Field Experience

Weber State's Department of Social Work & Gerontology offers opportunities to go beyond the classroom and gain skills for your future career through field experiences and volunteer opportunities.

Social Work Field Experience

Required Courses

SW 4860 - Social Service Field Experience I (taken concurrently with SW 3920 and SW 3930)
SW 4861 - Social Service Field Experience II

Prerequisites

SW 3200 - Child and Family Welfare
SW 3500 - Social Welfare & Gerontological Policy Development and Service
Formal admittance to the field experience (provided in SW 3910)
All general education requirements

How to Sign Up

While taking SW 3910 - Social Work Practice I, our field director will visit your class to provide you with information for completing your field experiences. If you have already taken SW 3910 and not signed up for a field experience course, contact our field director Steve Vigil (801-626-6408, svigil@weber.edu) prior to the semester you’d like to complete your first field experience.

Gerontology Field Experience

Put the skills you learn in the classroom to use while you gain experience in the gerontology field.

Required Course

GERT 4860 Introductory Field Practicum (for minor or non-degree certification)

Minor/Certificate Prerequisites

GERT 1010 - Introduction to Gerontology
GERT 3320 - Ethnicity and Older Women in the American Society
GERT 3500 - Social Welfare & Gerontological Policy Development and Service

Note: If you’re a gerontology major, visit the current course catalog for field experience requirements.

Field Education Forms

Background Check

Having a criminal history or legal issues in your past will not automatically keep you from becoming or practicing as a social worker. However, most field placement sites require a background check. Failure to pass a background check may limit field placement options, delay field placement or prevent you from completing the required field internship. Sometimes these issues can be resolved through expungement procedures in the state where charges were adjudicated, by working closely with an attorney to reduce previous charges or by working with the Board of Pardons.

If you have any criminal issues in your past that might show up on a background check, you are encouraged to contact the field director immediately to discuss the potential impact on the field placement.

Questions?

If you have any questions, contact our field director prior to the semester you’d like to complete your first field experience.

Steve Vigil
Field Director
801-626-6408
svigil@weber.edu