Application, Interview, & Employment Process

As part of the Match process, interested applicants are to submit the following by December 1: 1) the AAPI Online application, including 2) cover letter, 3) three letters of recommendation, and 4) official graduate transcripts. Work samples are not required. However, applicants interested in highlighting their intervention experience and clinical writing skills may submit a redacted, previously written integrated psychological report, clinical treatment plan, or outcome summary. Entire Application Packets are reviewed by a Selection Committee, which typically includes the training director, primary supervisors, and rotation/site supervisors. Applicants are ranked according to their training experience in assessment, intervention and therapy, and report writing experience and skills, along with consideration given to applicants’ proposed training goals, letters of recommendation, and “fit” or match to the VBCPS Doctoral Training Internship Program. The top 36 ranked applicants are invited for formal interviews by December 15.

Interviews are conducted four days in January – nine interviews per day (2025 Dates: January 6, 10, 13, 17). Interviews are conducted virtually by video-conference. On interview days, applicants participate in a rotation of three (3) thirty-minute interviews in the areas of (1) Assessment, (2) Intervention and Therapy, and (3) Professional Goals and other professional competencies. Each of the three interviews are conducted by a panel of primary and rotation/site supervisors who review applicants’ skills, experience, and knowledge in the aforementioned areas. Our current doctoral interns also meet with candidates to discuss the internship program and answer any additional questions. A virtual tour of the Program is also provided. Applicants are then rank ordered by each interview panel and subsequently placed into an aggregate ranking of applicants. The Rank Order List is reviewed after each interview day and again upon completion of all interviews before final submission to APPIC for the Match.

Notification for APPIC Phase I occurs on Friday, February 21, 2025, according to APPIC procedures. Applicants who match with Virginia Beach City Public Schools are notified that day by phone call to congratulate them and welcome them to the program. Matched applicants are subsequently sent a formal letter of intention and agreement which includes internship start and end dates, stipend and benefits, and employment procedures.

All matched candidates prior to employment must submit to fingerprinting and provide personal descriptive information in order to obtain criminal history record information for the purpose of screening and clearing individuals who are offered employment with VBCPS. Full school district policy and regulation, including when employment will be denied for failing the criminal background check, can be found at Criminal Charge Filed Against Employee: Notification of Superintendent School Board Policy 4-5 and Employee Submission to Background Check School Board Regulation 4-5.1.