Undergraduate Internship in Psychology - PSYC 499

We recommend internships for students who meet the requirements and are either planning not to go to graduate school or are planning on going to graduate school so they can work in an applied area such as I/O psychology, School Psychology, Occupational Therapy, or an area of mental health (Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Counselor Education/Community Mental Health, Social Work, or Marriage and Family Therapy).

The internship opportunity is not a required class. Internships can be anywhere from 1-12 hours and can be taken either pass/fail or for a grade.  Up to 6 hours of the internship can count as an elective within the major, but only if it is taken for a grade (i.e., not Pass/Fail). If it is taken for a grade, any remaining internship hours (beyond the first 6) would count toward hours needed to graduate. You qualify to do an internship if you have had at least 60 hours of college level work, 12 hours in psychology, and have a 3.0 GPA in psychology and 2.8 overall GPA. If you are interested in doing an internship, you should contact the psychology department and ask to speak with the internship coordinator (it changes from semester to semester). You will need to be very pro-active in finding a place you would like to intern at and interviewing for a position. Many internship sites are quite competitive, so start early.  Internships are usually unpaid, but there is quite a bit of variability in internships. Besides the regular school year semesters, the summer is a good time to do one.

Contact the psychology department to get in touch with the internship coordinator for more information.

To be eligible to earn course credit for a psychology internship, you must meet the following prerequisites:

1. Be a psychology major
2. Have earned 60 semester hours credit with at least 12 hours of psychology credit
3. Have an overall GPA of 2.8
4. Have a psychology GPA of 3.0

There are several steps that must be completed prior to enrolling for internship credit.

1. Locate and secure a position at an internship site. The internship must be related to psychology.
2. Contact the instructor for PSYC 499. One person covers the internships for our department each semester. Contact the psychology department office to find out who manages interships for a given semester. When you contact the internship instructor, indicate that you have been offered or selected for a position. Please indicate the agency name, contact person (supervisor), and the dates of your internship.
3. Complete internship proposal and internship agreement forms.  These forms can be obtained from the PSYC 499 instructor once you have secured a position.
4. Submit internship proposal to registrar's office.

1. Complete 120 hours of work for each 3 hours of credit.
2. Submit weekly logs documenting activities and hours.
3. Obtain mid-term evaluation from on-site supervisor (recommended)
4. Obtain final evaluation from on-site supervisor.
5. Complete a breif summary and reflection paper integrating internship experiences.