Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Summer Semester 2026

Psychology Internship (Online)

PSY 4890-30I

Course: PSY 4890-30I
Credits: 12
Term: Summer Semester 2026
Department: PSY
CRN: 20615

Course Description

Provides students with the opportunity to receive academic credit for supervised, professional-level service and work experience. Students must have completed a minimum of 30 undergraduate semester credit hours and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher (SUU Policy 6.3). Up to three credit hours count toward the total number of psychology credits needed for the major or minor in psychology. (Fall, Spring, Summer) [Pass/Fail] Prerequisite(s): PSY 1010 and PSY 2010 and PSY 3800 and/or instructor permission - Prerequisite Min. Grade: C- Repeatable for Add’l Credit? Yes - Total Credits: 12 Registration Restriction(s): Sophomore, Junior, or Senior standing required

Required Texts

None

Learning Outcomes

I. An internship is a specialized applied learning experience with an intentional and structured learning agenda, incorporated into pre-professional work activities in a way that mutually benefits the student-intern and the agency or placement site. Student interns have gleaned, from their academic experiences, foundational knowledge and skills that they can contribute to the work setting. Internship placement sites provide students with a list of expectations, duties, and performance goals, along with consistent supervision with feedback about their performance. 


Course Requirements

To qualify for internship, all students must complete the Internship Orientation course and annual Title IX Training for Students

 

·   Internship Application/Learning Agreement -Before engaging in internship hours, interns must write, and receive approval from the Department Internship Coordinator, and complete the online Intern Application linked above. This document will ask for the following: 

 

1.      Course information: Semester you plan to do the internship, for how many credits, whether you have completed the Title IX Training for Students, the type of internship (University Sponsored or University Operated), the site supervisor’s phone number and job title, the site supervisor’s department, whether the site supervisor is a family member or student, whether the internship is paid or unpaid, start date, estimated end date, average hours per week, the Academic Internship Coordinator (Steve Barney), and internship job title. You will need to provide a job description, how often you will meet with your supervisor, and whether you have contacted the Academic Internship Supervisor. If the internship is also your regular job you will need to specify if you were previously employed, or hired on as an intern. You will be asked if you will be doing the internship on site or remotely. There will be a text box, please list the supervisor name, agency name, and whether you wish to enroll in PSY 4890 Internship or PSY 4891 Capstone Internship. 

 

2.      Next, you will develop three or four specific learning objectives. Each specific learning objective MUST include, (a) one intended outcome, (b) the plan by which to accomplish that outcome, and (c) a method for evaluating accomplishment of the intended outcome.

 

3.      Next, you will need to acknowledge you have read and agree with the Internship Learning Agreement in its entirety. 

 

4.      Once you click submit, the form will appear in my Approval Cue. Once I read your learning objectives and approve, the form will go to your supervisor for their approval, then back to me for final vetting. Once I approve the form a second time, it will arrive at the Registrar’s Office and you will be enrolled in the course. You may begin internship work as soon as you are notified that you are enrolled in the course. 

 

Requirements for All Internships

 

1. SUU Master Internship Agreement form. The SUU Master Internship Agreement form is a document that explains the roles and responsibilities each party involved in an internship have. The document is a formalized agreement between SUU, and the “provider”, the agency where the internship will take place. Before you begin any internship activities, the SUU Master Internship Agreement form must be completed, signed, and dated by the Provider and the University. The Agreement is in effect for 5 years. If your internship site does not have an agreement on file, they must review and sign before you can begin. The Academic Internship Coordinator works with the Internship Specialist at the SUU Career and Development Center to ensure the MIA is completed and curated correctly. 

 

2. Internship Permission Form. The Internship Permission Form is a document included in the online Internship Application that includes specific registration information for the course, including the course name, number and section, the course CRN, the number of credits, and information about the agency where the internship will take place. 

 


3. Field Placement Hours. Consistent with the university’s Internship policy, the Psychology Department requires a 45:1 ratio between clock hours and academic credit as the norm. The intern and internship coordinator will negotiate the actual ratio considering such factors as proportion of paid hours that are educational and difficulty level of the internship service.  Your supervisor will need to sign off on your hours at the end of the semester on the Internship Student Supervisor Evaluation. This class can be taken for multiple credits (1-12) and can be repeated for credit in different semesters or at different sites in the same semester, up to the maximum of 12 credit hours. 
 

4.Field Supervisor Evaluation. Unless extenuating circumstances allow for an exception, a favorable, written evaluation from the field placement supervisor is a condition for receiving a passing grade for internship. Students should prompt the Department Internship Coordinator to provide their supervisor with the form early enough to allow time for the supervisor to complete the form.  Student should then review the evaluation with her/his supervisor.  The student OR supervisor will turn the form in to the Department Internship Coordinator either electronically, or in person (GC 308-K).  

 

5.   Reflective Papers. (All Due Dates are listed in Canvas). Students in all types of internship experiences will write the following three reflective papers. All due dates are available on CANVAS. Late work will not be accepted without prior approval. 
 

·         Four Week Check In:
1. Describe at least five differences between your role as a college student and your role as an 
intern.
2. What was your transition from college student to Intern like?  Were there unexpected challenges 
or issues that took you by surprise?
3.  Describe the supervision you are getting in your internship?
4. Explain how you are progressing on your outcome objectives that you created in your 
Internship Objectives Plan?
5. From your observations and experiences, what are the main challenges faced by your intern 
agency achieving their goals as outlined in their Mission Statement? 


·         Midterm Report:

1.       Describe progress on your Internship Learning Objectives?
2.       Talk about what you yet lack in order to complete Internship Learning Objectives?
3.       Discuss what changes you have made toward becoming more professional?
4.       List and describe three specific skills you have developed in your role as an internship. 
5.       Give one instance in which you handled conflict in a productive and professional manner.
6.       Give one instance in which you handled conflict in a less than ideal manner.  
7.       Outline your educational/occupational plan from this point forward. 
Make the report about 4-8 pages in length.


·         Termination Assignment

As you begin to wind down your internships, how you end your experience is almost important as how you conducted yourself during the semester.  The process of ending a professional relationship is called "Termination". Successful termination leaves your clients, coworkers, supervisors, etc. empowered and enabled. Successful termination leaves you satisfied and confident in your abilities. Simply ending the internship with no transition amounts to "abandonment" and is strictly prohibited within the APA Ethical Guidelines. Here are some tips for successful termination:   

Discuss termination with your clients, coworkers, supervisors, etc. early in the Internship.

Establish clear goals with your clients, coworkers, supervisors, etc. so that progress toward those goals can be recognized and completion of those goals is apparent.

Respect your client/agency's desire to terminate but be confident in expressing concerns if you feel termination may be premature.

Keep your relationship professional and do not let it stray into the realm of friendship.

Allow clients/agencies to discuss possible feelings of loss surrounding termination and process your own feelings surrounding the process, as well.

Most Interns are not proficient at termination/ending relationships. For this assignment, I would like you to write a one-page paper outlining your tendencies and past history with ending professional relationships. The paper should contain three sections:

                                For this paper (this applies to all types of Internships), please address the following:

Section #1- Reflect on the type of termination tactics you most frequently employ. Do you tend to end things abruptly to avoid awkward interactions or sad feelings? Do you tend to hang on to these relationships, often making promises of ongoing contact that you realistically cannot keep? Do you intentionally do something to make the person with whom you are terminating angry with you, so the termination is easier?  Outline some of the unintended negative consequences to your traditional style.

Section #2- Talk about why professional termination might be difficult for you. Are you afraid of harming clients or others with whom you regularly interact?  Are you doubtful of the impact you have had on your clients, supervisors, fellow researchers, etc.?  Are you going to miss the interactions personally?

Section #3 -Include in your paper a plan for termination that is mutually beneficial for you and your clients, supervisors, research team members, students, etc.


Students completing Internship Hours over the Summer, and who will register for Credit during Fall Semester, should complete these assignments during the internship, and submit them for credit during the Fall. 

6. Final Perspective Paper.  For this five to seven-page assignment, divide your paper into four sections with four section headings and address the series of questions below.   
1.      Personal Experiences 

·         Comment on your experiences with this placement.  

o   What was your day-to-day work like? 

o   Was it better, worse or about the same of what you expected? 

o   What aspects of the placement have you enjoyed thus far? Was there anything that never got tiring?  

o   What aspects of the placement have you found more challenging? Was there anything that got tiring quickly? 

2.      Placement Evaluation 

·         Comment on the techniques, practices and philosophies being utilized at this agency.    

o   What is the mission statement? What are the primary techniques and approaches used at this agency? 

o   Does this agency do what it sets out to do (i.e., fulfill the aims of its mission statement)? Do these techniques work and why or why not? 

o   Anything else that is going well or could be improved? 

o   What potential ethical dilemmas could this agency encounter? 

3.      Professional and Personal Growth 

·         What new skills or ideas have you developed thus far as a professional?   

·         Based on your experience, where do you think you need to grow as a professional? 

·         How about personal growth? How have you grown as a person from your experiences thus far and/or what personal insights have you developed? 

4.      Career Path 

·         What is the impact this placement has had so far on your future career choices? How does this experience solidify your previous career assumptions, or have they led you to consider different paths? 

·         How does this impact the population you would like to work with or the techniques you would like to use in the future? 

·         Learning Objectives

·         Review each of your learning objectives that you outlined in your Internship Objectives Plan. Write about the progress, or lack of progress you made on each

·         Discuss those factors that facilitated you reaching objectives, and those factors that interfered with your progress. Be sure to cover internal factors and external (agency) factors. 

 

Course Outline

Psychology Internship provides students with the opportunity to receive up to 12 academic credits for supervised, professional-level service and work experience (Students can take from 1 through 12 credits per semester up to a cumulative total of 12 credits). Students can also carry out multiple internships at various sites. Three credit hours may count as Psychology Electives, the remainder count as university upper division elective credits. Unless prior approval is given, students who complete an Internship (PSY 4890), and then plan to complete a Capstone Internship (PSY 4891) must complete the Capstone Internship at another location. 

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Late work is not accepted. 

Attendance Policy

Attendance requirement is dictated by internship site

Course Fees

: At present this course has a $4.00 per credit HSS Fee and an $8.00 per credit Technology Fee for online courses. Concerns about these fees should be communicated to academic administrators (Department Chair, College Dean, Provost) and/or to your SUUSA Senator. 

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.