Internship Opportunities
Are you interested in a career in psychology or a psychology-related field? The psychology department at the University of Southern Indiana offers a variety of opportunities for juniors and seniors to gain hands-on experience in their chosen career field prior to joining the workforce or applying to graduate school.
When can I complete my internship?
At this time, internships are offered year-round. Students who have junior and senior standing by credit hours are eligible for internships if they have completed PSY 201 (Introduction to Psychology) and 15 additional hours of psychology courses.
It's a good idea to come talk to one of our internship coordinators before you plan on taking the course, however, as that can make the process of finding an internship a lot quicker. For instance, if you want clinical experience, some places might want a background check or for students to complete certain health-related training before starting on-site. Meeting with an internship coordinator in advance will help you to best prepare for your internship experience.
Where can I complete my internship?
The Evansville area has plenty of opportunities for students to get involved in internship opportunities. We have had psychology majors work within a variety of contexts, including but not limited to domestic violence shelters, neurodevelopmental centers, correctional facilities, assisted living facilities, schools, research groups, counseling centers, addiction clinics, educational technology centers, housing programs, and youth groups.
We do our best to match student interest with community need, whether the interest is in a particular field (e.g., addiction, advocacy, counseling) or population (e.g., older adults, children, LGBTQA+ individuals, formerly incarcerated individuals).
Already have a place in mind? Bring information about the organization or business to your meeting with our internship coordinator and she'd be happy to work with that.
Some students are not in the Evansville area when they wish to complete their internship (e.g., over the summer months). We can work with this with enough advance notice. If you are considering completing an internship while not living in the Evansville area, contact one of our internship coordinators as soon as possible so we can work with you.
What if I have no idea what I want to do after graduating?
That's okay! A lot of students either aren't sure what they want to do after graduation or are torn between two career options. Internships are a good place to test out what kinds of careers you might enjoy. During the course of the internship experience, you can also receive guidance on applying to graduate schools or entering the job market, if you're interested.
How many internships can I do?
You can take the internship class for credit up to twice for a total of 6 credits: the first time you take it (3 credits) will count toward your psychology hours, and the second time you take it (3 credits) will count toward your overall hours needed to graduate. You can complete your internship at the same place each time, or you can go somewhere else if you would like a different experience.
What if I'm taking a 4-credit class and my scholarship limits me to 18 hours?
If you're taking RMS II or another 4-credit class and doing an internship that same semester would put you at 19 hours, you can contact Pam Doerter via email to talk about the possibility of taking internship as a 2-credit GENS course. Our internship coordinator can still help you set up a psychology-related internship, but the course itself will not count toward your psychology hours. Alternatively, we can try to work with your schedule to see if there's a way to take the courses during different semesters and keep you under 18 hours. However, PSY 498 is only offered as a 3-credit course.
Wonderful! Please contact contact one of our internship coordinators so we can know what you're looking for in an intern. Interns are placed based on student and organizational interest; our focus is on mutually-beneficial relationships.
Credits: 3
Provides for a minimum of 150 hours supervised experience related to psychology. Students are expected to arrange internships with approval of instructor, maintain a log of their experiences, and meet regularly with instructor. Assignments are negotiated with the instructor based on the demands of the particular internship experience. A maximum of 3 hours may count toward the 41 hours necessary for the psychology major.
Prerequisite(s): PSY 201, junior or senior standing, 15 additional psychology hours, and permission of instructor.
Repeatability: May be repeated once for a maximum of six hours of credit.
Term(s) Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer