Internship v. Practicum

What's the difference between an internship and a practicum?*

"An educational practicum and an internship share the same goal: to allow students to implement the skills they've learned during their studies. While they share a common intent, however, the purpose and scope of these experiences differ. Knowing these differences can help students plan their education more effectively."

Practicum

"During a practicum, students' primary task is observation and documentation. While they will participate in the work in a limited way under the supervision of practitioners and professors, they should treat the practicum as an observational learning experience first and foremost." Concurrent with the practicum experience, students enroll in a practicum course, Bush School 2021 Internship-Marketable Skills Practicum class code zktghqp), in which students will outline their goals and expectations to acquire marketable skills over the summer, creating their own internship experience.

Internship

"Internships mimic a conventional job much more closely than practicums. Students still work under the supervision of professionals, but those professionals oversee them more like bosses or administrators than like mentors."

Over the summer after their first year of graduate school, students will complete some form of guided study or learning experience in which they acquire and refine marketable skills. The guided study or experience may be in the form of an internship, language immersion, research position/project, other high-impact learning experience. Regardless of the learning path, each student will set goals, documented in a learning agreement, and report on their progress toward those goals in a debriefing report. Students will receive guidance and support from their practicum advisors throughout the summer. They are expected to enroll in the Google Classroom "Bush School 2021 Internship-Marketable Skills Practicum" to facilitate the process and receive guidance from the practicum team.

*These descriptions are adapted from Best Counseling Degrees.net.

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