student and negotiates with prospective agencies/organisations. Students will be consulted and will have the opportunity to put forward their ideas and suggestions. The final decision as to where the student is offered an opportunity to experience their field placement, however, ultimately rests with the PLT, who has the overview and detailed knowledge of what is available and will have the best learning interests of the student foremost in their mind.

What support do students have when on placements?

Students are thoroughly prepared through their prior papers and specific briefings for their field placement experience. They have a detailed handbook (which they have been introduced to) that guides and advises them every step of the way.

They have a direct field educator within the agency, supervision of a minimum of an hour a week is negotiated by a qualified social worker within the agency, and students will have an assigned visiting lecturer from the University with whom they will maintain a close relationship and accountability, and who will visit them on placement.

What are some of the organisations in which the students might be placed? 

We partner with over one hundred agencies/organisations in the non-governmental (NGO) and statutory sectors. Statutory agencies are Health New Zealand, the Department of Corrections (including Probation Services and Prisons), Police and Oranga Tamariki Care and Protection, Youth Justice, and Care Services. Non-government agencies include Iwi Social Services, Pasifika, Asian and other ethnic-specific services, Child and Family Services like Anglican Trust for Women and Children, Barnardos, and Presbyterian Social Services.

We partner with many agencies offering engagement and services for targeting working with Youth, Mental Health, Housing, Poverty, Family Violence, Single parents, different abilities, community services, counselling and groups, projects, and research.

Are students likely to get offered a job at the organisation they are placed in once they’ve finished their degree?

Yes, it is very common for students to apply for jobs in the agencies where they have successfully completed a placement.

Are placements paid?

No, they are not paid. There are some occasional exceptions that you may discuss with your PLT.