Field Education
Experience Matters.
Students in the William James College School Psychology MA/CAGS Program are in field placements each semester of full-time enrollment beginning in the first semester. As part of the practicum and internship model at William James College, you will work closely with highly-skilled field site supervisors and participate in academic seminars to support and complement your field experience.
Year 1: One and a half days per week practicum in an elementary school setting.
Year 2: Two and a half days per week practicum in a secondary school setting.
Year 3: Full-time internship in the final year.
As part of first year practicum, you will receive a unique and valuable introduction to clinical work through training and practice in the methodology of Primary Project, an empirically-validated preventative mental health program. Practicum students meet weekly with primary grade children who are at risk for adjustment problems for individual child-led play sessions. First year students gain various additional experiences with assessment and student support.
By second year practicum, you are equipped to engage in a wide range of professional activities under appropriate supervision, including individual and group counseling, cognitive and social emotional assessments, and teacher consultation.
As a college, we have ongoing relationships with schools and school districts (public, private, urban, suburban) that offer practicum and internship placements consistent with William James College School Psychology Program standards. First and second year practicum placements are arranged or facilitated for students. Alternatively, you may choose to apply competitively for second year practicum placements that are not exclusive to a given training program, or may investigate prospective new sites. Placements initiated by students, however, must be reviewed by the School Psychology Program's Associate Director of Field Education and determined to meet program standards (e.g., the opportunity to practice skills association with concurrent coursework, the required amount of field supervision).
Students apply competitively for internships, the culminating field experience. Our Field Placement Office will support you through this process. An internship must meet standards of the National Association of School Psychologists. Three critical requirements are:
- A minimum of 1200 hours, of which at least 600 must be in a school setting;
- Opportunities to provide a broad range of services that address the NASP domains of practice, and;
- Two or more hours of field-based supervision per week from a certified school psychologist with at least three years of experience.