Our practicum partners enrich our student’s learning experience.
As a partner, you’ll work with First Nations and Indigenous Studies (FNIS) students and instructors to design research projects that can benefit your organization.
Our practicum thrives on the principle of reciprocity. We work with students to tailor projects to your organizations’ needs and objectives, while you provide students with mentorship and insights specific to your field and community. Students value this hands-on learning experience that you are uniquely positioned to deliver.
Project design and criteria
The guiding principle of the practicum is that projects are based on your ideas and are designed to meet your organization’s needs.
FNIS majors complete the practicum as part of a senior-level course requirement, FNIS 400: Research Practicum. At a program level, practicum projects must:
Involve a research component
Allow students to complete the work from November to March
Meet research ethics requirements
Note: Practicum positions fulfill course requirements and are therefore not paid positions.
Timeline
Although exact dates may vary per year, you can expect to be involved from September to early April.
Hours
Students will have approximately 130 total hours to work on their practicum project. This allows for about eight hours per week to work on their projects, beginning in November and concluding by mid-March.
However, these hours can be flexible depending on the nature of the project and the needs of your organization. This should be negotiated in the early stages of the research project design.
Placements
FNIS will arrange a meeting on campus with all Indigenous organizations that have expressed interest in working with a practicum student.
At this meeting, you and representatives from other organizations have an opportunity to meet with students, explain the research projects you have in mind, and answer preliminary questions.
Following this meeting, students will decide which projects they are most interested in and apply to the organizations of their choice. You will have the opportunity to invite students for a meeting or interview.
We encourage students to submit more than one application to ensure that both you and the students have the chance to find a suitable match. While not every organization receives a student every year, neither are you obligated to work with a student.
Once you have selected a student to work with, we will work with you and the student to finalize a project design, including methodology, timelines, responsibilities, and evaluation criteria.
As part of an interdisciplinary program, FNIS students are well-versed in various Indigenous topics including film and new media, gender studies, Indigenous rights, and more.
Our core courses also emphasize community-based research. This training uniquely positions our students to conduct research with Indigenous organizations and communities that work closely with Indigenous peoples, and to form lasting relationships with community partners.
A high percentage of FNIS students are from First Nations communities, but other students also enroll in our courses.
Research ethics process
Conducting ethical, mutually beneficial research steers our work. For all practicum projects, our students complete an ethics application and undergo a research ethics review.
Supervision
Your active engagement is crucial to both the success of our projects and the quality of our students’ learning experiences.
Your involvement as a supervisor will depend on the nature of your project. For example:
- If a student is helping you organize an archive, you may need to do fairly little supervision beyond identifying the materials, defining the terms of work and your desired outcomes, and providing support throughout the ethics application process.
- If a student is preparing a funding application, you may want to provide more direction on what needs to be done to ensure the tasks align with your expectations.
- If you are directing a research project in which a student plays a very specific role, your supervision will likely be far more extensive.
We will work with you and the student to clarify the details and find the best level of supervision for your project.
You’ll be asked to submit a letter of evaluation once the project is complete. We'll contact you directly with more information about the letter of evaluation closer to the completion of the project.
If you have the resources to do so, you’re able to continue working with a student after their practicum. Some students have gone on to work for their organizations in short-term and long-term positions after completing their practicums.
Support from FNIS
FNIS provides students with instructional and administrative support throughout all stages of the practicum. We also check in with you routinely to ensure that the project is running smoothly.
Students also write weekly progress reports as part of their coursework. These reports, which will be emailed to you, allow students and organizations to check in with one another on a regular basis.
Past partners
We gratefully acknowledge our practicum partners, past and present. Discover our most recent partners below.
- UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology
- National Film Board
- Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of BC
- Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs
- Britannia Community Services Centre
- Family Resource Programs of British Columbia
- First Nations Summit
- Vancouver Coastal Health
- Indigenous Health Research Team
- Urban Ink
- BC First Nations Justice Council
- Gwich’in Council International
- Indigenous Tourism BC
- QMUNITY W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council
- YWCA Crabtree Corner
- YWCA Strive
- Britannia Community Services Centre
- First Nations Health Authority
- First Nations Housing and Infrastructure Council
- John Howard Society Pacific
- Mother’s Matter Centre
- Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
- Urban Ink