Internship Requirements

The teaching internship (formerly called student teaching) is one of the most important experiences a College of Education student has. It is generally regarded as the culminating activity of one's preparation to become a teacher. At The University of Alabama, the internship is a full-semester, full-time assignment and must be taken in residence. A student enrolled for an internship must not expect to be enrolled in other courses while interning.

Both undergraduate and alternative (nontraditional, fifth-year) students must file internship applications with the Office of Clinical Experiences in 105 Graves Hall during the semester preceding the semester of the planned internships. The application process begins by attending a mandatory application session, which is held in September for spring-semester interns and in February for fall-semester interns. The time, date, and place of the application session are announced at the beginning of each semester. The deadline for filing applications for spring-semester internships is October 31; for fall-semester internships, the deadline is March 31.

A student may apply to enroll for an internship if he or she meets the following criteria:

1. The student must have been admitted to the teacher education program or an alternative (nontraditional, fifth-year) program. Internship applications will not be processed until admission is verified.
2. The student must have completed all courses in the major or majors prior to the internship.
3. Unless otherwise indicated, the student must have earned a minimum grade point average of 2.75, both for all University of Alabama courses attempted and for all University of Alabama courses and transfer courses combined.
4. Unless otherwise indicated, the student must have earned a minimum grade point average of 2.75 in each major, both for University of Alabama courses in each major and for combined University of Alabama courses and transfer courses in each major.
5. The student must have earned a minimum grade point average of 2.75 for professional education coursework, with no grade below a "C" in any professional education coursework.
6. The student must have completed all methods courses and appropriate professional coursework with grades of "C" or higher.
7. The student must have removed from the transcript any grade of incomplete ("I") recorded in required courses; grades of incomplete are treated as grades of "F."

Registration for internship credit hours. Undergraduate students are required to register for the number of internship credit hours specified by their programs. In some programs, an undergraduate student may be allowed to choose a 9-hour registration or a 12-hour registration; course requirements are the same whether 9 hours or 12 hours are taken. A student enrolled for an internship must not expect to be enrolled in other courses while interning.

Policy on Internship Placements

All internship placements are coordinated by the College of Education Office of Clinical Experiences. A placement site will be selected in a manner to ensure the quality of the internship experience and of the supervision provided by the cooperating teacher. All internship placements are in the greater Tuscaloosa area, in order to facilitate supervision of students by University of Alabama faculty or other designees of the area heads. Placement outside the greater Tuscaloosa area is made only if the Office of Clinical Experiences and/or an area head determines that appropriate local placement is unavailable.

A student may apply for an overseas internship if he or she meets certain criteria and if appropriate placement can be coordinated by the Consortium for Overseas Student Teaching (COST) and/or The University of Alabama. Applications for overseas internships are taken during January for placements for the next fall semester and in June for placements the succeeding spring semester. Contact the Office of Clinical Experiences in 105 Graves Hall for additional information.

INTERNSHIP ASSIGNMENTS

Elementary education majors enrolled for internships receive split assignments: one-half in grade 1, 2, or 3 and one-half in grade 4, 5, or 6. Dual-certification (early childhood/elementary) students enrolled for internships receive split assignments: one-half in grade K, 1, 2, or 3 and one-half in grade 4, 5, or 6.

A secondary education student who has a comprehensive major and is enrolled for an internship may receive a single internship assignment or a split assignment. A secondary education student who has two secondary education majors receives a split assignment, one-half in each of the two majors. Special education, physical education, health education, foreign language education (N-12), and music education majors who enroll for internships should expect split assignments, part in an elementary school and part in a secondary school.