(Providing real opportunities for gero-rich experience in social work services)
PROGRESS is open to concentration year and advanced standing MSW students interested in geriatric social work. This innovative program includes a rotational field internship model that allows you to experience multiple sites serving older adults. If you're selected for this highly competitive program, you'll also receive a monetary stipend, funded in part by a Partnership Practicum Program grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation.
Social work with older adults and their caregivers is a rapidly growing specialty, thanks to national demographic trends brought about by the aging of the "Baby Boom" generation. Job market research indicates that you'll have numerous career opportunities within the next three to four decades if you have specialized training in work with the aging population.
Clinical practice settings vary widely, from hospitals and hospices to outpatient clinics, psychiatric settings, social service agencies, housing programs and programs focused on wellness. And there are numerous community practice opportunities as well, in program development, advocacy and social policy.
Eligibility requirements
To apply for the PROGRESS program, you must be:
- a full-time MSW student or
- a part-time student who plans to do all of your concentration year field internship hours during the regular academic year (fall, winter and spring quarters).
Students in both the clinical and the community practice concentrations, including those participating in any of GSSW's academic certificate programs, are eligible to apply.
Application procedures
PROGRESS applications are accepted in February for the following academic year.
To apply for the program, you must submit the following:
- PROGRESS Program Application form
- a current résumé
- a recommendation from your foundation year field instructor (or, for advanced standing applicants, from your BSW field instructor or a recent supervisor in a human services work setting)
- a recommendation from a current GSSW faculty member from whom you have taken a class (or, for advanced standing applicants, from a BSW faculty member)
- your undergraduate and foundation year (or BSW) GPAs
- an essay describing your prior experiences with older adults and career goals in the area of geriatric social work (see the PROGRESS Program Application form for details)
You may also submit recommendations from recent paid or volunteer work you have done in the human services field.
We will contact you to set up a personal interview.
Field internship requirements
In the PROGRESS program, you are required to complete a field internship of 24 clock hours per week (18 credit hours over three academic quarters) in agencies serving older adults. Please note that all PROGRESS field internships are among those requiring 24, rather than 20, clock hours per week.
You"ll be placed in a selected "hub" internship site for a minimum of 16 clock hours per week, where you'll be supervised by a Primary MSW Field Instructor employed at that site. (These Primary Field Instructors also receive a stipend from the John A. Hartford Foundation.) During the course of the academic year, you'll select from a wide variety of other aging services agencies in order to complete your four "rotations."
You'll also participate in Integrative Seminars and Intensive Workshops, designed to enhance your gerontological social work knowledge and skills. These are held twice every quarter as part of your field education. You will also be required to complete additional leadership assignments for PROGRESS.
Learn more
For more information about the PROGRESS program, please contact Susan Stark, program director, or Prof. Colleen Reed, co-director of the Institute of Gerontology.
Additional program support for PROGRESS comes from The Social Work Leadership Institute, The New York Academy of Medicine and The Atlantic Philanthropies.