The Practicum Project
The Practicum Project is a unique feature of the AU MSOD Program. During the second year of the program, each student completes an individual Practicum Project. This is a supervised full-cycle OD project at the intersection of theory and practice – and becomes an important component of an OD portfolio, whether you are manager or an OD consultant/practitioner!
In the Practicum course, which extends over 7-9 months, you obtain, contract and work with a real client in a real system, applying what you have learned in the MSOD curriculum. Throughout the project, you work closely with a Practicum Adviser. S/he is a distinguished graduate of the MSOD program who is also an active OD practitioner. The Practicum Adviser coaches, mentors and supervises you and your cohort members during your project. The Practicum Director, Dr. David Jamieson, is a senior OD scholar-practitioner who manages the curriculum and the process of the Practicum program.
Practicum projects differ from strictly research projects or staff work in that you will collaborate with client system agents, leaders, and members to develop the project and to use yourself as an agent of change. As you progress in and complete the Practicum project, you will develop a final report, in which you describe what you do, what happens, your use of self, and you relate theory to your experiences. The Practicum is a process in which your perspectives, values, assumptions, beliefs, and skills in OD practice are clarified, tested, modified, and reported in written form. You work in close contact with a Practicum Advisor. This mentor is a graduate of the MSOD program who is also actively practices OD.
Excerpts from Recent Practicum Projects:
From a project that helped shift leadership from board over-involvement to fuller staff engagement:
The work over the past nine months with (x) has been an amazing experience. ..I feel confident and capable in my abilities to help organizations and the field of OD grow and expand...The interactions and learnings I have had are the foundation for the consultant I want to become. Because of this project I know I can be an effective agent of change.
From a project with a founder-led business:
My practicum experience was hugely beneficial for my OD education. Practicing OD in a live environment with the support of an experienced practitioner (the Practicum Adviser) gave me the experience I needed to cement my OD learning and fill in where there were gaps. I will go forward into the field with a renewed understanding as to how OD is different than other modes of consultation, and with a confidence that I can help organizations in a unique way thanks to my training in OD.
From a project with a national nonprofit interest group:
...Self is the most important tool of the practitioner...Use of self involves making a difference, giving and risking, and providing a force not usually seen or experienced by the client...The ability to be a neutral presence, not take sides, and to be fully present to listen to all perspectives was so vital during my whole practicum process.
