Undergraduate Internship

The undergraduate internship program in psychology involves preparation for and completion of an internship in a site such as human services, human resources, child and/or adolescent services, or the criminal justice system. Academic credit for both the orientation to undergraduate internship prerequisite course (PSY 4274) and the internship itself (PSY 4275) is generic; it does not count either toward the major or toward general education requirements. The orientation course covers the “nuts and bolts” of setting up an internship, including ethical issues pertinent to the sites in which students intern, the enrollment process, the dual supervision requirement, matching interests to site, and interviewing skills relative to acquiring an intern position. In addition, some time is spent exploring the connection between the internship experience and future academic and/or occupational goals.

In the Coles County area, there is a wide range of undergraduate internship sites available to psychology students. Some of the general areas in which to intern include women’s services, children’s services, mental health, public health, hospital settings, day-treatment programs, developmental disabilities agencies, chemical dependency treatment programs, educational settings, family law and forensic settings, sexual assault victim services, and domestic violence programs. Industrial psychology sites, typically in t human resource departments, are also available. On occasion, students choose to intern in other parts of the state when a summer internship is secured.

The following requirements must be met in order for a student to complete an undergraduate internship in psychology:

• Completion of PSY 4274-Orientation to Undergraduate Internship
  • The fall orientation class is for students planning to do an internship the subsequent spring semester.
  • The spring orientation class is for students planning to do an internship the subsequent summer or fall semester. However, there are a limited number of summer internships.
• Acquisition of both a departmental and an on-site supervisor
• 135 or 270 working hours: equivalent to 3 or 6 credit hours
• Completion of integrative paper regarding internship experience
• Receipt of positive evaluation from on-site supervisor

Completion of an undergraduate internship has improved some students’ chances of admission to certain applied graduate programs. In other cases, completion of an internship has led to employment in a school-based, chemical dependency, domestic violence, mental health, or human resources setting upon graduation.