Field Practice

Field Practice (CRIM 462-15) is an optional course offered at the School of Criminology to allow its Bachelor of Arts (Major or Honors) students an opportunity to learn through active participation with an appropriate agency. Although it is recognized that participants will realize practical skill benefits from their experience, the objectives of the course are primarily academic. The course is designed to provide students an opportunity to demonstrative significant learning through their participation in the work of their chosen agency. In effect, the agency replaces the classroom as the focus of learning.

The Field Practice program was introduced to the curriculum in 1976 and at the present time, approximately 25 students per semester enroll. There are minimal limits as to where students may undertake their placement. In the past few years students have travelled to Australia, New Zealand, India, Northern Ireland, Mexico, Denmark, as well as various parts of the United States and throughout Canada.

Most students choose placements within the formal justice system which includes community and institutional corrections, law enforcement and the legal area. Students, however, are not limited to those placements and many seek alternate placements. In order to qualify as being acceptable to the program, placements must offer students substantive responsibilities through which they can gain an understanding of the role of the agency and the connections to social deviance and control. Although the field practice office maintains a lengthy list of placements from which students may select, students may also initiate their own placement if they can identify an agency which meets the program's requirements.

The course is usually done by students in their last semester at the University, but is not required for graduation. As well, not all students who meet the entrance requirements are guaranteed a placement, as the program is competitive in that agencies are free to accept or reject any student who applies. In similar fashion, students do not have to accept a placement when offered. The combination of mutual acceptance and voluntary enrollment is very important to the overall success of the program.

Students interested in taking CRIM 462-15 Field Practice must obtain a copy of the Field Practice Manual.

Prerequisites: Students must be formal Major or Honors in Criminology, and must have completed or be in the process of completing the CRIM 320-3 (Advanced Research Issues) and CRIM 369-4 (Professional Ethics and Interpersonal Skills in Criminal Justice) courses. (A final course grade of B- or better in 369 is required .)

For further information about the Field Practice Program, please contact Dr. Neil Madu, Coordinator of Field Practice, School of Criminology.