Preceptorate
Apply to precept

Precept social workstudents.

Social work students complete field education under a field instructor. CSWE programs usually ask for at least 400 hours in a BSW and 900 in an MSW.

Apply to preceptAll specialties
Social work
  • Hospitals and health systems
  • Community and family service agencies
  • Schools
  • Behavioral health and addiction programs

In person

Your student takes on cases, groups and agency work with your supervision and weekly supervision meetings.

Virtually

Telehealth and remote agency work, where the student’s program accepts it.

The students

BSW and MSW students, generalist and specialized practice.

What schools usually ask of you

  • An MSW from a CSWE-accredited program for MSW students
  • Usually two years of practice after your MSW
  • A license where your state requires one

Each school sets its own rules. Our team tells you exactly what your student’s school needs.

CSWE field education rules

What we handle

  • Matching you with the right student
  • The affiliation agreement and the school’s forms
  • Evaluations, and the mentorship sessions for virtual precepting
  • Your payments, per block of hours

How do you become a social work field instructor?

The short answer

Under CSWE’s 2022 accreditation standards, a field instructor for MSW students holds an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program and at least two years of post-master’s social work practice; for BSW students, a BSW or MSW from an accredited program and two years of post-degree practice. Students complete at least 400 field hours for a BSW and 900 for an MSW, and many states and programs also look for a social work license.

  • 400field education hours for a BSW, at minimum
  • 900field education hours for an MSW, at minimum
  • 2 yearspost-degree practice a field instructor needs
  • 2022the year of CSWE’s current accreditation standards

What social work students practice with you

Field education is what CSWE calls the signature pedagogy of social work. With a field instructor, students practice:

  • Assessment and intervention with individuals, families and groups.
  • Case management and connecting clients with resources.
  • Documentation and ethical decision-making.
  • Advocacy, community and organizational practice.
  • Telehealth and remote agency work, where the program accepts it.

Field instructor qualifications under CSWE 2022

  • MSW students: an MSW from a CSWE-accredited program and at least two years of post-master’s social work practice.
  • BSW students: a BSW or MSW from a CSWE-accredited program and at least two years of post-degree social work practice.
  • Practice experience counts from any point after the degree, as full-time equivalent.
  • Each program sets the frequency and format of supervision.

Where social work students learn

Field placements happen in hospitals and health systems, community and family service agencies, schools, and behavioral health and addiction programs. Where a site has no qualified field instructor, the program arranges how the social work perspective is reinforced for the student, so agencies with an MSW on staff are especially valued.

Field instruction with Preceptorate

Supervise in person, through remote agency work where the program accepts it, or both. You see the hours and the pay before you accept, our team completes the program’s forms and schedules the evaluations, and you are paid per block of hours at the rate you set.

Sources

  1. CSWE: 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards
  2. CSWE: Accreditation FAQs

Checked October 30, 2026. Schools build on these standards with their own guidelines, and our team tells you exactly what your student’s school asks.

Social work precepting questions

What preceptors ask us most. Anything else, our team answers.

Ask a questionAll questions
How many field hours does an MSW student need?
At least 900 hours under CSWE’s 2022 standards; BSW students complete at least 400.
What does an MSW field instructor need?
An MSW from a CSWE-accredited program and at least two years of post-master’s social work practice.
Do I need a license to be a field instructor?
CSWE sets the degree and experience; many states and programs also look for a social work license.
Can field hours be remote?
Often, through telehealth or remote agency work, where the program accepts it.

From the Preceptor Brief

All articles
Specialties

Supervising counseling, social work and behavior analysis students

The supervised hours counseling, social work and BCBA students complete under CACREP 2024, CSWE 2022 and the BACB, the qualifications for site supervisors, field instructors and fieldwork supervisors, and the BACB’s 2027 changes.

5 min readReadCredentials

Preceptor requirements by specialty

Who can precept each kind of student, which boards certify them and the hour rules programs work to: FNP, AGPCNP, AGACNP, PMHNP, PNP, WHNP, NNP, nurse-midwifery, DNP, MSN, counseling, social work, BCBA and PA.

5 min readReadPay

How much preceptors earn, and how pay works

What decides a preceptor’s earnings: the rate you set, the hours you precept and the students you take. How Preceptorate pays, how blocks of hours work, and what else precepting earns you.

5 min readRead

Other specialties

All specialties
FNPFamily Nurse PractitionerPrimary care across the lifespan, from children to older adults.Precept FNP studentsAGPCNPAdult-Gerontology Primary Care NPPrimary care for adolescents, adults and older adults.Precept AGPCNP studentsAGACNPAdult-Gerontology Acute Care NPHospital, critical and specialty care for acutely ill adults.Precept AGACNP studentsPMHNPPsychiatric-Mental Health NPPsychiatric assessment, therapy and medication management.Precept PMHNP studentsPNPPediatric Nurse PractitionerCare for infants, children and adolescents.Precept PNP studentsWHNPWomen’s Health Nurse PractitionerGynecologic, reproductive, prenatal and postpartum care.Precept WHNP studentsNNPNeonatal Nurse PractitionerCare for newborns in neonatal intensive care.Precept NNP studentsCNMNurse midwifePregnancy, birth, postpartum and gynecologic care.Precept CNM students

Ready to precept?

Tell us your specialty and where you practice. It takes a minute.

Apply to preceptAsk a question