Field Placement
A hallmark of our program is the emphasis on the application of classroom-based knowledge to school-based problems encountered in the field throughout the three years of the program.
We have ongoing affiliations with a number of urban and urban rim school systems where many students complete their first two years of field experience; these include Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, Lawrence, Medford, and Methuen. Suburban placements include Acton, Concord, Lexington, Natick, Newton, Reading, Wakefield and Winchester, among others within the metropolitan Boston area. Upon completion of the program, students have a minimum of 1950 hours of supervised experience as follows:
- Students are placed in a school setting for a one day per week pre-practicum during their first year in the program (150 hours minimum). Students will consider the effects of systemic disparities and the issues faced by all English Language Learners.
- During the second year, students complete a three day per week practicum (600 hours minimum). The practicum experience enables students to further develop skills in assessment, intervention, and consultation while working with children in regular and special education settings.
- The third year field experience is a full time internship (1200 hours minimum) that is typically completed in a school setting. However, 600 hours of the internship may be completed in another setting - such as a clinic or hospital - with program approval. Internships may be pursued in any state with program approval.
All field experiences are carried out under careful supervision at both the field site and the university.