Internships in College Teaching of Psychology

PSY 491 Internship in College Teaching of Psychology provides graduate students with an opportunity to assist a faculty member who is teaching a psychology course. The intern will observe the faculty supervisor in the classroom on a weekly basis. As the course progresses, the intern is given more responsibility for the course (e.g., presenting lectures, classroom activities, and developing assessment measures such as quizzes and exams, etc.). The intern must also complete a final project (e.g., developing a teaching philosophy, teaching portfolio, grant project, etc.).

Interns can earn a maximum of nine credits for PSY 491, but are limited to three credits per psychology course. For example, interns may complete two internships with different faculty supervisors, or may complete six credits with the same faculty supervisor but for different psychology courses (e.g., PSY 215 and PSY 302).

Note: PSY 491 is not equivalent to a graduate assistantship. Students are encouraged to solicit faculty members for the PSY 491 Internship who are not their assistantship supervisors. However, PSY 491 may be used in conjunction with a graduate assistantship but only under specific circumstances. If the psychology course instructor is also the student's graduate assistantship supervisor, the intern's teaching responsibilities identified in the PSY 491 Internship form must be in addition to or different from the student's graduate assistantship duties (e.g., interns must be responsible for teaching and evaluating a portion of the psychology course separate from the faculty member's other teaching responsibilities).

Student should complete the PSY 491 Internship in College Teaching of Psychology. The form is an interactive Microsoft Word document, which should be completed on a computer. Students should complete the top portion of form, and the PSY 491 faculty supervisor must complete the teaching responsibilities and grading criteria portion. The form should be printed and signed by both parties. The signed form should be submitted to the program or sequence coordinator for approval. The coordinator should submit the signed Internship form to the Graduate Programs Office for approval by the department chair.

Students cannot register for PSY 491 until the Internship form has been approved by the department chair. When the form is approved, the Graduate Programs Office will process an override for PSY 491 and will notify students when they can register. The form should be completed and approved before the semester begins.