Field Experiences
Walden University offers programs in several disciplines that require field experience(s) as part of the curriculum. To support field experience across disciplines, the Office of Student Experiential Learning Services oversees the development of centralized processes for managing field experience activities, including application, supervisor and site approval, and site and/or student evaluation. The mission of this office is to ensure that Walden is meeting federal and state regulatory requirements as well as the requirements for the professional accrediting agencies that mandate field experiences.
Field Experience Preparation
Walden is committed to providing students with resources and support in preparation of field experience(s). To help ease anxiety in the field experience process, Walden offers a 0-credit Field Experience Preparation course, a structured experience that guides students through the currently available readiness resources. Students develop readiness through steps and milestones aligned with the field experience application and onboarding process. Steps include affirmation of planning details, identification of a field experience site, confirmation of application submittal, post-application requirements, and personal preparation for success at the field location. Activities focus on organization for searching and securing the site and professional comportment both during the site search and attendance at the site. Students confirm their field readiness through milestones designed to provide themselves and field experience coordinators with visibility on their field site preparation activities.
The Field Experience Preparation course contains not only the foundational components of the field experience process, but also includes activities that are designed specifically for each discipline and are staffed by field experience coordinators from the discipline. The course is designed to complement other pre-requisite courses needed in preparation of field experience(s). The goal is that students submit their field experience application, or other requirements depending on the discipline, by the end of the course. Of course, there may be reasons why a field experience needs to be postponed or the readiness course may not be needed if a field experience has already been secured. In this instance, students may opt-out of the course. By opting out of the Field Experience Preparation course without having submitted a complete field experience application you are notifying Walden that you have chosen to delay the beginning of your field experience indefinitely, it is your responsibility to notify Walden when you plan to begin the field experience component of your program. In some instances, opting out of the Field Experience Preparation course indicates the foundational components of the field experience process have been satisfied and submission of the field experience application is pending. While the course is not yet available for Tempo students, the same readiness resources are available to Tempo students seeking field experience.
Field experiences include the following: