Spring Term Internship Program
PSY 503— Guidelines
PSY 503 - Internship – The crediting bearing internship program was developedin order to give student an opportunity to apply class learning in a supervisedand applied setting.
In this placement, the student intern earns either 2 or 4 academic credits fortheir participation in the internship.
PSY 503 does not count toward the psychology major.
To enroll in PSY 503, the student must complete an internship proposal, emphasizingthe specific objectives for the internship. The student must then determinea placement, and in collaboration with an agency supervisor, delineate how thoseobjectives will be met. The intern must complete a minimum of 100 hours of on-siteactivity for 4-credit internships and 50 hours of on-site activity for 2-creditinternships. The intern’s activities are coordinated by the student andthe on-site supervisor and approved by the Furman faculty sponsor. In additionto working in various capacities on-site, the student completes a comprehensiveproject and participates in a regular on-campus seminar that is coordinatedby the Furman faculty sponsor. The student’s project is one that is agreedupon by the student and the on-site supervisor and approved by the Furman facultysupervisor. It is expected that the project will be of significant value tothe sponsoring agency. The intern is also expected to make a presentation, basedon the project, to members of the seminar class, and to make an on-site presentationto interested members of the hosting agency. The presentation should be formaland should include a full audience made up of clients, staff, supervisors orothers who are in some way relevant to the project. The seminar presentationserves as warm-up to the on-site presentation. This placement is graded on aPASS/FAIL basis.
While on the internship, it is the responsibility of the student to do allof the following:
1. Be a positive representative of Furman University and the Furman PsychologyDepartment.
2. Meet the professional expectations of the placement agency, including adherenceto dress and behavioral codes, liability coverage as necessary, confidentiality,work hours, etc.
3. Journal (in a notebook that is unique to the internship) all activities,including entries related to all of the following:
a. Type of activity (e.g., onsite activity vs. project research)
b. Specifics of the activity (e.g., testing, clerical, counseling, etc.).
c. Time involved in the activity
d. Reflection on the activity relative to class experiences/topics (e.g., commenton the nature of the problem, diagnosis, conceptual controversy, etc.)
4. Complete the comprehensive project while involved with the internship.
5. Make a campus and on-site presentation related to the term project topic.
6. Complete an internship evaluation form at the completion of the placement.
7. See that the supervisor completes an evaluation form relative to the student’sperformance.
PASSING the internship class is contingent upon satisfactory completion ofall internship objectives.
Additional information and Internship Forms can be obtained by going to the Department Web page.
(www.furman.edu/academics/dept/psychology/)