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Psychology internship basics: �What you can learn, what to expect, and how to find them��Friday February 11, 12-1 pm �WEY 401 (in person) ��Erin Colbert-White & Carolyn Weisz, Psych Department�Sara Winland, Career and Employment Services�Nick Kontogeorgopoulos and Elize Hellam, Experiential Learning

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Learning-Centered Best Practices

High Impact Practices from NSSE 2008 Survey
First-year seminars and experiences
Common intellectual experiences
Learning communities
Writing-intensive courses
Collaborative assignments and projects
Capstone courses and projects
Diversity/global learning (study abroad)
Service learning, community-based learning
Internships
Undergraduate research

George D. Kuh, High Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter (Washington, D.C.: AAC&U, 2008).

ERIN

…First year seminars

George Kuh suggests that these are considered high impact because they induce student behaviors such as interacting with faculty and peers about substantive matters, experiencing diversity, responding to more frequent feedback, reflecting and integrating learning and discovering relevance of learning through real‐world application

That’s the good news

But as our colleagues on the experiential learning workgroup noted, “We have pockets of greatness, with outstanding examples of individual student achievements, the type of achievements I’m sure you have recognized in some of your own students, but their experiences do not represent distinction across the board. (ELWG Report, June 2014)”

If we look at the National Survey of Student Engagement data over the last 7 years there is a trend that substantiates the experiential learning workgroup's claim

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Value of the Experience

Gauging interest in:

a population, type of work

Gauging goodness of fit : Am I a good match?
Different type of learning (contextualized, diverse, organic)
Enhances course-based learning
Prepares you for the next step, cultivates connections
Source of job/scholarship/grad school recommendation writers
Builds experience to add to your CV/resume
Can be paid

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Types of Opportunities

Some organizations have volunteer as well as paid and unpaid intern positions
Might not be explicitly called an internship, but serves the same function:

Summer programs for kids and teens – YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, camps
Para-educator in school system
Specific population work: Autism (ABA) behavioral technician; Staff at inpatient facility

Not many paid positions as research interns – volunteering can lead to more
Often need to cultivate opportunities with organizations/mentors
Doesn’t have to be a traditional “9-5pm”:

Phone-based crisis line: https://www.crisisconnections.org/get-involved/
Crisis text line: https://www.crisistextline.org/volunteer-sign-up/

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Locating Opportunities

Volunteer Match: https://www.volunteermatch.org/

Allows you to identify organizations in your area
Explore organization websites

List of Seattle-Based Organizations from UW: https://psych.uw.edu/undergraduate/psych-497/opportunities
Personal Searching & Outreach
Campus Connections (e.g., ADV, RPI, FEPPS)
Experiential Learning Office
Career and Employment Services

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Internships With or Without Credit

Internships, Work Experience, Volunteer Work

Engagement without credit
Psych 497: Psychology Practicum
Rise - .25 sophomore activity course + summer internship
Summer: EL 35O & 351 (credit not $) or EL Fellowships ($ not credit)
Internships for activity (COOP 499) or academic (PSY 498) credit

…First year seminars

George Kuh suggests that these are considered high impact because they induce student behaviors such as interacting with faculty and peers about substantive matters, experiencing diversity, responding to more frequent feedback, reflecting and integrating learning and discovering relevance of learning through real‐world application

That’s the good news

But as our colleagues on the experiential learning workgroup noted, “We have pockets of greatness, with outstanding examples of individual student achievements, the type of achievements I’m sure you have recognized in some of your own students, but their experiences do not represent distinction across the board. (ELWG Report, June 2014)”

If we look at the National Survey of Student Engagement data over the last 7 years there is a trend that substantiates the experiential learning workgroup's claim

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Internships for Credit

Prepare

EXLN 201�Reflective Immersive Sophomore Experience�.25 unit�Spring�Explore interests & apply

Participate

EXLN 350�Internship Seminar�.25 - 1 unit�Fall or Spring�Student secured internship

Process

EXLN 301�Experiential Learning Seminar�.25 unit�Fall�Articulate narrative of completed experience

PSYC 498�Internship Seminar�1 unit�Academic credit�

COOP 499�Co-operative Experience�.25 - 1 unit�Activity credit

PSYC 497�Psychology Practicum�1 unit�Spring�Clinical & counseling experience

…First year seminars

George Kuh suggests that these are considered high impact because they induce student behaviors such as interacting with faculty and peers about substantive matters, experiencing diversity, responding to more frequent feedback, reflecting and integrating learning and discovering relevance of learning through real‐world application

That’s the good news

But as our colleagues on the experiential learning workgroup noted, “We have pockets of greatness, with outstanding examples of individual student achievements, the type of achievements I’m sure you have recognized in some of your own students, but their experiences do not represent distinction across the board. (ELWG Report, June 2014)”

If we look at the National Survey of Student Engagement data over the last 7 years there is a trend that substantiates the experiential learning workgroup's claim

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Experiences Not for Credit

Community Engagement (FEPPS, RPI, Mentoring, etc.)

Summer Fellowship Internship Program (Link) (Apply by Feb 15th)

Summer internship in local non-profit

280 hours over 10 weeks, $4000 fellowship, no credit

Civic Scholarship Initiative (Link)

Engage in short-term, summer project in the local community

Typically 60-120 hours, stipend

Summer Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work (Link) (Apply by March 2nd)

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Handshake and CES

Career & Employment Services provides comprehensive resources and advising for students at every point in their career planning: https://www.pugetsound.edu/career-and-employment-services-ces

Employment (part-time, summer/seasonal, full-time)
Internships
Career Exploration
Job Search Resources
And more!

Handshake: http://www.pugetsound.joinhandshake.com

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Handshake and CES

Schedeule an appointment with CES!

See opportunities locally and across the US

Want to learn more about specific organizations?

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Handshake and CES

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Handshake and CES

Customize your search!

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Connecting With Organizations

Explore websites before contacting agencies
Email:

Brief and clear
Short academic/professional bio (resume attached)
Clarify your goals and availability

Paid or unpaid – or both?
1-2 afternoons? Weekends? Summer?

Express interest in the area, ideally with some specificity

e.g., I have an interest in working with/ learning about …

Offer to contact someone else if they are not the best person

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Professional Societies

APA- American Psychological Association (56 divisions) https://www.apa.org/about/division
APS – American Psychological Society
Area/Focus Organizations and Conferences http://psychology.ucmerced.edu/node/117

SPSSI – Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues http://www.spssi.org/
Social (SPSP); Developmental (SRCD); Health (SBM); Cognitive (Psychonomic Society); Neuroscience (S4SN); Comparative (CO3); Forensic (APLS); etc.
Ethnic Minority Psychological Associations (AAPA, ABP, NLPA, SIP, SPSCER)

SPSSI:

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Additional Resources

Volunteer:

Volunteer Match: https://www.volunteermatch.org/
List of Seattle-based organizations from UW: http://www.psych.uw.edu/psych.php?p=488
Phone-based crisis line: http://crisisclinic.org/get-involved/volunteer/
Crisis text line http://www.crisistextline.org/join-our-efforts/volunteer/?gclid=CJfqmvrToM8CFUSSfgodkgkLxg

Internships and Research:

PSYC 497: Psychology Practicum
Experiential Learning: https://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/experiential-learning
APA: http://www.apa.org/education/undergrad/research-opportunities.aspx
Scholarships, Grants & Awards page of APA: http://www.apa.org/about/awards/index.aspx (select undergrad students)
Specific sites: http://www.psych.uw.edu/

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Q&A