The Online Advisor

Internships

Participation in an internship is far less common for psychology majors than it is for students in other programs such as business. The only psychology majors required to have an internship are those pursuing national certification through the Behavior Analysis Emphasis.

There are a couple of reasons why most psychology majors do not participate in internships. First, internships involving the "stuff" of psychology, such as providing counseling, require training and skills acquired at the graduate, rather than the bachelor's level. Second, many psychology-related jobs and most graduate programs provide specific training for their workers or students and do not expect individuals to enter the job or program having had this training.

Although most psychology majors do not participate in internships, and the department has no formal mechanism for referring students to psychology-related internships, many students select volunteer, for-credit, or paid work experiences that allow them to gain skills and explore interests related to psychology. Examples of such experiences include:

  • Service Learning projects that enable you to work with a population of interest, such as survivors of domestic abuse, school-age children, or older adults. For more information about such projects, go to the Center for Service-Learning.
  • Directed studies, independent studies, and/or research or teaching apprenticeship experiences with psychology faculty.
  • Involvement in campus programs, such as Counseling Services' peer counselors (OL 2122), Students Against Eating Disorders (SAED) or the Center for Awareness of Sexual Assault (CASA).
  • Employment through an area hospital, the Eau Claire Academy, or other businesses/organizations, many of which recruit applicants through UW-Eau Claire's Career Services.

For more information about internships, contact Career Services.


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