Experience in schools prior to student teaching is a critical component of teacher candidates' learning about schools, children and adolescents, and teaching. The New York State Education Department requires that programs leading to teaching certificates include at least 100 field experience hours for an initial certification and 50 additional field experience hours for each additional certification. Programs that simultaneously prepare for more than one certification area have more hours. These field experiences must be related to courses in an approved program of study. The number of hours will vary from course to course.

If you are serving as a clinical assistant in a local school/agency, you may request to complete your fieldwork hours in a the classroom you are assigned or in a the classroom of another teacher in the building.  The classroom setting must meet the requirements for both your course and the New York State certification requirements.

• The hours completed must be in addition to the hours required for your clinical assistantship unless approved by their Program Directors to count the same hours for both requirements.
• If you are completing your hours in a classroom other than the room you are assigned, you must get approval from the school building administrator.

Teacher candidates registered in a Graduate Program who are currently employed by a school district may have the opportunity to complete their field experience hours in their place of employment as either a job-embedded field experience or a job-embedded field experience.

• Job-Embedded Placements: Graduate students who are employed by a school district and working as a classroom teacher, may have the option to complete their fieldwork in their classroom.
• Job-Referenced Placement: Graduate students who are employed by a school district but are not classroom teachers or are classroom teachers whose rooms do not meet the placement requirements, may have the option to complete their fieldwork in a colleague's classroom.

Eligibility is dependent on New York State Certification Requirements, course requirements, classroom composition, and approval from their Graduate Program Director and the Office of Clinical Experiences and Partnerships.

In order to apply for a placement at your place of work, clinical assistant location or local area (for online programs only), teacher candidates must complete the appropriate form below no later than the end of the second week of class.

• Job-Referenced Field Experience Proposal Form
• Job-Embedded Field Experience Proposal Form
• Online Program Field Experience Proposal Form
• Clinical Assistant Based Field Experience Proposal Form