SOC-OFE Doctoral Students - Field Experience Manual:

Enrollment in Field Experience Courses

SOC-OFE staff will register you for a field experience course; registration requires a field experience application in either Approved or Approval Pending Prerequisites ONLY status. If the application is not fully approved upon the final course audit, you will be removed from the course (see Approval of Field Experience).

You will work with your faculty supervisor and fellow classmates in the first week of practicum to determine the group supervision time for your section. Finding a time that works for you, your faculty supervisor, and all your classmates, all of whom have personal and/or professional responsibilities to accommodate, can be challenging. You must plan to be flexible with your schedule to accommodate your section’s assigned group supervision time.

Whenever possible, you will remain with the same faculty supervisor and classmates for the duration of field experience, from practicum throughout internship. This is always subject to change, such as in the event of faculty availability change or a gap in your field experience progression (e.g., withdrawal from a field course).

Notes: Because of the complexity of scheduling group supervision calls, requests for specific faculty cannot be honored and section changes typically are not allowed.

As a doctoral student, you have committed to prioritize this last phase of your education. Therefore, when working with your section to determine your group supervision time, keep in mind that a “conflict” is defined solely as an existing commitment due to employment that cannot be adjusted. A conflict is not a time that might be inconvenient or for which you would have to alter your schedule. This is an important part of your degree, equal to all other requirements.

You can remain active at your field experience site between quarters if you continue to have weekly supervision with your Walden-approved site supervisor. You will be expected to contact the SOC-OFE to be connected with a field experience academic coordinator if any concerns arise during those weeks.

If you are extending your practicum/internship or if you are in between quarters of internship, you can count hours between quarters toward the next quarter of field experience. However, you cannot begin counting hours toward internship hours until the start of the first internship quarter (i.e., you can continue to work at your field site with supervision in between practicum and internship, but the hours accrued during the weeks in between practicum and internship will not count toward field experience requirements).