Graduate Internship Program Requirements

Graduate Internship Program

For majors in:

• Cross Cultural Studies
• Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Psychology
• IO Psychology
• Sociology
• Behavioral Sciences General

An appropriate internship experience is the capstone of your graduate degree program. It can be pivotal in the transition from being a student to being a working professional. University of Houston-Clear Lake faculty, and in particular the Internship Coordinator, stand ready to assist you in this experience.

The internship consists of 500 hours, typically over at least two semesters. Teaching internships do not go by hours, they go over 2 long semesters (Fall/Spring or Spring/Fall)

In order to be eligible for internship, students must ordinarily meet the following criteria, although individual programs may set program-specific requirements that differ from those below:

• Have completed at least 24 graduate credit hours
• Be in good academic standing with a >3.0 GPA
• Meet your program requirements. Some programs require Interviewing and Assessment (Psyc 5134) and Professional Issues and Ethics (Psyc 5135) prior to starting an internship

Upcoming Deadlines

Summer Application Deadline:

• April 15: Criminology and Criminal Justice, Cross-Cultural Studies, General Psychology, Sociology, and General Behavioral Sciences
• April 29: IO Psychology

Fall Application Deadline:

• June 17: Criminology and Criminal Justice, Cross-Cultural Studies, General Psychology, Sociology, and General Behavioral Sciences
• To be announced: IO Psychology

Spring Application Deadline:

• November 20:  Criminology and Criminal Justice, Cross-Cultural Studies, General Psychology, Sociology and General Behavioral Sciences
• To be announced:  IO Psychology

Application Process Overview

• Attend a mandatory orientation session in the semester prior to beginning an internship
• Submit an application packet by the due date. Packet includes:
  • Completed application
  • Copy of Candidate Plan of Study (CPS)
  • Recent curriculum vitae (CV)
  • Recent transcript
  • Letter of recommendation from one UH-Clear Lake professor
  • A 2 page essay of your professional goals

Not all students are suited for doing internships and faculty have the professional obligation to screen prospective interns.

Requirements After Acceptance into the GIP

Before You Can Begin

1. Schedule a meeting the the internship coordinator
2. Start looking for an internship site - make sure the site is approved!
3. Email the required site information to the internship coordinator
4. Schedule a triad meeting
5. The internship coordinator will authorize you to register

As soon as you have had the interview and the possibility of an internship there looks promising, your next step is to arrange with your UHCL internship advisor a triad meeting (you, and the site supervisor). At this meeting a Statement of Agreement will be signed by all parties. You will then be cleared to register for the internship by the internship coordinator. After this meeting and all appropriate paperwork are completed, the student may begin the hours of internship work required. Liability insurance must be purchased before any intern hours can begin. Please note that the fee for this liability insurance will appear automatically on your statement upon internship registration.

When you approach people "in the field" please remember that their first responsibility is to their constituencies, e.g., clients in distress, students in community colleges. UHCL also has a vested interest in maintaining good working relationships with community agencies. Please be professional in your internship role (e.g., be punctual in arriving at your site and completing your duties and assignments there). Your placement could be a possible job site for you in the future.

During the Internship

• You are required to attend the internship meetings on the UHCL campus set up for the internship course (approximately once a month for about two hours each time)
• You must follow the syllabus of your academic internship advisor
• You must notify your UHCL academic internship advisor immediately if you have questions or if there are any problems with your internship. Do not err on the side of reservation. Other UHCL instructors may be helpful, but it is your job to notify your internship advisor. Know your site's Code of Ethics.
• Visits will be made to your internship site. You will be expected to assist in arranging the visits.
• Students in the past have complained about how time-consuming an internship can be. It is not just the hours per week, but also the commuting time, the internship meetings etc. that can be so draining on anyone. It is prudent not to take more than one other course per semester of internship.

Closure of the Internship

You will have a due date for your internship paper and portfolio . Describe and evaluate your experience. Make recommendations regarding your internship site and the internship program in general. Have an exit interview with your site supervisor and academic internship advisor. Your site supervisor will go over your evaluation at that time.

Grading Policy

You are expected to behave professionally, work a minimum of the hours agreed upon by you and your supervisor, maintain a positive and helpful attitude, accept feedback well and change where deficits are pointed out to you. Your supervisor should provide you with regular feedback on your performance and will submit a written evaluation at the end of your internship. Your final paper and portfolio will be reviewed by your academic internship advisor and by faculty of your academic program/major. Grading will be done in accordance with the grading system described in your course syllabus.

Shortcomings on any of these items will detract from your semester grade. Grades are influenced (but not determined) by the evaluation report from your site supervisor.

Specific Internship Notes

Teaching Internships

You will observe one semester of teaching. Take notes. Conference with your mentor (site supervisor) about how classroom decisions are made, tests constructed, etc. You will teach at least two sections of material that you and your mentor will agree upon. These teaching sections should be at least one hour in length. The goal is for your mentor to hear you and critique your lecture in a feedback session. Your mentor must feel good about allowing you to teach in the following semester. Your mentor will decide whether you will teach the course the next semester. Therefore, your behavior should be responsible and professional in your first semester, e.g., arrive on time, attend every class, attend all meetings you and the mentor arrange, etc. You are responsible to teach the class that you observed in the second semester, again with the mentor's supervision. When you agree to observe, you must also agree to the teaching section for the following semester. The community college cannot re-schedule classes for your benefit. Have at least three lectures and your first exam prepared on Day 1 of your second semester. Know your ethical guidelines. The more preparation you do on lectures in the first semester, the easier you will find your teaching experience in the second semester of your internship.

Social Services Internships

In many of these settings you may experience intense, stressful events and situations. Know your ethical guidelines. Your mentor may not be available to you daily. You are expected to behave with professional deportment. Find support from others in your work group. However, do contact your site supervisor and your academic advisor when any ethical dilemmas or difficult cases arise as soon as possible. Learn your agency policies and procedures, the formal as well as the informal networks. Participate fully.

Liability Insurance

Your internship course has a liability insurance fee attached to it.