Professional Readiness

Student Specific Skills

Graduate level students are expected to have specific skill sets to navigate the graduate level course work and field placements, including communication, intellectual/cognitive skills, and emotional/behavioral readiness skills:

• Effective communication skills that demonstrate clear and timely communication with peers, faculty members, field instructors, staff at field agencies, client systems, and other professionals they may interact with within their role as a MSW student/intern.
• Utilization of verbal and nonverbal communication skills, including listening objectively and accurate interpretation of nonverbal communication.
• Recognize and appropriately respond to other’s expression of emotions.
• Accurately convey verbal and written information about client’s needs, to direct or counsel them or other staff members involved in their overall care.
• Clear communication demonstrated through course assignments and at field placement, appropriate to the level of education (Foundation Year vs. Specialization Year).
• Engage in critical thinking and apply appropriate problem solving skills.
• Demonstrate an ability to continually reflect on one’s own values, beliefs, attitudes, emotions, personal biases and experiences, and identify how these factors shape patterns of thinking, behaviors, interactions and relationships with others.
• Ability to accept responsibility for one’s actions and recognize the impact of these actions on others.
• Demonstrate punctuality and dependability, prioritize responsibilities, effective time management, participate in courses and at field placement in accordance with MSW and field policies and procedures.
• Adhere to outlined deadlines in coursework and within field placement, maintain appointments as scheduled.
• Navigate transportation to attend to responsibilities at field placement.
• Incorporate constructive feedback provided from coursework and the field environment, practice acceptance of this feedback.
• Manage and seek appropriate support to ensure personal issues do not interfere with field and academic performance.
• Maintain respectful interactions with peers, faculty members, field instructors, staff, client systems, and other professionals.
• Demonstrate the capacity to successfully complete the required field hours and meet the outlined social work competencies in field and academic settings.