Psychology Department
To provide students with practical experience, the department offers internships that can be completed for credit.
There are two options for internships:
Some students undergo an internship as part of PSY 451 – Clinical Psychology 3: Internship. This course is a practicum course to include 100 hours of experiential learning in a community-based human services internship (e.g., placements may include: clinical, healthcare, mental health, substance/recovery, educational, occupational, forensic, and neuroscience-related settings). Individual supervision is provided on site and group supervision during the weekly class meeting. Activities include: seminar discussion of case conceptualizations, service learning project, and review of systems issues in the provision of human services. Emphasis is on the theoretical understanding of psychological assessment and intervention. Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor, with application due in term prior. To pursue an internship as part of PSY451, complete this application and return it to Professor Anderson-Hanley in Butterfield 304 or via email – andersoc@union.edu.
Other students undergo a stand-alone internship that is not connected with a classroom experience. Psy480/psy481/psy482 allows students to gain real-world experience working in locations such as a hospital, psychiatric facility, advertising agency, or school. Students complete 100 hours of such applied experience per term, and undertake a significant academic project that is arranged with the faculty supervisor. Students may not be paid by the host organization. (One-term internship: psy480. A two-term internship spans two terms and earns two course credits. The first term is graded pass/fail; a comprehensive grade is assigned for both terms at the end of the second term: psy481 and psy482). There are no prerequisites. To pursue an independent internship with a faculty mentor, an Internship Contract must be completed and returned to Christine Mennillo, Psychology Department Administrative Assistant. The Psychology Department has created an Internship Handbook that describes the procedures for initiating an internship experience, as well providing contact information for numerous internship sites in the area.