Our goal is to ensure that all students complete at least one major field experience in a partner school. Since many partner schools are located in urban settings and many students satisfy their urban experience requirement during practicum, many students are likely to complete their practicum in a partner school.

If there are partner schools in a district, students can request a specific partner school. If there are no CSU partner schools in the district, the student may ask for a specific school, but must be open to a match in any school in the district. If a student wishes to complete an experience in a non-partner school that is located in a partner district, the student must complete a Special Request Form and submit it to OFS by the following dates:

For spring internships: October 15
For fall internships: March 15

OFS will review these forms and notify the student if the request is approved or denied.

• OFS honors student requests by sending match requests out to the first or second choice as indicated in the drop-down boxes of the application (providing that student requests do not violate a requirement of the student’s licensure program, the urban experience requirement, or any other CSU policies regarding allowable matches).
• If more students request a district or school than the school can accommodate, OFS will determine which match requests are sent by reviewing student transcripts and files and consulting with program area faculty.
• If a student wishes to complete an experience in a non-partner school in a partner district, the student must complete a Special Match Request Form and submit it to OFS by the dates listed above.
• OFS will NOT send match requests to districts besides current partner districts. This ensures that all students will be matched in a timely fashion.
• If OFS sends a match request to a district and the district is unable to confirm a match in a timely fashion, OFS will consider the student’s second choice. If we are unable to secure a match in a student’s first or second choice, OFS will send a match request to a partner district and/or school that matches the student’s initial requests as closely as possible.

Special Request Form
Application Change Form