Internship & Clinical Placement Requirements

INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENTS

Each student in the Clinical Program is required to complete a one-year, full-time APA-approved internship in a training facility approved by the Program area. Students on internship are required to register for a minimum of two credits per term, including summer registration.

Students must have defended their dissertation proposal before applying for an internship. Exceptions may be allowed only if the major professor and student guarantee that the student will defend the proposal on or before December 1 of that year.

PLEASE NOTE: Credit hour requirements to defer student loans may be more than two hours per semester. It is recommended that students check the requirements of the lending institution.

Current interns (2009-2010) are completing APA accredited internships at:

• Brown University Medical Center
• Harvard University Medical Center/Children's Hospital
• Johns Hopkins/Kennedy Krieger
• Tampa VA
• West Haven VA in Connecticut
• Yale University, Child Study Center

 

CLINICAL STUDENT PLACEMENTS

Because of the importance of appropriate clinical training, a Clinical Placement Committee exists to monitor the paid and volunteer clinical, research, and teaching activities of clinical graduate students. Each year, students receive a document that reviews the Placement policies in depth. Students should read this document carefully. The following policies, in particular, should be kept in mind:

1. Work funded by a mentor’s grant is not considered a “placement.”
2. All placements (intra and extra-departmental) should require no more than 16-hours or work per week.  However, students can work more than 16 hours per week if:
   • The Major Professor approves of the additional work and attests that it will benefit the student's academic and professional development.
   • The Major Professor attests that the student is making satisfactory progress toward completion of Program requirements (see item c below).
   • Students who are near (will be within two semesters of any probation deadline at the beginning of the employment) or have exceeded the Clinical Program Probation Deadlines listed in the Graduate Handbook must petition the full Clinical Faculty for permission to work more than 16 hours per week.
   • The work site has been approved by the Placement Committee.
   • The Placement Committee and DCT receive written notification prior to beginning the additional work that includes written confirmation of their Major Professor’s support (see items a and b above).
3. If students hear about potential paid placements, they should have the supervisor at the potential placement contact the chair of the Placement Committee.
   
   
4. Students are required to carry malpractice insurance throughout their clinical training (www.apait.org). A copy of the malpractice verification should be submitted to Rose Ford each year.