Why do an internship?

Undergraduate internships provide an excellent opportunity for students to see how psychology and sociology are applied in mental health, educational, and community-based settings. The underlying objective for undergraduate internships is to afford students some "real life" experience in a chosen area of interest. It is anticipated that the undergraduate internship experience shall either enhance the student's interests in the chosen setting or it shall reveal some previously unforeseen negative aspects about a setting and hence let the student know that this may not be a career area that he/she wishes to pursue. Both potential outcomes in this experience are of extreme value. We want students to become excited about possible career fields, yet at the same time we do not want to offer the students false pretenses about those career opportunities. Undergraduate internships help our students to learn about the educational expectations, employment settings, hourly time commitments, interpersonal work related issues, and expected earning potentials offered through regional and local agencies.

We believe that undergraduate internships are an invaluable opportunity for anyone considering graduate work and/or a career in the field of human service. Potential graduate students in psychology or sociology can get the "hands-on" experience which is often necessary for acceptance into quality graduate programs. In addition, internship sites often provide references, research opportunities and networking not otherwise available through undergraduate studies. Similarly, those students who wish to enter the career field directly out of college are afforded the opportunity to see what jobs may be open to them with their current degree. They also are afforded "real life" work experience and networking contacts that may help them land a job.

If appropriately planned and executed, undergraduate internships are often experiences that help shape and direct the life goals of our students. If at all possible, we therefore recommend that our majors undertake an undergraduate internship at a site of their own choosing.