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