Navigating Undergraduate Psychology Internships: A Comprehensive Guide

Undergraduate psychology internships offer invaluable opportunities for students to bridge the gap between academic theory and real-world application. These experiences allow students to explore career paths, develop professional skills, and enhance their candidacy for graduate programs. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the requirements, benefits, and strategies for securing and maximizing the value of undergraduate psychology internships.

The Value of Psychology Internships

Participating in a psychology internship provides numerous benefits for undergraduate students:

Clarifying Interests and Goals: Internships enable students to "test drive" potential career paths and determine which fields align with their unique goals and interests.
Skill Development: Internships promote the development of essential professional skills, such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork.
Networking: Internships provide opportunities to interact with professionals in the field, establish valuable contacts, and build a professional network.
Graduate School Candidacy: Internships enhance the quality of a student's graduate school application, demonstrating practical experience and a commitment to the field.
Applying Knowledge: Internships enable students to apply classroom theories and knowledge to real-world situations, solidifying their understanding of psychological principles.
Self-Awareness: Internships enhance a student's awareness of their strengths, weaknesses, and professional attributes.
Career Exploration: Psychology internships help students explore viable career options. Whether you’re interested in wellness, resilience, motivation, social support, emotions or organizational culture.
Professional Development: It helps to develop professionally.
Resume Enrichment: It enriches resume.
Valuable Experience: It helps to gain valuable experience.

Eligibility and Requirements

Specific eligibility and requirements for psychology internships vary depending on the institution and the internship site. However, some common requirements include:

Major: Be pursuing a BA or BS in Psychology.
Credit Hours: Have completed a minimum number of credit hours (e.g., 45 credit hours at the time of application, at least 56 credit hours).
Academic Standing: Have junior standing (at least 56 credit hours) at the time of internship.
GPA: Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA (e.g., 2.75).
Coursework: Completed a minimum of two PSY Breadth courses.
Transportation: Must have reliable transportation.

Internship Credit Requirements (PSY 484)

For students seeking academic credit for their internship experience, specific requirements often apply:

Approval: All internships must be approved by the internship coordinator.
Relevance: An internship must provide opportunities that are related to the application of psychological principles.
Supervision: An internship must be supervised by a full-time employee at the site who is qualified to mentor interns. Your supervisor may have little formal training or experience in supervision (especially to undergraduate interns).
Timeline: The internship dates must coincide with the semester calendar.
Compensation: Internships cannot be paid.
Course Fulfillment: Internships may partially fulfill the "Additional Psychology Course Requirements."
Grading: An internship course is pass/fail and requires a minimum number of hours of student work (e.g., at least 135 hours).
Learning Experience: Of education in the classroom to active learning via providing service to others.

Finding and Securing an Internship

Securing an internship requires proactive effort and strategic planning:

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Start Early: Begin your internship search at least 2-3 months in advance, as the process can be time-consuming. Many students underestimate how time consuming obtaining an internship can be.
Consult Resources:
- Consult with faculty about your goals and interests.
- Consult with your institution's Career Services and/or Alumni Relations office.
- Consult former interns.
Research Potential Placements:
- Investigate settings in which you may want to work or study.
- Search the Internet.
- Investigate "nontraditional" internship placements.
Be Assertive: Be assertive in pursuing internships.
Prepare for Interviews:
- Anticipate meeting with the prospective internship's staff.
- Internships may require you to meet with them in advance (e.g., an interview).
- Dress in a professionally appropriate manner.
Insurance Coverage: Discern your need for appropriate insurance coverage before starting internship. Obtain your own health insurance coverage to provide you peace of mind and security in the unlikely event that you should need it. coverage through your institution.
Application: First, you must fill out an application to confirm eligibility for PSY 484. You can download the application here. Be sure to communicate with your ISSC advisor regarding this course and its requirements. If you are a pre-health student, check in with your pre-health advisor regarding their available internships first. For Neuroscience students, a site is currently in progress. Todd J.

Maximizing the Internship Experience

To make the most of an undergraduate psychology internship, consider the following:

Complete Sufficient Hours: Participate for a minimum amount of time on internship can compromise the breadth of educational and networking opportunities that could be of benefit to you.
Multiple Internships: Participate in multiple internships.
Active Involvement: Get actively involved. As an undergraduate student there may be limits to what activities you can participate in during internship.
Goal Setting: Identify your goals, expectations, and responsibilities at the start.
Supervision:
- Establish the parameters of supervision.
- With your supervisor to clarify your expectations for supervision including where, when, and how it will be conducted.
- Utilize supervision effectively. Supervision is your opportunity to ask questions not only about the functions of the internship and its staff, but also about your progress.
- Avoid being "sidelined" and consult with your faculty sponsor/coordinator as necessary.
Termination: Plan in advance to terminate your internship. Because most internship placements do not operate on semester or quarterly periods, supervisors may lose track of when your internship will end.

Internship Sites and Opportunities

Psychology internships can be found in a variety of settings, including:

Clinical Sites: The Bradley Center, PAAR- Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, The Sally and Howard Levin Clubhouse, Neighborhood Learning Alliance High School University, Brookline Teen Outreach, Peoples Oakland, Catholic Charities Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Clinical/Developmental Sites: Neighborhood Learning Alliance Little Warriors After-School Program, Gwen's Girls, Family Resources, UPMC Shadyside: Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP), AHN: Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP).
Clinical/Forensic Sites: Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office, Forensic Internship, Licensed Forensic Psychologist, University of Pittsburgh Police Department.
Community Outreach: HealthCorps, Evolve Coaching - summer opportunity only, Oasis Recovery Center, Student Health Services.
Industrial/Organization: Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, The Education Partnership - Advancement, The Education Partnership - Community Outreach and Events, The Education Partnership - Internal Audit Management, The Education Partnership - Marketing and Communications, The Education Partnership - Operations Management, The Education Partnership - Program Management, The Education Partnership - Volunteer Management.
Other Internship Sites: Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center: Provides counseling and advocacy for victims of family violence; and educates the community on the primary prevention of sexual assault and teaches parenting skills, Rehab Without Walls: Groups interrelated treatment facilities that together form a comprehensive continuum of care for individuals with brain injury and other neurological disorders specializing in neurobehavioral rehabilitation, transitional rehabilitation, and long-term support services, Talent Search: TRIO program encourages students in grades 6 through 12 to graduate from a secondary program and enter a post-secondary program of study. Students are offered college prep workshops, college and career exploration, admissions and financial aid assistance, and academic success assistance to improve their personal development, Upward Bound: TRIO program provides low-income and first-generation high school students with academic, cultural, and personal support for the purposes of high school graduation, postsecondary enrollment, and lifelong success, Live Oak Living Community: Provides support for adults living with brain injuries or cognitive disabilities, The Texas State Global Career Accelerator is an online program in which participants build skills through experience in globally-recognized corporate workplaces. Participants have opportunities to develop technical, intercultural, and professional skills through team projects, live lab participation, and individualized learning.

Specific Examples of Internship Opportunities

Social Emotional Learning in an Early Childhood Setting: Interns support preschool students with emotion regulation, communication, conflict resolution, mindfulness, and other emotional intelligence skills.
Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center: Provides counseling and advocacy for victims of family violence; and educates the community on the primary prevention of sexual assault and teaches parenting skills
Rehab Without Walls: Groups interrelated treatment facilities that together form a comprehensive continuum of care for individuals with brain injury and other neurological disorders specializing in neurobehavioral rehabilitation, transitional rehabilitation, and long-term support services
Talent Search: TRIO program encourages students in grades 6 through 12 to graduate from a secondary program and enter a post-secondary program of study. Students are offered college prep workshops, college and career exploration, admissions and financial aid assistance, and academic success assistance to improve their personal development
Upward Bound: TRIO program provides low-income and first-generation high school students with academic, cultural, and personal support for the purposes of high school graduation, postsecondary enrollment, and lifelong success
Live Oak Living Community: Provides support for adults living with brain injuries or cognitive disabilities.
The Texas State Global Career Accelerator: The Texas State Global Career Accelerator is an online program in which participants build skills through experience in globally-recognized corporate workplaces. Participants have opportunities to develop technical, intercultural, and professional skills through team projects, live lab participation, and individualized learning.

Supervised Field Placement (PSY 1900)

Declared psychology majors enrolled in Supervised Field Placement (PSY 1900) earn credit for volunteer work in a supervised setting approved by the Department of Psychology. The purpose is to provide practical experience related to other coursework and to help students determine a career path.

Important Considerations for Field Placement

Direct Client/Patient Services: Please be aware that because of the nature of psychological or clinical social service work, undergraduate psychology students are not permitted to provide any direct client/patient services. Due to state licensing and healthcare provider regulations, the provision of psychological or counseling services requires a graduate level degree. You should not expect to have unsupervised client/patient contact or to be trained to provide any type of counseling or therapy services as part of a field placement.
Clearances: Some sites, especially if you are working with children, will require you to get clearances. These can take 4-6 weeks to process, so apply for them as soon as you obtain a position.

Steps for Securing a Field Placement

Discuss site-specific choices aligned with your goals with your psychology advisor.
Locate and apply for an internship position following the steps listed on each site's description page.
If positions are available and you are a good fit for the program, the Site Supervisor will offer you an interview. At that time, discuss with the supervisor the number of hours you are desiring for placement according to the number of credits you are seeking.
If accepted for an internship, the Site Supervisor will work with you to create a schedule to complete the number of hours required.
If accepted, you will complete the PSY 1900 Learning Agreement with the Site Supervisor. You are responsible for providing the Learning Agreement form to the Site Supervisor. The Site Supervisor will complete page 2 of the agreement, sign it and return it to you. All forms are available on Canvas once the term begins.

Journal Guidelines for Supervised Field Placement

PSY 1900 Supervised Field Placement may be used to fulfill the general elective for the psychology degree so you are expected to produce a journal of upper-level quality to satisfy the academic component of the experience. This is a required part of earning the credits and is in addition to any requirements of the site. Journals give you the opportunity to pull together thoughts, feelings, insights, likes/dislikes, and ideas about future careers or education. Any AI-generated materials will automatically receive a 0 on the assignment and a NC for the class. Do not include the actual names of clients/patients. Indicate in your journal that names have been changed.

Journal Components:

Date:
Hours completed for this entry: e.g., 4 hours
Description: How your time was spent: responsibilities, interactions with clients and/or staff
Observations: Client improvements, theories/techniques observed that were discussed in one of your classes, what you learned today, your view of how the organization functions, interesting dynamics between clients or between clients and staff, etc.
Personal reflection: How you felt about the day’s experience and observations, what you are getting from this experience, how is this experience relating to your own life and potential career aspirations, any insights about professional goals, insights into personal strengths/weaknesses or skills/interests, do you like this type of work, any situation you would’ve handled differently, etc.

Academic Internship Program (AIP 197)

In partnership with the Academic Internship Program, students can apply one-quarter of Psychology-related Academic Internship (AIP 197) credit toward their upper-division (UD) Psychology Elective credit for any of the majors in our department. Remember that AIP 197 may only be taken P/NP. After completing #1 and #2, submit it for course pre-approval through the Psychology Department online petition portal. Note that you will be completing a final paper as your capstone project. A final paper is required to use the course toward the Psychology Major (slideshow, presentation, etc. Once you have received a final grade in AIP 197, you must submit a formal petition to the Psychology Department through the online petition portal for a final review with our Department. If a faculty member reviews and approves, you can apply your AIP 197 toward one upper-division (UD) Psychology Elective for your Psychology major (course/internship must have been pre-approved through the Psych Dept.).

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Internship Courses (PSY 398 & PSY 395)

Internships provide excellent opportunities for students to earn academic credit for work or volunteer experience related to their Psychology major. Completing internships allows students to gain valuable experience, skills, and professional development while they apply what they have been learning in their Psychology courses to supervised hands-on activities in professional settings. Internships are not required for completion of the Psychology major. PSY 395 (+ PSY 398) is required if you want to have your internship fulfill your senior capstone. The prerequisites for PSY 395 are the same as those for PSY 398 except that senior standing is required.

PSY 398

Students can earn up to 3 credits per placement per semester. Students earn 1 credit of PSY 398 for every 40 hours they work at their internship over the course of the semester. If students want to earn the full 3 credits of their internship, they must serve at least 120 total hours at their placement during the semester. The number of hours required for a particular internship is negotiated between the student and the internship supervisor, along with the intern’s work schedule. PSY 398 internships are semester-long experiences. Students can earn a maximum of 3 credits per placement per semester. PSY 398 can be repeated up to a maximum total of 9 credits.

Obtaining Approval:

Through meeting with the undergraduate Psychology internship coordinator (Dr. Karen Mark).
By arranging an internship independently. You may obtain an internship on your own by contacting an agency yourself. If this is an agency where Psychology interns have not been placed before, please contact Dr. Karen Mark to confirm that this can be approved as an internship site.
Periodically, internship opportunities may be posted to the Psychology majors’ listserv or may be represented at internship fairs hosted by ISU’s Career Services. Contact each agency directly to find out about their application procedures.
Once an internship has been obtained, contact Dr. Karen Mark (undergraduate Psychology internship coordinator). An internship contract will be prepared that is to be completed by the internship coordinator, the internship site supervisor, and the student. The student also completes two additional internship-related documents. Once all three completed documents are returned to the internship coordinator, overrides for PSY 398 and/or PSY 395 are processed.

Coursework:

PSY 398 is an out-of-class experience. In PSY 398, students submit written assignments throughout the semester (bi-weekly summaries, hour logs) and a comprehensive term paper at the end of the semester. The bi-weekly summaries involve reporting internship activities completed during each two-week period, along with articulating how material learned in Psychology courses connect to those experiences. The bi-weekly summaries serve as “scaffolding steps” to prepare students for writing the term paper. A supervisor evaluation of student performance submitted at the end of the semester also factors into the final course letter grade.

PSY 395

PSY 395 is a seminar course that covers topics related to internships and professional development. Students are graded on class participation, written assignments, and class presentations.

Semesters Offered:

PSY 398 is offered during Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.
PSY 395 is offered during Fall and Spring semesters; it is not offered during Summer sessions.

Compensation and Location

The majority of Psychology internships are unpaid - that especially is the case for internships at nonprofit organizations. However, while much less common, sometimes internships can be obtained that do provide payment. Internships can be completed at a variety of locations. Sometimes internships may require the use of a vehicle - if so, that will be addressed during the application and interview process.

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Key Considerations

By definition, ISU internships involve earning academic credit for applied experiences related to students’ majors and coursework. Students who do not yet meet the requirements for earning PSY 398 and/or PSY 395 credit still can gain valuable experience by volunteering at an agency. Psychology internships are approved only if the primary activities involved allow students to apply what they have learned in their Psychology courses to their supervised experiences.

The Increasing Importance of Internships

The number of baccalaureate graduates in psychology has substantially increased over the last 20 years and so too has the competition for admission into psychology-related graduate programs. or graduate school placements. You may perceive participating in an internship with anticipation, ambivalence, or even trepidation. paraprofessional opportunities is understandably daunting.

tags: #undergrad #psychology #internships #requirements