Applying for and Matching Placements

Students complete a total of 2 Field Placements during the ABS program which include opportunities from the following settings; clinical, school and community-based environments. Students are required to access learning opportunities across different environments throughout both field placements in the program.

The Field Placement Specialist will connect with community partners prior to each placement block to determine placement availability. However, our partners are welcome and encouraged to reach out at any time to discuss their capacity to support students in the field. Students are not permitted to contact placement agencies to determine placement availability. All placement contact is done by the Field Placement Specialist.

Prior to the start date of a placement, the student is required to submit a completed request form as directed by the Field Placement Specialist (FPS). Students will typically request for their top three preferred geographical locations. Students also have the opportunity to request agencies they are interested in completed placement with. These requests are suggestions, students are not guaranteed to be placed at a requested agency. Placement decisions are made by the FPS and Field Placement Coordinator and include considerations for student preferences, student academic and vocational experience, as well as agency requests.

The final decision to accept a placement student lies with the field placement agency. Some agencies require students to submit a resume, letter of intent, references and/or complete an interview prior to placement acceptance. For more information regarding preplacement interviews, please see Chapter 13.

When a field placement site declines a student, the Field Placement Specialist may ask for feedback to assist in the student’s learning. However, the student should be aware that the placement setting is not obligated to give any reasons for declining a potential placement student.