Guidelines for Clinical internships

The Psychological & Brain Sciences Department sponsors clinical internships for credit. You will not receive a grade but a pass/fail only. An internship is an opportunity to work as a volunteer at a mental health care facility or other institution in which interactions with clients, inpatients, or subjects in clinical research is supervised by a professional staff member. Often volunteer work includes attending group sessions, accompanying patients to different activities or locations within or outside a facility, and participating in therapeutic activities (e.g., sports, art, or horticulture). These are just a few examples of volunteer work available to students. Students may volunteer for 40 hours (1 credit) to 120 hours (3 credits); some facilities have limits on the minimum number of hours that may be volunteered.

(1) Any full-time faculty member or advisor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences can sponsor a clinical internship.

To enroll for an internship, there must be an agreement between the student and his/her faculty sponsor concerning the written requirements for the internship.

(2) This placement includes a paper or a daily journal of observations made at the treatment facility.

(3) After this agreement is reached, you should register for Psychology Internship 200.510.

(4) When you enroll for independent study or research, you must also submit an Undergraduate Research/Independent Study/Internship Supplemental Registration Form that has been signed by your faculty sponsor (forms may be obtained from the Registrar). This form must accompany your registration or drop/add form.

Credits for the internship will be based on the time actually volunteered as well as time spent on the written requirement. The student earns 1 academic credit for 40 hours of work. In the 13-week semester, this amounts to about 3 hours of work per week for 1 credit, 6 hours per week for 2 credits, and 9 hours per week for 3 credits (the maximum). In order to receive credit for the internship, the student must complete and submit a Summary Report of Independent Work to the faculty sponsor along with any written work (e.g., journal or paper) agreed upon in advance as well as their time sheet signed by their advisor. The faculty sponsor will make comments and assign 1-3 credits. Internships are graded on a Pass/Fail basis only.

The School of Arts and Sciences stipulates that students may earn no more than 3 credits of research, independent study, or internship per semester, and no more than 6 credits per academic year (Fall/ Spring/Summer).

To make a decision regarding your field experience, check the Research Practicum Placement and Internship Possibilies pages. Additional information is available on the Field Placement web site located at http://www.psy.jhu.edu/fieldplacement. Students may also make arrangements with any other appropriate institution for an internship, so long as arrangements can be made in advance with a departmental faculty member who is willing to approve and sponsor the internship.

Each of these programs requires a different time commitment, depending on the position and the facility. On average, most internships require at least two days a week for a minimum of four hours per day. The best way to get a flavor for any one internship program is to visit the facility and to talk to the people who have volunteered there.

Please Note: Practica and internship experiences contribute to the development of your professional identity. When going for an interview or are on site you should dress professionally at all times.