Professional

Experience first-hand what it’s like to work in your field of study. You’ll be able to delve into a potential career and discover your passion while still a student.

Professional experiences can give you a window into the work culture. Spend a semester or more in your field, and you’ll get time not only to explore it, but also to reflect on what you learn. Experiences range from clinical rotations and student teaching to fieldwork and cooperatives.

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A nursing student (young black woman) interacting with a middle age white female patient
A UWM nursing student listens to a patient.
Young nursing student (woman) interacting with her patient (woman) at the UWM COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic
UWM nursing students helped staff the campus vaccination clinics.
Two students interacting with their professor during a biomedical science lab
Students work together in a biomedical sciences lab.
Two students working with their instructor while using medical imaging equipment
Students learn to work with medical imaging equipment, as part of radiologic technology training.
Two public health students (male and female) canvasing a neighborhood to gather data.
Two Zilber School of Public Health students canvass a neighborhood to gather data for a public health research project to improve community health.
Two women working at a laptop computer at a table.
A public health student participates in a field experience at the Wauwatosa Health Department.

Clinical Experiences

Experience in a clinical setting is crucial for students in all kinds of health sciences fields. Placements are integrated into degree programs.

Students learn how to deliver compassionate, evidence-based care, and they get a chance to practice their clinical and decision-making skills. They can gain experience working in hospital or clinical labs, refining techniques and learning by doing.

Learn About Nursing Clinicals
Young white woman working on a remote control vehicle in a lab setting
For her co-op, engineering student Hannah worked at Broan-NuTone.

Cooperatives

Students get experience and expand their real-world knowledge through cooperatives, or co-ops.

Students commit to working at their co-op site for at least three terms, and earn one credit for each term they’re enrolled at UWM. In addition to the paid position, students in co-ops have opportunities to make valuable connections with those in their field.

Learn About Engineering Cooperatives
A male student (white) and female student (white) releasing frogs into the wild
Experiences in the field give students valuable knowledge beyond the classroom.

Field / Practicum Experiences

These experiences are grounded in fieldwork or practicums that give students time to put theory into practice.

Whether it’s in the stacks for library and information sciences or on a boat in the middle of a lake for freshwater sciences, field experiences give students an education unlike any classroom. They’re able to soak up practical knowledge in their chosen field of study.

If you’re a current UWM student, reach out to your academic advisor for more information on field placements in your program.

Black male student working with school age children in a classroom
UWM School of Education students put their knowledge to work in classrooms.

Student Teaching

Education students not only learn how to practice best teaching in the classroom, they also get an up-close look at how schools work.

UWM collaborates with urban school districts throughout southeastern Wisconsin, working to arrange more than 1,400 placements each year. Teacher candidates have the opportunity to learn to teach in diverse schools, while at the same time supporting children’s growth and education.

Learn About Student Teaching