Psych 601 Syllabus
GRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY INTERNSHIP COURSE
Instructor: Ione Fine
psych601@uw.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The Psychology Internship course offers students the opportunity to explore and develop their careers through professional practice. The structured plan of education impacts student work- readiness through a number of professional development skill-building activities, including goal setting; analysis and reflection; feedback from employer; and debriefing their experience.
The course is available to students from other departments with permission of the instructor.
For all students it is strongly advised that they consult with their graduate advisor and their graduate training committee. In certain cases this permission may be required before an add code is provided.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Psychology internships are intended to provide students with an opportunity to apply theoretical concepts from the classroom to the realities of the field. Through this course, a student will be able to:
- Analyze a professional setting’s strength and challenges
- Identify how the internship relates to their academic courses and preferred career path
- Communicate in a workplace environment in a clear and confident manner
- Evaluate performance and accept feedback, in order to make changes as necessary
- Articulate their experience and skills to potential employers
- Identify and articulate next steps in their career trajectory
COURSE EXPECTATIONS & CREDIT
In order to gain admission into the course, the student must have already obtained an internship and must be registered for this course during the quarter in which the majority of the internship takes place. If, at any point in the enrolled quarter, a student’s employment status changes, s/he must notify psych601@uw.edu as soon as possible.
The course is graded as CR / NC. To obtain full credit, the student must submit all assignments by the due date ~AND~ earn 70% or higher on the assignment.
Students also have the responsibility to know and observe UW’s Student Conduct Code and section on Academic Responsibility.
Students pursuing full-time internships (40 hours / week) will earn 10 CR PSYCH 601, which will maintain their full- time student status. Students in part-time internships (20 hours / week) will earn 5 CR PSYCH 601. Regardless, students will complete the same assignments.
OTHER
Financial Aid: A student who has financial aid or scholarships is responsible to inform the Instructor staff of his/her status to ensure the required communication with Student Fiscal Services takes place.
Campus Housing: In many cases, the student can return to campus housing without losing priority status if s/he contacts Housing & Food Services office immediately after accepting the internship. The student is responsible for requesting a letter from the Instructor in a timely manner to retain housing priority.
Student Health Insurance: Each student is advised to have health insurance at all times; an international student is REQUIRED to maintain health insurance (see ADDENDUM: SPECIAL NOTE TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ON F-1 VISA).
U-PASS & IMA Access: Because the student does not pay tuition while enrolled in PSYCH 601, he/she is not automatically charged for a U-PASS or IMA membership. If a student is interested in purchasing these, he/she will need to do it in-person at the respective offices:
• U-PASS: UW Transportation Services office at 1320 NE Campus Parkway
• IMA Membership: IMA building at 3924 Montlake Blvd
FINAL REFLECTION REPORT
Due: the last day of instruction for the quarter in which the student is registered
Submit to psych601@uw.edu.
Purpose: To synthesize and concisely articulate your internship tasks/accomplishments in written format, as well as understand growth & build awareness about professional skills and development.
Instructions: Write a final report to document your growth during your internship and its application to your future career goals. The report should be approximately three pages in length (0.5” margins, 11pt Arial, double- spaced) and clearly written sentences. Please respond to the following sections to help guide your report.
General Information Section
Explain your role and how your work contributed to the company
Obtaining and selecting internship
How did you obtain the position?
Brief description of the interview selection process.
Do you have any “lessons learned” for future students about selecting or obtaining an internship?
Technical Skills (maximum one quarter-page sized picture/diagram)
Technical Skills (maximum one quarter-page sized picture/diagram)
Document the technical experiences you had during your work experience and discuss technical problems that you assisted in solving
Give examples of the science and psychology principles learned through your coursework
Indicate any courses or subject areas that might have enhanced your work performance
Do NOT include confidential information from your employer/clients. Contact the Instructor if you have questions about how to describe work experiences without violating confidentiality agreements
Development of Professional Skills
Describe team and leadership building opportunities on the job
Address the ways in which you practiced oral and written communication on the job
Share challenges you faced in the work environment and how you responded to those challenges
List and describe academic knowledge % skills you relied on to complete your work assignments
Assessments
Discuss whether or not you met goals set out by your supervisor or that you set for yourself
Evaluate your performance of assigned projects, noting both areas of strength and improvement
Conclusion
Summarize by addressing the impact of the work experience on your education and career goals
Provide two “lessons learned” to share with any student that is considering an internship
IMPORTANT NOTE!!
For international students. Your CPT authorization requires completion and credit for Psych 601. Failure to complete the course or assignments for the course is a status violation and may require you to regain F-1 status.
Policy on Religious Accommodation:
Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).
ADDENDUM: SPECIAL NOTE TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ON F-1 VISA
Any Psychology student with an F-1 visa should take the PSYCH 601 course to obtain the required work authorization, or Curricular Practical Training (CPT).
In order to maintain a student’s immigration status, s/he is required to register for an internship course and complete all program requirements to earn credit. After accepting a qualified internship, the CPT application process consists of two steps:
- Complete the PSYCH 321/601 registration form (https://www.psych.washington.edu/current/careercenter/intern) for the appropriate quarter.
- Complete ISS’s online CPT form (https://iss.washington.edu/employment/f1- employment/cpt/#who_is_your_department_adviser_what_is_their_role_in_the_cpt_application)
- In the box, “Department Adviser’s Name,” type the name of the PSYCH 601 Instructor
(note that this is NOT your academic adviser!
- In the box, “Department Adviser’s Email Address,” type psych601@uw.edu
- ISS will send you an email when your updated I-20 with CPT authorization is ready for pick- up; a copy of this authorization should be provided to the host employer.
*Processing time after the student submits the CPT form ~AND~ the Psych 601 instructor provides
confirmation to ISS can take up to 15 business days.
~ADJUSTING YOUR CPT APPLICATION DATES (e.g., resignation, termination, extension)~
An international student is only permitted to work during the authorization period indicated on the I- 20; working outside of those dates violates his/her student visa requirements.
ANY CHANGES TO THE STUDENT’S EMPLOYMENT STATUS MUST BE REPORTED TO THE PSYCH 601 Instructor AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
*In order for a student to EXTEND their authorization period, these steps must be completed AT LEAST 10 BUSINESS DAYS prior to the current expiration of the student’s I-20:
- Contact the psych601@uw.edu requesting an extension
- Provide documentation (e.g., e-mail from employer, revised offer letter) with the dates of the extension and the number of hours per week to be worked in that period.
- If your extension goes through a new academic quarter, please fill out a new CPT form (see step 2 above) with your revised start and end dates.
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