Undergraduate Internship Program

Directors:

Sheldon Cotler, Ph.D.
Bernadette Sanchez, Ph.D.

The Purpose of the Program

The program is an integral component of the Human Services Concentration for psychology majors. Students can earn course credit for fieldwork done outside the classroom and gain practical experience in psychology. This experience is of help in making decisions regarding career and graduate school choices.

Upon graduation psychology majors will generally be entering a highly competitive job market or applying to graduate school. Internship is one way of easing this transition by offering an alternative experience which includes training in specific skills by way of coursework in Applied Psychology I and II (Psy 357 & 358) and a year of part-time fieldwork (Psy 395).

Program Goals

The goals of our program are similar to those developed by the Liberal Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Internship Committee. These goals include:

1. Actively illustrating the relevance of academic work in an applied setting.
2. Adding an experiential dimension to the academic program by providing an opportunity to apply concepts and ideas learned in the classroom to a work setting.
3. Assisting students in developing and/or applying valuable technical communication and interpersonal skills in a work environment.
4. Assisting students in developing and applying research methodology useful in both professional and academic areas.
5. Strengthening students' confidence in their ability to function effectively in a professional setting.
6. Providing students with an opportunity to explore career possibilities in the mental health area on a first hand basis.
7. Enhancing students' employability in their chosen field by providing them with work experience in that field.

Those students interested in the internship program apply during Fall quarter of their junior year. The application deadline is Nov. 1st. The internship application is available in a rack across the hall from the Psychology Department (Byrne Hall, Room 420), or available for download in MS Word format.

A wide range of settings are available, including those which involve working with children and adolescents in schools and rehabilitation settings, working with patients in residential mental health facilities, and assisting in various community agencies. Junior year, students select their internship agency. Students have an opportunity to meet some agency supervisors and former interns to learn more about the nature of the agencies and the actual internship responsibilities. Most undergraduate internships are unpaid positions.

A list of current internship opportunities is available here as a Word document.

For more information on the Internship Program requirements and for an application, see the Psychology Department.