Intern
Credential Option
The School of Education offers an Intern Credential option specifically designed for the candidate who would like to complete their clinical experiences in a paid, full-time position in an appropriate TK-12 school setting. Candidates planning to complete their clinical experience via an Intern Credential should communicate with a Credential Analyst in the Office of Credentials prior to beginning the eligibility process.
Note: Once a teacher candidate has progressed to the start of the second 8 weeks of clinical practice, the teacher candidate has passed the point where he/she can be recommended for an Intern Credential. Additionally, Intern Credentials cannot be recommended beyond the completion of clinical practice.
School Counseling and School Psychology students may also have the opportunity to become paid interns during their coursework. Contact your Program Director immediately if this experience becomes available.
Steps to becoming an Intern Credentialed TEACHER
1. Review all Intern Eligibility Requirements
2. If you feel you meet all of the requirements, contact your Credential Analyst to verify Intern Eligibility.
3. Your Credential Analyst will provide you with an Intern Eligibility Letter that you can show to districts to prove you can be hired as an intern in an appropriate classroom setting.
4. Search for a teaching position at a partnering school district or charter school with an executed Memo of Understanding (MOU) with APU. The list can be found here.
5. When you have been offered a teaching position, you will need to provide your Credential Analyst with a copy of the Credential Application, Intern Request Form (2 pages), the district's employment offer and a Principal's letter that proves the classroom setting is appropriate. All of these items will be provided by the credential analyst once a job offer has been received.
6. Following the approval of your Intern request and offered position by the Director of Clinical Experiences, your Credential Analyst will recommend your credential to the CTC. This entire process can take 2 - 6 weeks.
7. You will need to pay for the credential on the CTC website for it to be fully granted.
8. You will then need to register for a Support and Supervision course, either TEP 590 or SPED 500, or Clinical Practice Course, if appropriate, for the next available term. We recommend you register for two 8 week sessions at a time (i.e. Fall 1 & Fall 2 OR Spring 1 & Spring 2). You are not required to pay the complete balance until the end of the second session.
Please Note - Although an Intern Credential has a 2 year expiration date, the university has the right to withdraw the credential at any time if you do not continue to meet all of the eligibility requirements.
Steps to becoming a School Counseling or School PsychologY INTERN
1. Students must be an active student, consistently enrolled in the School Counseling or School Psychology Program.
2. Students must complete prerequisite courses for fieldwork/internship.
3. Students must be offered a paid position as an intern by a school district and must provide proof of this job offer in the form of a letter or contract from the HR department of the district.
4. Employment offer must be at a district that has an MOU agreement with APU and be within 50 miles of an APU campus. The list of our current partner districts can be found here.
5. Once your employment offer is approved by the PPS Department, a Credential Analyst will recommend your Intern Credential to the CTC.
6. You'll need to pay for the credential on the CTC website and then wait for it to be granted.
7. This entire process can take between 2 - 6 weeks.
8. Once a student becomes an Intern, the department will create a plan of support for the district and department to follow.
**Sometimes a district can offer a School Psychologist or School Counseling candidate a stipend to perform specific duties on a school site. When this occurs, an intern credential is not necessary.
Please Note - A PPS Intern Credential is valid for up to 2 years. During this time, you must remain an active student, consistently enrolled and making progress toward credential/degree completion.