How to become a clinical instructor or fieldwork educator in OT, PT, or SLP
The accreditors and ASHA set minimum qualifications for clinicians who supervise students. ACOTE requires Level II fieldwork educators to be licensed or otherwise regulated, with at least 1 year of full-time practice experience. CAPTE requires clinical education faculty to be licensed, with at least one year of full-time post-licensure clinical experience. ASHA requires CCC holders who supervise students to have 9 months of post-certification experience and 2 hours of professional development in supervision. APTA’s Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program (CCIP) is voluntary. Only PTs and PTAs receive its credential.
Quoted from official pages checked November 10, 2026. Confirm current requirements, fees, and dates on those sites. This page is not legal advice and does not guarantee eligibility, certification, or licensure.
This page is for clinicians who want to supervise students. For students completing their own clinical work, see fieldwork and clinical education. For mentoring an SLP Clinical Fellow, see SLP Clinical Fellowship.
Occupational therapy: ACOTE fieldwork educators
ACOTE’s standards page, checked November 10, 2026, links the 2023 ACOTE Standards and Interpretive Guide (PDF, effective July 31, 2025, April 2026 version). Standard C.1.13, Qualified Level II Fieldwork Educators, requires programs to “Document and verify prior to the start of the Level II fieldwork that the student is supervised by an occupational therapy practitioner who is:”
- “Adequately prepared to serve as a fieldwork educator.”
- For OT programs, “Currently a licensed or otherwise regulated occupational therapist.”
- For OT programs: “Has a minimum of 1 year full-time (or its equivalent) of practice experience as a licensed or otherwise regulated occupational therapist prior to the onset of the Level II fieldwork.”
- For OTA programs, the standard says “occupational therapy practitioner” in place of occupational therapist.
It also states: “The fieldwork educator may be engaged by the fieldwork site or by the educational program.” For Level I, Standard C.1.10 requires programs to “Ensure that fieldwork educators who supervise Level I fieldwork are informed of the curriculum and fieldwork program design and affirm their ability to support the fieldwork experience.” ACOTE’s examples of Level I fieldwork educators include licensed or regulated occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, and other professionals such as speech-language pathologists, nurses, and physical therapists.
NBCOT’s Certification Renewal Activities chart counts supervising students toward OTR and COTA renewal. It states: “A certificant can earn a maximum of 12 units from Fieldwork Supervision.” Its Level I and Level II rows each add: “Must not be one’s primary role.” AOTA’s Fieldwork Educator Certificate Workshop URL returned a Page Not Found on November 10, 2026. That 404 page states: “The page you are seeking may be available only to members, it may be outdated, or it may have moved.” This page has no AOTA workshop details and does not describe a national OT fieldwork-educator certificate.
Physical therapy: CAPTE clinical education faculty
CAPTE’s Standards and Required Elements for physical therapist education programs (PDF, updated July 28, 2026), checked November 10, 2026, states in Element 4P: “Clinical education faculty are licensed physical therapists, with a minimum of one year of full-time (or equivalent) post-licensure clinical experience and are effective role models and clinical teachers.” CAPTE’s PTA standards (PDF, updated September 16, 2025) state in Element 4N: “Clinical education faculty are licensed physical therapists or, if permitted by the state practice act, licensed physical therapist assistants, with a minimum of one year of full-time (or equivalent) post-licensure clinical experience, and are effective role models and clinical teachers.” Neither CAPTE document names APTA’s CCIP.
Physical therapy: APTA’s Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program
APTA’s CCIP Level 1 page, checked November 10, 2026, states: “The Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program is a voluntary program designed primarily for people interested in or involved with clinical education, such as clinical instructors, site coordinators of clinical education, and directors of clinical education.” And: “It is recognized by APTA as a clinical instructor education and credentialing program.” Its requirements include “Complete an online registration for the course.”, “Upload a copy of or provide a link to current PT or PTA license (if applicable).”, and “Approval of registration, after review, by the course trainer.” APTA and course sponsors charge fees, which are not copied here.
On the credential: “Successful completion of all stations in the Assessment Center results in the awarding of APTA CI credentialing.” And: “Clinicians from other health care professions who complete the CCIP Level 1 course are eligible to receive 1.2 CEUs, but are not awarded the Level 1 CI credential.” APTA’s Clinical Educator Development page states: “Enrollment is open to physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and clinicians from other health care professions. In addition to PTs and PTAs, courses often include speech therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, and more.”
APTA’s CCIP Level 2 page states: “The Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program Level 2 course is designed for those who have successfully completed the APTA CCIP Level 1 course and want to further develop their clinical teaching skills and construct a clinical curriculum.” One requirement is to “Mentor, supervise, and instruct at least one student since completing the Level 1 CCIP credential.” Both pages state: “Licensees should verify acceptance of CEUs with their state licensing board by reviewing the relevant state practice act”.
Speech-language pathology: ASHA clinical educators
ASHA’s 2020 SLP certification standards, checked November 10, 2026, state in Standard V-E: “Supervision of students must be provided by a clinical educator who holds ASHA certification in the appropriate profession and who, after earning the CCC-A or CCC-SLP, has completed (1) a minimum of 9 months of full-time clinical experience (or its part-time equivalent), and (2) a minimum of 2 hours of professional development in clinical instruction/supervision.”
ASHA’s Requirements for ASHA-Certified Clinical Educators, Supervisors, and Clinical Fellowship Mentors page lists, for speech-language pathology, that individuals must hold ASHA certification, “have completed a minimum of nine months of practice experience post-certification, and” “have earned at least two hours of professional development post-certification (one-time requirement) in the area of supervision, clinical instruction, and/or mentorship.” It states: “All ASHA-certified individuals who plan to serve as a supervisor or mentor for purposes of ASHA certification must attest to the one-time requirement of completing 9 months of clinical experience post-certification and two hours of professional development in the area of supervision .” ASHA’s professional development requirements page marks this supervision requirement “Effective: January 1, 2020”.
The CAA’s Standards for Accreditation (PDF, effective October 2025) define a clinical educator as “Individuals engaged in providing the clinical education components of the curriculum.” Standard 3.6B says each student should “learn from experienced speech-language pathologists who will serve as effective clinical educators.” The CAA standards do not set a separate national instructor certificate. This page found no national SLP clinical-instructor certificate beyond ASHA’s requirements above.
Licensure and CE
State boards may have their own rules on supervising students, and this page does not list them. Supervising students counts toward NBCOT renewal within the chart limits above. ASHA does not count supervising students toward its professional development hours; see how certification CE works.