Internship Opportunities for Psychology Majors
The Washington Area is rich in a variety of high quality agencies involved in psychological research and practice. These include research organizations, training and service-delivery agencies, and institutions involved in legal, policy, and legislative concerns that intimately affect the psychological well-being of the nation. Opportunities for field experience exist in all areas of psychology.
Working with psychologists and related professionals in these settings can be a source of considerable enrichment for you. You can apply your classroom learning, test out your interests and skills in psychology, and receive training in a specialized aspect of psychology which is not available on campus.
The Psychology Major ListServ, the Career Center, and the individual agencies in the area are all good sources for you to consult to find an internship experience. Once you have identified an internship opportunity you should obtain a PSYC386 contract from the Undergraduate Psychology Office if you wish to obtain academic credit for this experience.
PSYC 386-Experiential Learning (3-4 credits). Prerequisites: Completion of nine credits in Psychology, a 3.0 GPA in Psychology and a 2.8 GPA overall. This course consists of three major tasks: First the student will work in one of three types of closely supervised placements (research, service delivery, or public policy). Second, the students will write a major paper on the theory or research that underpins the placement work. Finally, the student will attend classes, lectures, and teacher conferences which are set up for the course. For each credit hour, the student is expected to spend at least two hours per week at the placement site and one to two hours reading relevant background material and working on the required paper. This course does not count toward the 35 credits required for a PSYC major, but it does count for the 120 credits required by the University for graduation. This course cannot be taken more than once in the Department of Psychology.
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Note: you are responsible for registering yourself for PSYC 478, 479, and 386.