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Internships & Volunteer Opportunities

Internships

CRITERIA FOR INTERNSHIP:

  1. The California State University defines an internship as a formal integration of academic coursework with practical experience.
  2. Potential internship sites include business, non-profit, educational, campus, or government settings. No home businesses will be approved.
  3. Internship sites must have a risk assessment prior to being approved.
  4. In spring 2023, there will be one main site that focuses on community mental health. Students may also propose their own sites by following the procedures in III. Applications Procedure for Selecting your Own Site, below.
  5. The site supervisor is the person responsible for providing mentorship and oversight of the intern at the internship site. Interns should be supervised at least 50% of the time they are present at the site. Interns should not be unsupervised with minors unless the interns possess the necessary credentials and background checks.
  6. The student must have a field/work supervisor who is willing to evaluate their work performance. Evaluations will be emailed to the field/work supervisor during the 12th week of the semester. Students will be evaluated on punctuality and professionalism; however, ultimate responsibility for evaluating the student’s performance and awarding a grade will remain with the course’s faculty instructor.
  7. Students will complete internship contracts that consist of multiple forms. Contracts must be signed prior to starting at the site. A Learning Plan must be developed and submitted with students’ contracts. The learning plan is developed by the student in consultation with the site supervisor. It will outline the learning outcomes and objectives of the internship. Mandatory items on this plan will include signatures of the student, site-supervisor, and internship coordinator.
  8. The student’s position must be one of a responsible nature AND must relate directly to the students’ academic coursework and/or career goals. A minimum of 100 hours must be spent on internship-related activities. (13 class hours, 7 hours of training, and 100 hours of internship experience).
  9. The main internship site is unpaid. Generally, internships are unpaid for community service sites and paid for industrial/organizational sites. There are limited opportunities through the Career Center and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences to receive funding for completing internships.
  10. A student’s current place of employment can only be approved if their work relates Directly to Psychology learning objectives. In this case, 60 hours may be used towards the completion of the 100-hour requirement. The remaining 40 hours must involve learning experiences outside of their regular duties. Examples include learning a new skill, creating a new project, or other activities that are related to Department coursework.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF STUDENTS FOR INTERNSHIP:

  1. For permission to enroll in the course, email the instructor at mbadiee@csusb.edu.
  2. If students propose their own sites, their proposed internship must be integral to their academic coursework and/or career goals.
  3. The student must have a 2.0 GPA in their major and overall college work and be of at least JUNIOR standing.
  4. Students must be acceptable to the internship site staff, so long as any judgment of unacceptability is not based on discrimination prohibited by law.
  5. Students may take a maximum of 6 units of internship for credit toward a degree or certificate; however, please note that only 3 units of 5575 may be applied in a major.

APPLICATIONS PROCEDURE FOR SELECTING YOUR OWN SITE:

The main site for spring 2023 is focused on community mental health. This site requires experience with mental health, such as personal struggles or witnessing loved ones’ mental health issues. If students prefer to complete their internships at a different site, instructions are below.

  1. Select an internship site. Students interested in clinical/counseling careers can search for community service sites through this page. Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology opportunities are listed here and require a minor in Human Resource Management.
  2. Contact the internship site. Make sure they meet all requirements in I. Criteria for Internship, above. If the site meets criteria, students should have the site representative agree to provide an internship and assign the student to a supervisor.
  3. Complete the appropriate paperwork. Students can obtain and submit the paperwork to the internship coordinator, Dr. Manijeh Badiee at mbadiee@csusb.edu.
  4. As this class involves a high commitment, NO students will be enrolled in this class after week 1 of the semester.

CRITERIA FOR CLASSROOM COMPONENT:

  1. Goals and objectives will be revised during the semester.
  2. Class will meet for 1 hour each week. We will meet at the main SB campus and broadcast virtually to the Palm Desert Campus. Classroom attendance is mandatory. In addition to class time, you are expected to dedicate 7 hours per week at your internship site.
  3. Incomplete grades will be granted under limited circumstances. To apply for an incomplete, students must have successfully attended all regularly scheduled classes. More information about incompletes will be outlined in the class syllabus.
  4. Supervisors at the intern sites will complete evaluations for each student. The faculty member will consider this feedback and will have ultimate responsibility for the evaluation and grading of the student’s performance in the internship. Typically, the PSYC 5575 instructor will review the student’s performance with the work supervisor before assigning a grade.

 

 

Student Internship/Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer work in the community can be an important part of your college experience and often provides fulfilling and enriching experiences for students and faculty alike. Of course, it enriches our communities as well. Currently our site for locating volunteer opportunities is under construction. Please reach out to the current PSYC 5575 instructor for up to date opportunities at this time. 

Find Volunteer Opportunities

After you enter your search terms and click on "Go," you will be shown a list of volunteer sites that match your criteria. You can click on any community site generated by the search for more information about that site. This information will include whether or not the site has a formal internship program with our Psychology Department through which you can receive credit for working at the site by enrolling in our Psychology Internship course (PSYC 5575). Please note that most sites in this database are not currently being used as sites where you can do an Internship for course credit.

If you are interested in doing an Internship for course credit, please go to our informational page about the PSYC 5575 course located at the following link. Here you will learn about the requirements for enrolling.