Atavia Whitfield, Director of Field Education
The Office of Field Education supports Columbia MSW students in achieving competence in social work practice. The Field Education team fulfills this curricular responsibility by cultivating internal and external relationships. We work closely with students, faculty, CSSW administrators, and Social Work professionals at various agency settings that provide an array of social services to diverse populations. The Field Education team develops curricula, manages registration, and conducts sections of the Seminar in Field Education (SIFI) course, which is offered twice each year to prepare and support partner colleagues in their justice-based field instruction. An annual, final-year field placement event is hosted for 400+ students and includes direct information from faculty, community partners, and students. The Office of Field Education collaborates with other social work institutions, faculty, and community partners on initiatives, projects, and programming to provide students with additional learning opportunities to support the communities they serve. We provide students with opportunities to receive supervised practical experience while applying their theoretical learning.