Careers & Internships

• What Are My Options for Experiential Learning?
  Experiential learning is often a critical part of an application for a job or graduate school, but depending on the position or graduate program, different types of experiences might be better than others. Please explore our section on careers and graduate school options to learn more.

   

  Currently, we have three formal ways for students to engage in structured experiential learning for course credit, which can count for a psychology major or minor. 

  1. Gain experience contributing to a research project run by a faculty member in our psychology department. (Some of these research experiences also include some exposure to clinical populations and procedures, and some do not.) 
  2. Apply for and participate in our field experience in psychology sequence, if you are potentially interested in a future career in therapy or counseling. 
  3. Look into our micro-credential program in psychology. In addition to these, you can see if any of the classes we offer have an attribute indicating it is a community engaged class, which tend to have more practical components.
• How Do I Find An Internship?
  Outside of experiential courses, other students will seek out other experiences related to their interests or future career goals, either during a summer or during the school year alongside regular coursework. For example, our students with interests in pre-health fields often seek out formal internship programs offered by hospitals or in other medical settings. These are often available to college students over the summer, at hospitals in/near Denver or elsewhere. Other students might attend an internship fair, or might work with the Career and Professional Development office to identify opportunities to intern or shadow with a DU alum who has indicated they're willing to take on a current DU student mentee. There is no correct timeline for seeking out these experiences -- students commonly think of the summers after their second and third years in college as a good opportunity to get experience, but some students start even early, and it's possible to start even in your last year. It is extremely rare for psychology students to get course credit for these experiences which occur entirely outside of DU, but you can ask an advisor if you have an opportunity which is only possible if you receive course credit.

   

  Outside of these resources, some students find opportunities using this external website that lists psychology-specific opportunities or look for any opportunities related to psychology (really, anything that includes helping people or managing data that come from people) at the DU volunteer opportunities website.
• How Do I Earn Academic Credit For An Internship?
  Currently, we have three formal ways for students to engage in structured experiential learning for course credit, which can count for a psychology major or minor. 

  1. Gain experience contributing to a research project run by a faculty member in our psychology department. (Some of these research experiences also include some exposure to clinical populations and procedures, and some do not.) 
  2. Apply for and participate in our field experience in psychology sequence, if you are potentially interested in a future career in therapy or counseling. 
  3. Look into our micro-credential program in psychology. In addition to these, you can see if any of the classes we offer have an attribute indicating it is a community engaged class, which tend to have more practical components.

Field Experiences FAQ's

• What internships are available?
  We don't know what specific sites will be available in a given year until a few months before Field Experiences begins in September, at best. The information session (including the most recent recorded version) contains some information about prior sites, and all else being equal, the same or similar sites are generally likely to be available.
• How can I get answers to my questions about Field Experiences?
  If you've already read this page in detail (most answers are here!), then ask one of the PSYC advisors! You can find information about how to book an appointment with one of them here. You can also watch the most recently recorded information session (look on this page for the link!), or bring your questions to the live information session (happens every year in May).
• Is Field Experiences for me?

  This is an important question! Field Experiences (FE) is a significant time commitment (both in terms of credit hours & class time, and internship time), and is intended for those that are planning to go into clinical work of some kind. You must also meet certain eligibility criteria (see elsewhere on this page) for FE to even be an option for you. If you are in doubt, watch the most recently recorded informational video, talk to a PSYC advisor, and plan on coming to the information session.

• So can I just sign up for Field Experiences?
  No. Interested students should plan to complete an application in the spring quarter. This process consists of a written application, an interview, and reference checks, and the exact timeline for the process will be shared at the informational meeting that held in mid-May. The application process is competitive (we have more interested students than spaces in the program), so plan ahead to meet eligibility requirements, prepare yourself academically, and put some work into your application.
• I'm not sure I want to do Field Experiences, but I'd love to do a clinical internship. Can I apply to the sites myself?

  We have close professional relationships with the sites with whom Field Experiences students are placed. We do not widely share those sites in order to maintain the mutual trust with our contacts. You can find more information about psychology internships more broadly here and here, or reaching out to specific locations directly and searching more broadly on the internet.

• This is an amazing program. How can I support it?

   We couldn't agree more. We believe deeply in the value of Field Experiences, and are so glad you are interested in supporting our work. If you are interested in supporting the Department of Psychology and all the work we do here, you can find more information about us here, including links to donate. If you are a potential site in Denver interested in being one of our internship placement locations, you can find contact information here.

• What Is a Microcredential Program?

  The psychology micro-credentials program allows students to build a customized experience that critically engages with the topic of diversity and inclusion, data-informed decisions, or mental health. Along with both required and elective classes on the chosen topic, students develop and complete an experiential project. With the support of a faculty member, students complete a project that ties into their chosen micro-credential as well as being tailored to their academic and career goals. In addition to their micro-credential badge, students will finish the program with a portfolio product that incorporates and showcases what they have learned through their courses and experiential project.

• Why Should I Take a Microcredential Program?

  It can sometimes be challenging to articulate the skills gained from a liberal arts education. Students graduate from the University of Denver with a wealth of knowledge and skills, such as being able to analyze data statistically and being able to think critically about complex issues such as diversity or mental health. These kinds of abilities translate well to both graduate school and the workforce. However, being unable to properly articulate and demonstrate these abilities (e.g., to potential employers) can make it difficult to transition from college to whatever comes next. This program is meant to help bridge that gap.

• What Does a Microcredential Program Entail?
  In this program, students will apply for one of the three topics mentioned above (Diversity and Inclusion, Data-informed Decisions, or Mental Health). Each topic lists two required courses meant to provide students with foundational material related to the content area of the chosen certificate. Students seeking a Diversity and Inclusion certificate, for example, will be required to complete Psychology of Diversity as well as Social Psychology. In addition to these two foundational courses, students will select one more specialized course from a menu of several optional courses. For example, a student on the Diversity and Inclusion track might then take Cultural Psychology or Human Sexuality to delve deeper into more specialized topics related to this content area (courses completed prior to applying for this program will count).

  
   

  Students will then work with a professor to develop an experiential project lasting one quarter. This experience will be related to the chosen program, but tailored to the student. For example, a student seeking a Mental Health micro-credential badge might take Field Experiences or shadow a clinical psychologist for a quarter. A student seeking a Data-informed Decisions badge might analyze a publicly-available dataset using statistical software or work in a professor's psychology lab as a research assistant and write a report describing the research projects they contributed to.

  
   

  Finally, students will integrate what they learned in their courses and their experiential project into a portfolio product.

  
   

  Students will leave the program with a deeper appreciation for the chosen content area and an artifact that can be shared to demonstrate the student's knowledge, skills, and experiences in that area.
• Who Do I Contact For a Microcredential Program?

  Interested in applying? First, you'll need to contact Dr. Edward Garrido at Edward.Garrido@du.edu  for an informal meeting (e.g., via Zoom) to discuss and plan. Once you've met with Dr. Garrido, you can apply here.