Practicum
Fourth-year Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies
students have an opportunity to develop and refine their professional self by taking part in a
semester-long placement with a related organization. The purpose of the
fieldwork practicum is to prepare students for leadership roles in various
facets of social service, justice, communication, and legal studies. The
experiential learning process allows students to gain valuable workplace skills
and knowledge while making positive inroads with the community at large.
Students receive feedback on their capacity to manage a
series of workplace related learning goals and objectives. Students are
expected to use their learning objectives as a means of continually testing and
building upon fundamental skill sets acquired in the classroom. The
accompanying practicum course helps students navigate their personal,
professional, and academic goals. Largely, students are evaluated on their
ability to identify the relationship between theory and practice.
Field placements are offered in both the fall and winter
semesters. The placement consists of 100
hours of fieldwork over the course of one academic semester (approximately
12 weeks). The scheduling of hours is established at the student/employer
interview.
To be eligible for the fourth year practicum, students must
complete several requirements in their third year. In the winter semester of year
three, students attend a practicum orientation
session. Additionally, students are
asked to complete and submit a written practicum
interview form. Once the written interview form is completed and submitted,
the practicum committee will coordinate an in-office
interview with the student.
The written interview form and the in-office interview help the practicum committee understand
students' individual goals, interests, and expectations. This process helps guide the committee's
effort to match students with appropriate organizational settings. Students
wishing to coordinate their own
placement are still required to attend the orientation session, submit a
written interview form and attend an in-office interview (students wishing to
arrange their own placement should refer to the instructions in the 'Practicum
Interview Form').
All correspondence with the practicum committee must go
through dan.walters@uoit.ca and pattilyn.cheesman@uoit.ca. For a
full explanation of expectations and requirements, please refer to the frequently asked questions document.
Very sincerely,
Dan Walters, BA, MA
