noun (n)

• the period during which you are a novice (especially in a religious order)(noun.time)

  Synonym:
  noviciate
  

  source: wordnet30
• someone who has entered a religious order but has not taken final vows(noun.person)

  Synonym:
  novice
  

  source: wordnet30
• The state of being a novice; time of initiation or instruction in rudiments.(noun)

  source: webster1913