Many undergraduate students major in one of the social sciences, and these students are often unaware that there are many professional positions available to them in community-based health and social services agencies. An internship experience is one way to have an applied learning experience in Psychology. The internship experience provides Psychology majors with a supervised learning experience in an applied setting. An internship not only provides the student with the opportunity to have genuine work experience but also helps students to evaluate their own career choices.
SUNY Oneonta’s Department of Psychology has developed links with many health and social service organizations in Otsego County, and these organizations host interns every semester. To participate in the Psychology Internship Program, students must meet the following requirements:
- Junior or Senior status (minimum of 56 credit hours completed)
- 24 of the 56 credit hours completed must be in Psychology
- 12 of the 24 credit hours in Psychology must have been completed at SUNY Oneonta
- Passed College Writing Exam
- Minimum of a 2.0 GPA overall
- Minimum of a 2.0 GPA in Psychology
- Written permission and completed application (requires meeting with Dr. Zians and complete the job description and learning outcomes for the internship)
Students earn one credit hour for every 40 hours of on-site experiences at the field agency. Most internships are 3 credits (120 hours experience at the field agency). A typical 3-credit internship experience during one’s Fall or Spring semester involves one full day at their field agency (9 a.m. - 5 p.m.) and then one half-day at the field agency (4-credit internships usually involve two 8-hour shifts per week at the internship site). Students may complete more than one internship during their Junior and Senior years of college; the maximum credits allowed for students for internship assignments is 16 credits.
Contact Dr. Zians for more information: james.zians@oneonta.edu.
Fitzelle 122. Office hours are 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. each Wednesday.