Criteria for Intern Teaching

All teacher education students complete an internship at the end of their program. Students seeking elementary or secondary certification have a one semester (12 credit hours) internship, early childhood students have an 18 hour (one and a half semesters) internship and special education students have a two semester internship (28 hours).

The Office of Clinical Experiences at Western Michigan University is responsible for the coordination and oversight of all field experiences associated with teacher education.

The office assigns all interns and students may indicate their preference for placement based on an approved list of participating cluster schools and districts.

Intern teaching assignments including school location and grade level and the location of the seminar are made in terms of programmatic needs and design, supervisory load and the availability of intern teaching situations within the schools in a given area.

Academic requirements

The following must be met prior to the internship:

1. Admission to the professional education sequence.
2. Completion of all required course work (students may not enroll in other course work during intern teaching).
3. A cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or above.
4. An overall grade point average of 2.5 in the professional education sequence and no grade lower than a "C" in any professional education course.
5. Recommendation from major and minor departments.
6. Completion of methods course(s) in major or minor with a minimum grade of "C."
7. Passing scores on the Michigan professional readiness exam (formerly basic skills test).

Additional requirements

1. Students engaged in intern teaching must provide evidence of health insurance coverage valid for the duration of the internship at the time of course enrollment. Liability insurance coverage is provided by the University through a fee assessed at the time of enrollment.
2. Submission of an I-Chat background check form.
3. Attendance at an intern orientation to be held the semester prior to internship.

Deadline submission

The deadline for submitting internship applications for fall semester is mid-November of the preceding fall and the deadline for submitting internship applications for spring semester is mid-March of the preceding spring. Students should contact the Office of Clinical Experiences at least 30 days prior to the appropriate application deadline for application forms and internship information.