Office of Professional Experiences

Field Experiences

Placement Process

Field experience courses give WCE students the opportunity to gain experience in B-12 classroom settings. Requirements for these courses vary, and full descriptions of each field experience can be found in the Course Requirements section of this webpage. When you are enrolled in a field experience course, the Office of Professional Experiences provides your field experience placement. Please click here for a full explanation of the Field Experience Placement Process for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022.

Undergraduate field experience and internship placements are made in the Watson College PDS counties and in the extended region, per the PDS and Regional/OOA County Map. Graduate students in MAT programs will be placed in the PDS and Regional/OOA Counties, and may have the opportunity to be placed in additional counties across the state of North Carolina where the Watson College of Education has existing Affiliation Agreements.

Any student placement not in the WCE Professional Development System is considered an Out of Area placement. Please contact Ms. Nicole Geczi, Coordinator of Out of Area Placements and Lateral Entry Teachers, at geczin@uncw.edu before enrolling in a program or coursework for more information about the field experience and internship requirements. Completion of the Out of Area Placement Packet is the first step in the approval process and will be provided by Ms. Geczi.

Per the UNCW Registrar’s Office, students in main campus or extension programs may only change their program status one time during the course of their program (i.e., main campus to extension or extension to main campus). Additionally, students may only change their field experience/internship placement status one time during the course of their program (i.e., main campus PDS, extension PDS, or extension Out of Area). Any changes to the placement status must be made at least one semester prior to the teacher internship.

The Watson College of Education supports students in completing Initial Licensure programs while employed in a public school district. Students have the opportunity to complete their field experience and internship placements in their area of employment if the position matches their licensure area, and pending school and program permissions. The Office of Professional Experiences will follow all school system policies regarding placements for current school employees. Any employment changes must be made at least one semester prior to the teacher internship. Upon disclosure of school employment on the field experience and internship applications, Ms. Geczi will communicate directly with students to share applicable information and forms based on their program and employment type.

Professional Expectations:

Field experience students are responsible for reviewing and adhering to the field experience general expectations. Please also review the WCE professional dispositions for teacher candidates:

Please be aware that field experience placements are made only in partnership school systems. For a list of partnership systems and schools, please visit the PDS website.

Application Instructions:

  • Go to https://uncw.edu/ and click on Current Students link
  • Click on MySeaport link on left
  • Log in to MySeaport and click on Academics Tab
  • You will see Watson College of Education on the right side of the page
  • Click Field Experience Application
  • Complete form and click Submit*

*If changes occur in the information included on the application after the application is completed, the student should complete the application again with the updated information. All changes must be made prior to the application deadline.

Viewing placements on MySeaport:

  • Follow first four steps under application instructions
  • Click Field Experience & Internship Placements

Field Experience Courses and Requirements

Are you wondering which of your courses require field experience and what the requirements are for these courses? Please see the link below, which lists all field experience courses for this semester and a description of the requirements for these courses.

Placement Materials and School Calendars

2021-2022 School System Calendars:

Evaluations

At the end of each fall and spring semester, the Office of Assessment, Accreditation, and Data Operations works with our school partners to distribute and collect field experience evaluations for students who completed field work in the public schools. This feedback is then shared with the Watson College course instructors and is used in the development of our students.

Evaluation criteria for Watson College of Education field experience students

 

Contact Information

Ms. Stephanie Glowa
Field Experience Coordinator
glowas@uncw.edu
(910) 962-3086

Ms. Nicole Geczi
Coordinator of Out of Area Placements and Lateral Entry Teachers
geczin@uncw.edu
(910) 962-3561