Field Education

Experience Matters

Starting from your first semester in the School Psychology MA/CAGS program, you will jump into hands-on experiences starting from your very first semester. The combination of fieldwork and academics will prepare you for a rewarding career in school psychology.

Learn by doing...with expert guidance

Our Field Placement Office is here to support you throughout your three years in the program, helping you secure varied practicum and internship placements that will support your career path. You will graduate William James College with varied experiences in both elementary and secondary settings. 

Throughout your training, you’ll work closely with highly skilled field supervisors who mentor you, challenge you, and help you grow into a confident school psychologist. These on-site experiences let you apply what you're learning in class directly to the field. 

“Our students love that they are in the field throughout each year of the program, providing them with a wide range of opportunities. This makes classroom learning more meaningful by connecting it to their clinical experience and ensures that when they graduate, they are able to enter any position with confidence.”

—Elana Wolkoff, PhD, LEP, Associate Director of Field Education, School Psychology Department

What to Expect

Shortly after you’re accepted into the program, you’ll communicate with the Associate Director of Field Education to clarify your training goals and preferred geographic areas. From there, we arrange your first-year practicum placement, ensuring it aligns with your interests to set a strong foundation for your professional growth. 

As you progress through the School Psychology MA/CAGS program, your time in the field will increase. 

• 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 in a setting of your choosing. 

To support and enrich this fieldwork, you will participate in weekly academic seminars. These sessions are a collaborative space where students: 

• Share field experiences 
• Reflect on successes and challenges 
• Connect classroom learning to real world practice 
• Build community with peers across placements 

Together, the field experience and seminar model create an integrated, supportive, and action driven training environment that prepares you to make an immediate impact in schools.  

Power Your Training with Strong Partnerships

The William James College School Psychology Program maintains long standing partnerships with a wide range of public and private schools and school districts—urban, suburban, rural, and beyond. These partner sites provide high-quality practicum and internship experiences that meet the rigorous standards of our program. 

First and second year field sites are in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. In addition to local sites, during the third-year internship, students may choose a site anywhere in the country that meets the program requirements. Past students have completed internships in a variety of states,, including California, Colorado, North Carolina, Alaska, and Hawaii.

Engage in a Unique First-Year Experience

As part of first year practicum in the school psychology program, 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 for weekly individual child-led play sessions with elementary school-aged children who are at risk for adjustment problems. 

Take an Active Role in Your Second Year

By the second year practicum, you are equipped to engage in a wide range of professional activities under appropriate supervision, including individual and group counseling, psychoeducational and social emotional assessments, and teacher consultation. For this practicum, you may choose to apply for competitive placements that are not exclusive to a given training program or you may investigate prospective new sites on your own.  

Please note that all placements initiated by students 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).

Explore New Sites with Your Third-Year Internship

For your third-year internship, you can choose to stay local or investigate field sites from all over the country depending on your interests and career goals. (Our students have traveled across the country, including to California, Colorado, North Carolina, Alaska, and Hawaii!) You may explore potential new field sites and work closely with the Field Placement Office to ensure your internship meets the standards of the National Association of School Psychologists: 

• 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.