Practicum/Internship Application and Info

Application Steps:

1. Request/submit a Content Area Review to have your courses evaluated and marked “complete” (if applicable).
2. Submit Part 1 of the internship application.
3. Submit Part 2 of the internship application.

Once you have submitted your internship application:

All teacher candidates applying for a traditional internship placement within a school division must complete the following steps, including required fingerprinting and background check. Internship placements are made in conjunction with local school districts and are subject to university and school division policies, availability, and approval. Candidates are not permitted to contact a school, principal, or teacher directly in order to arrange their own internship placement. Failure to follow this policy can negatively affect a teacher candidate’s ability to be placed for internship.

1. Once you have submitted your application, the Clinical Practice Coordinator will be in touch via your George Mason email if any additional information is required. Please allow 2-6 weeks after the deadline for processing as it takes time to review submissions. Please monitor your George Mason email.
2. If your application has been approved, the Clinical Practice Coordinator will send you an email with the next steps, including how to complete the mandatory fingerprinting and background check process with one of our partnering school divisions.
3. Complete the school division requirements for placement, including fingerprinting and background check.
   • You may be required to complete an additional online internship application specific to the school division in which you will be placed. The Clinical Practice Coordinator will provide instructions on how to complete this process as well as information regarding background processing.
   • All teacher candidates applying for a traditional internship placement within a school division will be required to complete fingerprinting and a criminal background check through the school division’s human resources office (not through George Mason University) prior to beginning internship.
   • When completing background check paperwork, please include all incidents and events – even the most minor infractions that may appear on your record. Include everything, even if the incident occurred several years ago. Failure to do so, whether or not such incidents resulted in conviction, may result in the denial or termination of an internship placement. Many placement denials are the result of failure to disclose issues that would otherwise not have blocked a student’s placement.
4. Monitor your George Mason email for placement updates – even your junk/spam folder. The Clinical Practice Coordinator will only communicate with you via your George Mason email.
   • All placement requirements, including the criminal background check, must be successfully completed before a teacher candidate is eligible to receive an internship placement.
5. Register for your internship course(s) and plan to attend a mandatory orientation with your academic program prior to beginning internship.
   • If you have questions about registration, please contact your academic advisor.
   • Your academic program will provide orientation information, including the date, a few weeks before the internship start date.
6. Please take careful note of internship dates and policies – your internship could begin earlier than the George Mason semester.
   • Fall candidates typically report to their school sites prior to the start of the semester so they can participate in orientation and professional development days.
   • Internships follow posted school division schedules, not the George Mason academic calendar. For example, candidates will follow their placement school’s Spring Break schedule, not Mason’s schedule.
7. While participating in internship, candidates are required to follow their mentor teacher’s daily schedule.
   • Internships are a full-time commitment. You should plan to arrive and end your day based on the school schedule. In some cases, you may be required to attend activities outside of typical school hours.

If you believe you need ADA accommodations during your internship experience, please contact Mason’s Disability Services office (DS). Specific accommodations for internships may be different than academic accommodations; however, like academic accommodations, they are not retroactive. Connecting with DS is a student-initiated interactive process. DS will collaborate with the department and possibly the placement site to provide reasonable accommodations that are individualized and based on documentation, functional limitations, and a collaborative assessment of needs. For more information, please refer to the Disability Services website.

For All Programs

• Licensure Testing Requirements – follow your program guidelines for which tests that are due by the internship deadlines (Remember to report your scores to George Mason at the same time you register for your exam).

• Evidence of hands-on CPR/AED/First Aid training
  • Training level should correspond to the grade level of your subject area and your CPR/AED/First Aid certificate should be valid throughout the entire length of your internship. Please send a copy of your valid certificate to internsh@gmu.edu. If you already hold a provisional, collegiate, or postgraduate professional license, please email internsh@gmu.edu to let them know. Anyone holding one of these licenses does NOT need to take additional CPR training since you completed this as part of your license.
• Content Area Review (CAR), if applicable – for those that have a CAR, please make sure your CAR is marked “complete” – you may need to email endorse@gmu.edu to request an update.
• Digital Extension Request Form – include ALL outstanding requirements
• On-the-Job Applicants only: OTJ Position Review Form

*If you are missing any of the required tests needed for your internship, or if your Content Area Review is not marked “complete”, you MUST submit an extension request after you complete your application (to include all missing items). Use the above link to submit your extension request.

Program Specific Forms

• Special Education, BSED Non-Licensure Students Only: BSED Non-Licensure Internship Interest Inventory

*If you are a non-licensure student, or a student from the following programs: Special Education, Early Childhood Special Education, Health and Physical Education, School Counseling, or Clinical and Mental Health Counseling, please skip the below directions. You DO NOT complete a Content Area Review.

1. Work with the Office of Teacher Preparation (OTP) to have your Content Area Review (CAR) marked “complete” (click here for directions).
2. ALL content area coursework must be completed with all transcripts submitted and approved by OTP prior to your internship application deadline for academic programs with content area course requirements.
3. You are strongly advised to submit your request for an update and required documentation to OTP several weeks in advance of submitting your internship application.
4. Please contact endorse@gmu.edu if you have questions regarding your review.

Submit your online internship application and supporting materials (Part 1 AND Part 2) by the posted deadline:

Please note you must submit both Part 1 and Part 2 of the online internship application by the deadline. Failure to do so will result in the cancellation of your application. After submitting each part of the application, you will receive a confirmation email to your George Mason account. If you do not receive a confirmation email within 1 hour of submitting each part, please check your junk mail/spam folder. If you are unable to locate your confirmation email, please contact internsh@gmu.edu right away to ensure your application was submitted correctly.

Arlington County Public Schools (APS) Internship Applications: If you are interested in being placed in Arlington County Public Schools as your first choice, you must submit the Arlington County Application packet in addition to the online George Mason Internship Application. Arlington applications are due by the noted George Mason application deadline above.

• Student teachers: Please email Amanda Davis at internsh@gmu.edu and let her know you plan to complete your internship in APS. She will email next step directions. Please email her prior to the George Mason internship deadline.
• Counseling students: APS plans to launch an online form so you will need to submit your documents through the APS online application and then send an email to internsh@gmu.edu to confirm you submitted your APS application.

  • APS School Counseling Practicum/Internship Application

    Please email your completed APS Application to internsh@gmu.edu OR mail to the following address:

    Clinical Practice Coordinator
    College of Education and Human Development
    Thompson Hall, Suite 2300
    4400 University Drive, MS 6C13
    Fairfax, VA 22020

Please note that completion and submission of the Arlington County Application does not guarantee placement in Arlington County.

After successfully submitting each part of your internship application, you will receive an email confirmation. Please check your George Mason inbox and junk mail folder for your confirmation, and if you do not see your confirmation within 1 hour of submission, please contact the Clinical Practice Coordinator at internsh@gmu.edu.

School Counseling and Traditional Student Teaching Candidate:
Monitor your George Mason email, including your junk mail folder, for a notification from the Clinical Practice Coordinator (internsh@gmu.edu) regarding the next steps in the placement process, including fingerprinting and background checks. Please note internship application processing and notification of next steps can take up to 6 weeks after the deadline, so please be patient. For more information, please review the “Overview of the Internship Placement Process” section.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Post-Masters’ LPC Candidates Only:
Please apply directly to community-based sites until you have secured a practicum/internship. CEHD does not place CMHC/Post-Masters LPC students into sites. If you have questions about locating your own practicum/internship site, please contact your faculty advisor.

Updating Your Application Status from Traditional Student Teaching Placement to an On-the-Job Internship (OTJ):
If you apply to be placed for traditional student teaching in a desired internship semester and then you are hired on a full-time teaching contract for a qualifying position by local public-school division and you would like to update your application be considered for an on-the-job internship:

• Your position and school must meet all of the requirements noted in the OTJ Position Review Form. Please note the OTJ option is not offered by all initial teacher programs. Please contact your advisor with questions.
• You must contact the Clinical Practice Coordinator at internsh@gmu.edu at least 2 weeks prior to the OTJ application deadline for your intended internship semester.
  • You will be provided with the abridged OTJ “switch” application that must be completed by the OTJ deadline. As part of that process, you will be required to upload a fully completed OTJ Position Review Form.
  • Your “switch” application must be fully approved in order to update your application status to an OTJ internship.

Please note: You may not switch from a traditional internship to an on-the-job internship after beginning your traditional student teaching placement. Students in such situations must withdraw from the traditional internship (subject to applicable tuition penalties) and re-apply for the on-the-job internship in a subsequent semester.