Undergraduate : RA, TA, Internships & Independent Study

Undergraduate

The Psychology department provides students with many opportunities to supplement their coursework with educational experiences outside of the classroom. Students who are interested in engaging in ongoing research programs should check out our research assistantships. If you want to help teach other students, you can serve as a teaching assistant. Those wishing to gain some experience "in the field" can apply their skills by participating in an internship. Students can receive up to 18 course credits for participating in these extremely valuable experiences. Students can also register for independent readings or research courses.

Research

See a current listing of available psychology research assistantships on the left
Most students begin their exploration of research by participating in the ongoing research of a faculty member or graduate student. Course credit is pass/fail. To register for research credit, arrange an RA with a researcher and then submit the Research assistantship 398 contract - download from the right.
Students may also participate in research for graded credit. Typically, these are students with some research background who are ready to pursue research more independently. To register for graded research credit, arrange to work in a lab and then submit the Psychology 496A Topics in Research contract - download from the right.

Teaching

See a current listing of available psychology teaching assistantships on the left
Students may earn pass/fail course credit for helping to teach a class. Requirements and expectations differ according to each instructor. You can see some details in the listing to the left. To register for a teaching assistantship, apply with the instructor and when you have been accepted, submit the Teaching assistantship 398 contract- download from the right.

Internships

The Psychology Department encourages students to gain practical experience through internships and practica for course credit. To earn credit students must have a psychology faculty sponsor and arrange with the faculty sponsor the nature of the academic component of the internship. This frequently takes the form of regular journal entries and/or a paper that relates the internship experience with your academic work.
Students find their own internship site, but Career Services maintains a large database of potential internship sites. You will need to attend a welcome session at Career Services to access this site. Also, click here for a list of sites where psychology students have interned in the past. Some opportunities may also be posted on the Job, Internship & RA Postings page.
Once the internship site and faculty sponsor are arranged, to register for course credit complete the internship contract form (Psych 398F) – download from the right.
Click here for step by step instructions for arranging an internship for psychology course credit.

The Field Experience Office of Career Services handles the nuts and bolts of doing an internship and signs off on all internships.

Independent Study

Advanced students who wish to pursue study of a subject outside the context of a class can do that by pursuing independent readings or independent research.
Independent Readings in Psychology (Psych 396) allows students to engage in scholarly research on a specific topic. The student must work with a faculty sponsor and develop a detailed plan of study together with the sponsor. The particular readings along with the nature of the paper that wil be culmination of the project should be detailed in the plan of study. To register for independent readings, secure a faculty sponsor and fill out the Psych 396 contract -- download from the right.
Independent Study -- Research (Psych 496A) allows students to engage in research in a psychology laboratory. This letter-graded research experience is generally appropriate for students who have prior research experience and who are ready to embark upon research that is relatively independent (a full study or a portion of a more extensive project). Students must find a lab to work in and a faculty sponsor. Together with the faculty sponsor a plan of study is developed that describes the nature of the research, which includes information about the research report that will be submitted at the conclusion of semester. To register for independent study - research, secure a faculty sponsor and fill out the Psych 496A contract -- download from the right.