School of Psychology

Internships Occurring Summer 2009 to Fall 2010

In order to meet the accreditation requirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Florida Tech School of Psychology is initiating a three course internship sequence. Internships taking place on or after Summer 2009 will engage in the Scholarly Inquiry Project conducted at an approved Internship Site.

3 Course Sequence

Scholarly Project Planning Seminar PSY 3999 (1 credit)
Facilitates and instructs regarding internship selection, application, planning and proposing the scholarly inquiry project as related to the internship. Prerequisite: Research Methods II (PSY 3511 or PSY 2513). Offered Fall and Spring.

Field Internship & Research Project PSY 4000 (3 credits)
Consists of the experiential component of placement at a worksite and the scholarly inquiry project data collection and analysis. Prerequisite: Passed Scholarly Project Planning Seminar (PSY 3999 or Spring 2009 PSY3400). Offered Fall, Spring and Summer.

Applied Research Analysis Seminar PSY 4001 (1 credit)
Analyzes and develops the data collected during internship into a scholarly project, culminating in an internship colloquium. Offered Fall and Spring. Prerequisite Passed Field Internship & Research Project (PSY 4000).

Internship Program

Scholarly Inquiry Project
Scholarly Inquiry projects will primarily consist of investigations of a research question undertaken as part of the Field Internship. They can be descriptive or inferential in nature, using survey, observational or experimental design. Some examples are a research paper, published paper, portfolio (e.g. training manual), poster session presentation, paper presented at a conference or some combination. The topic will be approved by the Internship Site and Internship Director to ensure it meets the programmatic criteria and is acceptable to the site prior to initiation of the project. Contact with human subjects will be approved by the Florida Tech Institutional Review Board prior to initiation of the project. Site approvals will also be obtained prior to initiation of the project.

Scholarly Inquiry Project Development
Projects will be developed in conjunction with the Internship Site, Internship Director, and Advisor or Topical Specialist.

Faculty Resource
Students will be directed by the Internship Director to approach a Faculty member with expertise in the student's project or a subject matter expert to serve as the Faculty Resource. The Internship Director will oversee equitable distribution of Faculty Resource assignments among the faculty. The Faculty Resource person may be utilized to review project planning, analysis and presentation development.

Internship Director
The Internship Director will periodically review an advisee's internship project progress throughout the internship process. Placement and project development will be reviewed by the Internship Director.

Colloquium
All students participating in the Applied Research Analysis Seminar will create a presentation board or poster and handouts for the Colloquium. Students will be present to discuss their findings with those in attendance. Some students will be selected to give a more involved presentation at the colloquium. Faculty Resource persons, Site Supervisors, and other department and community members will be invited.

Dean's Grant for Student Research
Of those students will be selected to give a more involved presentation at the colloquium, one will be selected to receive the Dean's Grants for Student Research Competition. Undergraduates may be awarded up to $250 to publish and present their scholarly inquiry project under the supervision of a faculty member. Grant recipients will be selected from presenters at the School of Psychology Undergraduate Research Colloquium. The research must be conducted as part of your internship project, within the time specified for that application, and adhere to guidelines established by the University Committee on Activities Involving Human Subjects. Grant recipients are expected to submit a written summary of research completed, including the question under investigation, research methods, results, conclusions, and how the monies from the Dean's Grant will be used to further the work.

Internship Site Approval
In the third week of the Pre-Internship semester (during Scholarly Project Planning Seminar) students will indicate at least three internships of interest from the roster of participating sites. The Internship Director will coordinate with a Faculty Resource regarding the sites and direct the student on which placements they may contact to gather additional information regarding the scholarly inquiry project. As students will develop a project the remainder of the semester, applications will be submitted by the fifth week. Students will be informed of the application process specific to each site, and we will encourage sites to coordinate with the department to select interns by the sixth week.

Alternate Site Approval
In the event that a student has an interest in a site not included in the roster, they must provide the Internship Director with a potential supervisor at the placement. Appropriateness of placement, supervision, and amenability to the scholarly inquiry project will be determined prior to site approval.

Field and Research Internship Sites