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Congratulations! You are on your way to a field placement! This power point presentation contains all of the information that you will need to complete your online field application. After November 1st, please go to the Intern Placement Tracking website at www.runipt.comto access the Field Application and to update your Student Detail page.Please read these instructions carefully, here is a summary of what is included: Personal Information: It is important that you provide your UMBC email address and telephone numbers. Please notify the Field Program as soon as possible with any changes. It is imperative that you use your UMBC email address during this process. Academic Information and Eligibility for Field Education: Please include all classes taken, as well as all remaining classes. Please list your minor. You will also need to include your GPA from ALL courses taken throughout your college career, not just UMBC. Applying for Field
Applying for Field Questions Pertaining to Field Placement Decisions: Questions will be asked regarding use of a car, family responsibilities/employment outside of school and fluency in other languages. You will be asked about interests in working with certain populations, including child welfare (Title IV-E), as well as populations you prefer not to work with. Finally, there will be questions about criminal convictions. Resume and Field Placement Letter: In addition to completing a Field Application, students applying for a field placement must complete a resume and a field placement letter. Only the resume and letter are sent to the field instructor. The application is used solely by the UMBC Field Program.
Applying for Field Please Note: Only complete applications will be processed. Please make sure that you are eligible for field and that your online application is complete by using the checklist below: _____ Field Placement Application _____ Updated Student Detail page (including a picture) _____ Current Resume _____ Field Placement Letter
Applying for Field • Field applications are accepted on a rolling basis from November 1st – December 1st, 2013. • Students must meet all of the following prerequisites before they will be assigned a field placement: • Complete SOWK 260, SOWK 388, and SOWK 397 with a grade of "C" or better in each course. • Have a cumulative Grade Point Average at least 2.5 by the end of the Spring, 2014 semester. Transfer grades will be combined with UMBC grades in order to calculate your cumulative GPA. (For assistance with calculating your overall GPA, please see: http://www.back2college.com/gpa.html.) • Plan to graduate within three semesters of beginning field education: in May, August or December of 2015. • Have the approval of the Social Work Faculty. • Students who are on academic probation, suspension or dismissal are ineligible for field. • ALL COMPLETED FIELD APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 1, 2013.
Applying for Field Other pertinent information regarding field instruction: • All students are required to remain in field 16 hours per week during the Winter Session. Since you will be working with clients at your agency, a break from mid‑December until late January would not be in the best interest of your clients. We also strongly discourage you from taking Winter Session courses. • All students in field education are required to participate in a group malpractice insurance plan, billed through the UMBC Accounting Office. In recent years, the cost has been approximately $25.00 for the academic year. • Students will need to obtain permission from the Field Education Faculty (FEF) prior to registering for Field Instruction (SOWK 480) and Methods II (SOWK 481). • Students do not locate their own field placements; however, we welcome your input and suggestions. Note: The department does not arrange evening and weekend placements. • Field instructors must have a Master's Degree in Social Work plus two years post-master's practice experience and must have been in the agency at least six months. • Students will receive a referral letter in spring or early summer via UMBC email. The referral letters will instruct each student to contact their assigned agency for an interview.
Logging into IPT Go to www.runipt.com Click on “Forgot your username or password?” to log in
Completing the Application To complete Field Education Application, click on “View”
Resume Guidelines and Tips • The primary purpose of the pre-field placement resume is for you to introduce yourself to potential future field instructors. It is important that your resume be well-written and free of grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. When writing a resume action verbs are needed to describe work/volunteer experience. If you would like help locating action verbs, please refer to the following link: http://www.quintcareers.com/action_skills.html • The average review is 15-30 seconds • Resume should be no longer than one page • Margins should be no more than one inch • Do not use fancy fonts; fonts should be 10.5 – 12 • Use consistent formatting for headings and dates • Do not use sentence or paragraph formatting • Limit use of abbreviations • Do not lie, exaggerate or use clichés (i.e., “out of the box thinker”) • Put your actual GPA; do not round up • Leave out information about marital status, gender, height, weight, or health • Do not list references • PROOF READ YOUR RESUME
Field Placement Letter and Tips The field placement letter introduces you to a potential field instructor and is their first impression of you. This letter allows you to go in-depth about important experiences/skills and relate them to expertise needed in the field of social work. It is important that the letter is well written as it provides a sample of your writing skills and shows the field instructor that your are invested in demonstrating your interest and commitment to the field of social work. The field placement letter should: • Be no more than one single spaced page • Avoid redundancy and wordiness • Use the same paper as your resume (in case you are asked to bring a paper copy to an interview) • Not have any TYPOS • Leave a space between addresses and dates in the heading • Leave a space between your heading and greeting • Leave a space between each paragraph • Leave at least three spaces between your close (Sincerely) and your typed name • Sign your name in ink between your close and typed name • Be given to friends and/or colleagues for proofreading or suggestions • Be PROOF READ after a few hours or days (improve sentences, grammar, typos)
Sample Field Placement Letter 5 Flagg Drive Heading: Your address Baltimore, MD 21250 Dear Prospective Field Instructor: Salutation This field placement letter is specifically designed to be used for your field application and will be sent directly to prospective field instructors. Please consider other resources for future cover letters. Since you do not know where you will be placed for your internship, work to broadly address your interest in the field of social work and your skills. In the opening paragraph address your interest in social work. Tell your story about how you chose social work vs. other majors which help people. As you are expressing your interest in becoming a social worker try to keep it broad so that you do not limit your field placement opportunities. The second and third paragraphs should include your skills, qualifications and personal strengths. Briefly summarize any educational, work, or other experience that may have relevance to social work. Please explain what you have learned from relevant past experiences and how the resulting skills and knowledge could benefit an agency. It is best to illustrate your skills through examples, skills, actions, awards, and classes rather than just stating you think you will be a good social worker. Show the reader rather than telling the reader. The final paragraph includes a referral to your enclosed resume. Reiterate your interest in social work, and thank the reader for her/his time and consideration. Sincerely, Closing Susanna Contreras Your Actual Signature for electronic versions this is acceptable Susanna Contreras Type your name Enclosure Indicates to the reader that a document is enclosed (Your resume)
Resume and Field Placement Letter • Your letter and resume are the most important parts of your application and can affect whether an agency agrees to interview you or not. • If you would like assistance or feedback regarding your resume, you can do one of the following: At UMBC’s Main Campus Call the Shriver Center (410-455-2493) and ask to make an appointment with Jeremiah Sawyer. Bring an electronic version of your resume to your appointment. Resumes only. At UMBC’s Shady Grove Campus Contact Katie Leiser (301-738-6304) or (410-375-5719) or via email at leiser@umbc.edu, or the USG Career Center at usgcareerservices@umd.edu or 301-738-6338 to schedule an appointment. You are strongly encouraged to utilize the above resources!
Final Information Field applications are accepted on a rolling basis from November 1st – December 1st, 2013 IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A FIELD PLACEMENT DURING THE 2014-2015 ACADEMIC YEAR, YOUR COMPLETED FIELD APPLICATION MUST BE SUBMITTED BY NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 1ST, 2013 Further Questions? Shady Grove students: contact Katie Leiser at (301-738-6304) or (410-375-5719) or leiser@umbc.edu Main Campus students: contact Adrienne Ekas-Mueting at (410-455-2008) or aekasm@umbc.edu
