Counselor education students engage in intensive clinical fieldwork (i.e. Practicum and Internship) to prepare for professional practice. Below are the resources necessary to help you plan for your practicum and internship experiences. Whereas these resources will be helpful and should be referenced when needed, you are encouraged to connect with your faculty advisor and/or the Field Experience Coordinator for your track if you need additional help or information. Dr. Gregory Meek serves as the Field Experience Coordinator for the CMHC and MCFT tracks and Dr. Stacy Van Horn serves as the Field Experience Coordinator for the SCH track.

Field Experience Handbooks

The CMHC/MCFT Internship Handbook is for Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marriage, Couple and Family Therapy students. The handbook provides valuable information, forms and documents related to the internship experience.

The School Counseling Internship Handbook is for School Counseling students. The handbook provides valuable information, forms and documents related to the internship experience.

Field Experience Application Due Dates

Fall Semester

June 1

Spring Semester

October 1

Summer Semester

March 1 (CMHC & MCFT) and April 15 (SCH)

Instructions for Submitting Your Practicum and Internship Application

The College of Community Innovation & Education uses InPlace as a placement management cloud-based platform. Among the many benefits of this platform, InPlace provides better support for students applying to Practicum or Internship and includes the ability to identify an interest in a School-based Practicum or in the Aspire Internship Program. This same system will be used for logging your clinical hours and for your evaluations of your internship experiences. InPlace also allows Program faculty to track data, thus enabling simple and accurate reporting for all users.

All Counselor Education students must use InPlace to submit their Practicum and Internship applications each semester. Submit your application.

There is a cost for InPlace: $55 will cover students for 1 year in the Program (i.e. 3 semesters). Therefore, students who follow their track’s scheduled plan of study will only need to pay once.

The fee must be paid after your submit your application (and after it has been approved by a faculty advisor): this occurs within a 2-week window after your application has been approved. Once you are notified that your application has been approved, please return to InPlace to complete the registration and payment process. After approval and remittance, the program will begin the scheduling process (i.e. sending permission numbers for you to register for your course).

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to submit an application through InPlace if I’m already in a clinical course (i.e. Internship 1) and just transitioning next semester (i.e. to Internship 2)?

Yes. You must submit an application and get your advisor’s approval every semester.

If I am already in the Aspire Internship Grant program, do I need to reapply to the grant?

No, that will automatically continue so long as you continue to meet the grant’s stipulations; however, you do still need to submit an InPlace application for Internship II.

There is a section of the application that wants to know what days of the week I will take my other classes. What is this section for?

This section is to ensure that there are no scheduling conflicts when we assign your Practicum or Internship section. You must enter what days you think your other classes will be held (according to the Plan of Study you completed with your faculty advisor). It is imperative you complete this step.

How do I know what classes I am supposed to take along with Practicum or Internship?

Please refer to the Plan of Study you completed with your faculty advisor.

What if I’m not certain about the course(s) I plan to take along with Practicum or Internship?

If you are uncertain, enter the day of the week that corresponds to the course(s) you’re thinking about taking. If you need to switch later on, email counsel@ucf.edu and we will do our best to accommodate you.

How do I get information about the schedule of courses that are being offered next semester?

To get information about next semester’s schedule of courses, do the following:

  1. Go to MyUCF >
  2. Student Self Service >
  3. Search (under the Academic Information heading) >
  4. Change term to the upcoming semester, change Course Career to “Graduate”, and uncheck “show open classes only” >
  5. Input the class into the two subject boxes (e.g., “MHS” in box one; “6470” in box two…you can also leave box two blank and that will display all MHS courses…you may need to use “SDS” or “SPS” as those are additional course prefixes used in Counselor Education) >
  6. Hit search >
  7. Repeat as necessary

How long will it take until I know if my application was approved?

We hope to have all applications approved by faculty advisors approximately 2 weeks after the student deadline. Once approved, and after the Counselor Education office is notified that the initial $55 fee has been paid, we will start the scheduling process. Further information about the course section to which you have been assigned will be sent out approximately 6 weeks before the upcoming semester.

If you have further questions regarding the application process, please reach out to Counsel@ucf.edu for clarification.

Frequently Asked Questions

Approved Internship Sites

Students in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marriage, Couples and Family Therapy track must select an internship site from our list of approved sites. CMHC and MCFT students should contact the site supervisor at any site that interests them to set up a time to discuss the site’s availability and interview process.

Students in the School Counseling track select an internship site based on grade level (elementary, middle, or high school) and zip code. The CCIE office of Clinical and Field Experiences, along with Dr. Van Horn, coordinate the placement process.

Clinical sites in the community who are interested in partnering with the Counselor Education program and serving as an internship site for CMHC and/or MCFT students must complete the Internship Site Approval Packet. Site supervisors must complete the forms and submit them through e-mail or the USPS (original signatures are necessary) to Dr. Gregory Meek, Field Experience Coordinator for the CMHC and MCFT tracks.

Mandatory Practicum and Internship Orientation Sessions

All students applying for Practicum and Internship are required to attend the corresponding orientation session meeting held the semester before their beginning practicum or internship. The dates, times, and locations of these orientations can be found on the Program Calendar, located on the Counselor Education homepage. Students will not be enrolled in practicum or internship for the following semester if they do not attend this mandatory session.