The psychology senior internship is part of a required four credit course, PSY493: Psychology Internship and Seminar and different from another opportunity for internships under the PSY491 course, Internship in Psychology. This senior internship is a learning/practicing experience in which the psychology major applies psychological knowledge and skills in a supervised setting. It can take place in a variety of settings including governmental agencies, social service agencies, schools, mental health agencies, businesses, research labs, churches, etc.

Internship Objectives

In addition to providing helpful experiences for career planning and preparation for employment or graduate school, an acceptable internship should meet the following requirements:

1. New experience. The internship experience must offer significantly new experience for the student. The internship is intended to be an opportunity to explore new areas, try new jobs, and work with new populations.
2. Psychology-related. The internship should be psychology-related in terms of providing opportunities to develop and/or apply psychological knowledge and skills. A wide variety of internships could be considered “psychology-related.”

Prerequisites

The student must:

1. be a senior holding a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA and a 2.25 GPA in the psychology major;
2. have completed Introduction to Psychology and Statistics; and
3. exhibit the necessary motivation and intent to follow through with the internship demands.

Requirements

The following are specific requirements for the internship:

1. In addition to working with the faculty instructor in the PSY493 class, the student needs to have regular meetings with an appropriate on-site supervisor.
2. The internship needs to be approved by the PSY493 instructor.
3. A "Contract for Psychology Department Internship" is expected to be completed, including all approvals and required signatures, by the 5th day of classes of the semester in which the internship is to take place.
4. The student needs to spend a minimum of 135 hours at the internship site during the term PSY493 is taken.
5. The student must satisfactorily meet the requirements of the PSY493 course.

Evaluation/Grading of PSY493

The course will be graded S/U with "S" meaning satisfactory, a grade of B or better in the course. The course syllabus will contain specific requirements for both the internship site and course components of PSY493.