Advanced Clinical Internship
The extensive and advanced field training is at the very heart of Smith's advanced standing program. Designed to help students meet advanced clinical field objectives, the advanced standing field internship is distinguished by its responsiveness to the learning needs of individual students and by the extensive network of support provided within the field.
Schedule
Advanced standing students begin their program in June along with all other entering students. After the first 10-week academic session (June to mid-August), advanced standing students begin a 15-month advanced clinical internship (September through the following December) located within driving distance from the Smith College School for Social Work. These internships are three days per week (24 hours).
In June of the second and final summer academic session, field hours are reduced to two days per week (15 hours) and classes resume for the remaining three days per week. Upon the completion of the summer session, students return to the field three days per week until they complete their program in December.
Advising
Field Supervisors
Smith's commitment to individual student support and mentorship is vital to field work. Agencies join the school in selecting qualified supervisors who act as clinical field faculty, providing each student with a minimum of two hours of clinical supervision per week, as well as with clinical field instruction.
Faculty Field Advisers
Students are assigned a Smith faculty field adviser (FFA) to whom they report on a monthly basis. The FFA is available to the intern at all times for phone or e-mail consultation and visits the internship sites twice during the field placement period, meeting with the intern and with the supervisor. The FFA is the intermediary between the school and the field agency, ensuring a quality learning experience and the highest standards of clinical field instruction through supervision. Through this intricate network of supports, continuous communication is maintained with the school about each student's professional development and learning needs.
