Denver Campus Field Internship Placement Process & Resources

Denver Campus Field Office Contact Information —

The Denver Campus field placement process is outlined in detail in the Field Manual. Check out the Student Field Placement Process - Denver Campus section to review step by step instructions from attending a Field Information Session to attending a Field Liaison Meet and Greet at the beginning of the placement.

  • POE Approval Process: Denver Campus

    The POE approval process takes time, so please start the process as soon as possible. Communicate early and often with your GSSW field advisor as well as your agency supervisors to make sure the process is on track.  

    Students may not begin accruing internship hours until all steps of the POE approval process have been completed.   

    POE Deadlines: 

    POE referral form is due sixteen weeks prior to the planned internship start date  

    Agency members of the POE agency must complete the initial review of the agency agreement (AA), our legal contract eight weeks prior to the planned internship start date 

    POE paperwork is due six weeks prior to the planned internship start date 

    POE Approval Process: 

    Students planning to pursue a POE internship for a Fall 2026 start will complete the following POE approval process: 

    1. Student communicates to the field team the desire to complete a POE internship at least 16 weeks prior to the planned internship start date  

    • Incoming foundation-year students will communicate this to their Field Advisor, the person they meet with for the required field advising appointment 

    • Continuing concentration-year students and advanced standing students will communicate this to the field office by emailing field@du.edu, then will work with a Field Advisor assigned to them by the field office through the remainder of the process 

    1. If the POE site is currently in ELC/affiliated with GSSW, the field advisor will confirm all required affiliation paperwork is up to date as well as who the identified internship supervisor(s) will be, then move to step 5 

     If the POE site is not currently affiliated with GSSW, student submits a Referral Form for the site 

    • The link to the Referral Form will be provided to students by their Field Advisor 

    • It is expected that students have completed the below steps before submitting a Referral Form: 

    • communicated with someone at the site 

    • relayed the basic requirements for their internship to the site contact 

    • received communication from the site that they are willing to or are interested in hosting the student for the internship 

    Student communicates to their Field Advisor that the Referral Form has been completed 

    1. The Field Advisor will review the information on the Referral Form and request further information or follow up from the student as needed to ensure the POE site meets basic criteria to move forward in the affiliation process 

    1. If it is determined the POE site will move forward, the Field Advisor will provide the field office with the required information to have the identified site contact submit an Agency Information Form (AIF) in the ELC system, beginning the agency opening/approval process 

    1. Student will be instructed by the Field Advisor to complete the Field Internship in Place of Employment (generalist or advanced practice) form in the ELC field database 

    • The POE form is available in the pre-application tasks portion of the site placement process (SPP) 

    • Before submitting the POE form, students need to first review: 

    • The social work competencies/practice behaviors for either generalist or advanced practice (on Student Resource Portal, scroll down under “Field Requirements- All Programs”) 

    1. Compare your job responsibilities and tasks to the social work practice behaviors to identify where crossover exists and where you may need to identify new learning activities 

    1. Schedule a meeting with your employment and internship supervisor(s) to review internship requirements then determine the details of your POE (structure, schedule, supervision, tasks) 

    • Log into your ELC account, review instructions for the Field Internship in Place of Employment form, then fill out the form with information based on the conversation with your supervisors 

    • Make sure the information you provide in this form is specific and detailed 

    • Someone reading the form needs to be able to make sense of your employment setting and role as well as easily understand the specific tasks/actions you will be doing   

    1. Notify your Field Advisor that you completed the POE form in ELC 

    1. Schedule and attend a POE approval meeting with GSSW staff/faculty 

    • Follow up on items from meeting (if applicable) or receive POE approval email 

    1. Receive POE approval email from GSSW staff/faculty 

    1. Complete Site Placement Process in ELC before your scheduled start date 

     

     

  • Referral of New Agencies: Denver Campus

    The referral process is required for students interested in completing their internship with an agency/site that is not currently affiliated with GSSW.  

    A formal affiliation means the agency has already been reviewed, GSSW has a signed agency agreement, and the agency has submitted insurance documentation as well as resumes for the site supervisors that have been reviewed and approved by a member of the field team. 

    Please note beginning this process sooner rather than later is advised, as it can take anywhere from 8-20 weeks to open a new site that is not currently affiliated.  

    Affiliation with a referred site is not guaranteed. All referrals are subject to GSSW field team review and must meet CSWE and GSSW criteria for approval. 

    *If a student is employed by the site being referred, the student needs to complete the Place of Employment (POE) process in addition to this referral process.  

    Step 1) Student communicates to the field team the desire to complete the internship at a site that is not currently affiliated with GSSW 

    • Incoming foundation-year and advanced standing students will communicate this to their field advisor, the person they meet with for the required field advising appointment 
    • Continuing concentration-year students will communicate this to the field office by emailing  field@du.edu, then will work with a field advisor assigned to them by the field office through the remainder of referral process  

     

    Step 2) Student submits a referral form for the new site  

    • The link to the referral form will be provided to students by their field advisor 
    • It is expected that students have completed the below steps before submitting a referral form: 
    • communicated with someone at the site 
    • relayed the basic requirements for their internship to the site contact 
    • received communication from the site that they willing to or are interested in hosting the student for the internship 
    • Student communicates to their field advisor that the referral form has been completed 

     

    Step 3) The field advisor will review the information on the referral form and request further information or follow up from the student as needed to ensure the site meets basic criteria to move forward in the affiliation process 

     

    Step 4) If it is determined the site will move forward, the field advisor will provide the field office with the required information to have the identified site contact submit an Agency Information Form (AIF) in the ELC system, beginning the agency opening/approval process.