The Internship is a period of guided, professional practice during which the Educational Leadership candidate takes increasing responsibility for the learning of P-12 students while under the guidance of an administrative mentor and an internship supervisor of American College of Education.

This integrative experience provides opportunities for candidates to:

• demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skills in the three unit domains: Instructional Leadership, School Community Leadership, and Administrative Leadership
• work with and learn from administrators in public schools
• develop self-evaluation, self-analysis, and reflection leading to the development of leadership competencies
• witness and experience the link between theory and practice to further develop his or her skills in leading school programs that increase the learning of all students
• demonstrate previously acquired academic and professional knowledge

The integrative experience is designed to address key NCATE/ELCC standards. Specifically: "The internship provides significant opportunities for candidates to synthesize and apply knowledge and practice and develop the skills identified in Standards 1-6 through substantial, sustained, standards-based work in real settings, planned and guided cooperatively by the institution and school district personnel for graduate credit." The primary objectives of the Internship are:

• to provide candidates the opportunity to gain problem-based, collaborative experience in the domains of Instructional Leadership, School Community Leadership, and Administrative Leadership while working in an authentic, supervised environment.
• to provide candidates the opportunity to experience the realities of educational administration by applying previous classroom knowledge to authentic leadership situations.
• to provide candidates practical experience in applying leadership skills, techniques, and theory through working directly with professional administrators.