Psychology 460 Internship
Professor Bette Ackerman
Fall, 1998
Office: 117 Clough Phone: 843-3985
Office Hours: MWF 2:30 - 3:30, Tu 1:00 - 2:30 e-mail: ackerman@rhodes
Meetings & Deadlines
Aug. 26: First meeting. We will go over the course requirements and expectations. Students will be told
how they will be graded, he purpose of the journal, what types of entries should be made, and
given a list of questions they should address in their journals.
Sept. 2: Short/Brief Class (one hour?). Students should be prepared to give a brief summary to the class
on where they will be interning, and a summary of what their experience has been to date.
There are some typical problems or confusions that come about from entering a new job or a
group. Come prepared to talk about any concerns you may have about your internship
placement…lack of adequate direction, personal interaction questions or problems….whatever
your concern might be.
Deadline for 1) completed contract with all signatures, approved by Dr. Ackerman before your
site-supervisor signs, 2) signed waiver, and 3) pledged completion of APA ethical guidelines.
Any student not completing these items may be dropped from the course.
Sept. 9: Each students should come prepared to summarize his or her internship placement. In addition
to whatever else you want to tell us, you should provide :
1) an explanation of the company or agency (how funded, who owns it, division/department,
chief missions, etc.)
2) what you believe you will be doing and what you hope you will learn/get from this
experience, and
3) an explanation of how the academic discipline of psychology may be related.
Sept. 23: What are supervisors and co-workers looking for in interns?
We will talk about the common problems students have during internships. Think about what
supervisors want from an intern, and the type of impression you want to make. We will need
to discuss confidentiality and ethical considerations as an integral part of professional behavior.
More generally, we will talk about self-presentations, and will discuss the difference in self-
presentations which might be appropriate when you are applying for graduate school versus
jobs. Finally I will quickly discuss cover letters, the difference between a resume’ and a vita,
and the “care and feeding” of references.
Oct. 7: I will schedule outside speakers to come and meet with the class. The students will be
responsible for selecting the topic (former Rhodes College' graduates speaking about working
in the "real" world, or, students in graduate school, etc)
Oct. 14: No Class. Journal and annotated bibliography are due, as well as a short summary of what your
final paper will cover. The journal should include daily entries as well as answers to many of
the questions given you on 8/26. Midterm journal grade will be determined from this
submission.
Nov. 11: Students will summarize their long-term career goals as well as their immediate job
expectations following graduation & plans for obtaining that position. Copies of an up-to-date
resume' (or vita) and a cover letter should be brought to class, one copy for each class member.
Students planning on applying to graduate school should provide the same types of material,
although theirs should target graduate programs
Nov. 18: Continuation of above, if needed
