Frequently Asked Questions

• The Proposal
• The Project 

Yes. The sooner you turn in your Practicum Proposal, the sooner you will receive a response via the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) on whether your project is Approved, On Hold, or Denied. However, for CAT 124 Practicum Proposals, regardless of when you submit your Proposal you will receive a response by Week 10, as the CAT 124 professors take time to determine who will be authorized into their course.

The deadline for all Practicum Proposals is Friday of Week 8 the quarter before you begin your Practicum Project. All students will receive a response via the VAC by Week 10.

If your Proposal is denied, we will send you instructions via the Virtual Advising Center on how to submit another Proposal for an alternative project. We strongly encourage you to have a back-up plan in case your first choice is denied. You may also want to consider completing your Practicum Project in a different quarter, in which case a new proposal is not due until Week 8 of the quarter before.

If you have any questions or want to inquire about other potential projects, please contact the Virtual Advising Center or visit Academic Programs (Second floor, Pepper Canyon Hall, Room 257) during Practicum Walk-In Advising Hours.

Yes, you may use a study abroad course/internship for your Practicum as long as it meets the following criteria:

- Identify clear learning goals tied to practical skill-building experiences

- Collaboration with a community, professional, or academic organization/group

- Receive 4-units of upper-division UCSD academic credit

- All Practicum Projects need to be supervised by a faculty advisor

Merely taking courses abroad does not constitute a Practicum Project. 

Beginning Fall 2012, Sixth College will be sending students to study abroad in London! Please visit the CAPA London program website for more information on their service-learning courses and internships. Please visit the Programs Abroad Office for more information on other study abroad opportunites and requirements.

If you have any questions or want to inquire about other potential projects, please contact the Virtual Advising Center or visit Academic Programs (Second floor, Pepper Canyon Hall, Room 257) during Practicum Walk-In Advising Hours. Please be sure to provide additional materials to help us determine whether the project/course is applicable.

CAT 124s are courses offered by Sixth College's Culture, Art, and Technology (CAT) program. Sixth College hosted courses bring together an interdisciplinary faculty to expound on the Culture, Art, and Technology theme through distinct experiential learning opportunities. The courses relate to critical areas of visual arts, social justice, mentoring and youth development, writing, and many others. Students do not have to take CAT 124 in order to complete the Practicum Project, it is one of many options available for students. More information on CAT 124s and other opportunities can be found on the Practicum Projects page.

Students cannot enroll in CAT 124 courses without authorization from Sixth College Academic Programs. In order to be considered for a CAT 124 course you must submit a Practicum Proposal by Friday of Week 8 the quarter before you plan on taking the course. CAT 124 proposals are reviewed by the course instructors.

If you have submitted a Practicum Proposal on time for a CAT 124 course, please check the Virtual Advising Center Week 10 to see if your proposal has been approved or denied. If your proposal was approved, you should have received information on how to enroll in your respective CAT 124 course. If you still have trouble enrolling in the course, please contact Sixth College Academic Programs via the VAC and we will assist you. Remember to choose the 4-unit option. If your proposal was denied, you will not be authorized for the course and cannot enroll via WebReg. Instructions will be attached on how to propose another project.

Please visit the Academic Internship Program website and sign up by the AIP internship deadline. Once you have completed the AIP application process, you will have access to InternLink, a database of internship opportunities exclusively for UC San Diego undergraduates participating in AIP. Remember to choose the 4-unit option.

You may also visit the Career Services Center's Port Triton to find your own internship.

In addition to the AIP proposal deadline, you must submit a Practicum Proposal by Friday of Week 8 the quarter before completing your internship.

You must submit your Practicum Proposal by Friday of Week 8 the quarter before you do your internship. In addition to your proposal, you must submit a copy of your Practicum / AIP extension form to the Academic Programs office (2nd floor, Pepper Canyon Hall, Room 257). This form can be obtained from your AIP Internship Counselor.

Once your Proposal and Extension form are received, detailed instructions will be sent to you via the VAC. You will have until Week 1 of the following quarter to submit to Sixth College Academic Programs a copy of your completed Special Studies form with your signature and a faculty signature. Other signatures and stamps are not necessary (department, Registrar, etc.). Please submit the original copy of your Special Studies form to the AIP office.

Students are encouraged to have a back-up plan in the event their first project choice is unavailable.

CAT 125 is an upper-division composition course in public rhetoric and practical communication, including oral presentation, academic writing in print formats, and digital content-creation. It can be taken before, during, or after the Practicum. Please visit the CAT page for more information. All transfer students must request to take CAT 125 via the VAC.

Continuing students must have completed and passed CAT 1, 2, and 3 in order to take CAT 125. Transfer students must have completed and passed the appropriate college core sequence courses or equivalent writing requirement at a previous institution in order to take CAT 125.

Students who entered UCSD as freshmen and completed the CAT 125 prerequisites will no longer need to be pre-authorized to enroll in the course. However, all transfer students need to be pre-authorized to enroll in CAT 125 because the system will not read the transfer course equivalency. All transfer students must request to take CAT 125 via the VAC.

A message will be sent to you via the VAC once you have been preauthorized for the course. CAT 125 is a highly impacted course, seats are not guaranteed for the course and not all students will be able to get into the course the quarter they request. If you cannot take CAT 125 in the quarter you request, it is important to send Sixth College Academic Programs a message via the VAC.