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A significant part of the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) learning experience happens outside of the classroom. All social work students are required to complete work placements in the field, allowing them to integrate the skills they learn in school and develop their identities as professional social workers. The success of our and  programs rely heavily on field agencies that dedicate their time, resources and staff to the education of social work students.

In appreciation of the hard work our field agency partners do in providing excellent learning opportunities for our BSW and MSW students, the Faculty of Social Work offers Professional Development (PD) dollars. Each agency that takes a field education student receives PD dollars that can be used toward almost any workshop offered by the Faculty of Social Work.

PD dollars are awarded as follows:

• 85 PD dollars for BSW placements.
• 85 PD dollars for foundational MSW placements (full-time program).
• 100 PD dollars for advanced MSW placements (full-time and part-time programs).
• 185 PD dollars for the combined foundational and advanced combined placements (part-time program).

Using PD Dollars

To register using PD Dollars, email us at fswprofessionaldevelopment@wlu.ca with the course/workshop name and dates and the participant’s name and email address. If the participant does not have a , they will need to create one before we can proceed with the registration. Pending availability in the requested course/workshop, the registration will be processed by the FSW Professional Development office and PD Dollars will be applied. The participant will then be able to log in to their account to pay any outstanding balances by credit card.

The Fine Print

• PD dollars are awarded in December and May, upon completion of placements.
• PD dollars are given to the agency rather than individual field education instructors.
• Dollars expire after five years.
• No cash value.