Module R - Internship in the Master's Program in Psychology

Additional information can be found in this presentation.

 

The compulsory module "work-related internship" in the master's degree program in Psychology consists of two partial performances:

  1. six-week internship and
  2. graded and passed internship report

If both partial performances are fulfilled, 10 credit points are awarded.

 

The following information should be noted regarding the two partial performances:

Six-week internship

1. Approval by the secretariat of the examination board

Before the start of the internship, the internship must be applied for and approved in the secretariat of the examination board. The template of the application can be found on the page of the examination board (information of the examination board about the internship).

Fill in the application form and send it to the secretariat of the Examination Board (papsy@uni-trier.de).

 

To complete the application, the following points must be clarified in advance:

 

2. Area and goals

Internships can be carried out in all psychological professional fields (research and application) in Germany and abroad. The goal of the internship is the transfer of contents of the Master's program to psychological research areas and practical psychological application areas. Psychological methods and techniques should be applied independently under practical conditions.

Help in finding an internship institution is not provided by the department of Psychology.

 

3. Supervision

Internships are supervised at the internship institution by academically psychologists working there.

If there are no such qualified persons working in the internship institution, the internship can also be external supervised by a member of the Psychology Department of the University of Trier. External supervision of the internship is voluntary on the part of the psychology faculty member. Guidelines for external internship supervision are available on the website of the examination board.

 

4. Duration, full vs. part-time of internship

The internship is usually completed as a six-week full-time internship. The number of hours per week depends on the full-time employment of the institution in which the internship is carried out.

The internship is completed during the lecture-free period as a full-time internship. Exceptions are possible if the lectures are not impaired by the internship. The equivalence of the part-time internship with a corresponding full-time internship must be certified by the internship institution.

 

5. Internship vs. employment relationship

If an employment relationship exists/existed with the institution in which the internship is to be completed, it must be ensured that the internship activities are not limited to the duties within that employment relationship but reflect the breadth of duties of the internship institution.

Thus, in terms of broadening job prospects, internships that involve only the activities of the part-time job are not recognized as internships.

 

6. Certificate

The internship institution certifies to the student (for example, in the form of an internship certificate) (a) the period, (b) the form (full-time vs. part-time internship), and (c) the focus of activities in which the psychological internship was completed.

If the certificate is not signed by the academic psychology supervisor, it must be clear that the internship was supervised by at least one such qualified person.

 

Please send this certificate to the secretariat of the examination board (papsy@uni-trier.de) after completion of the internship. The secretariat of the examination board certifies the completion of the internship.

 

After the internship, an internship report must be completed.

Internship report

The internship report will be evaluated according to the criteria described in 1) format requirements and 2) content / outline by an examiner in psychology.

1. Format

The internship report should be 6-7 pages (including cover page, table of contents is not required) (1.15-line, 12pt Times New Roman font, justified, 2 cm margins on all four pages).

The cover sheet contains the following information:

  • Current logo of the University of Trier
  • Name, matriculation number, address and university e-mail of the student
  • Contact address of the internship institution and supervisor
  • Period and duration of the internship
  • On the cover sheet, you declare that the report was written independently and without help
  • Date of delivery

 

2. Content, outline and evaluation criteria

The report is structured along the three points outlined below. Information should be described for all sub-points. Depending on the nature of the internship, some sub-items may have a higher weighting than others. Substantive comments (of roughly comparable scope) are expected to be provided on all three overarching points. The report will be evaluated according to the criteria below.
 

1) Description of the organization and the department / team.

  • Organizational structure of the internship institution; equipment of the internship place, working conditions, compensation.
  • Expectations of the supervisor (e.g., degree of independence expected in the activity to be carried out)
  • Type and quality of care previously agreed supervision; cooperation with other professional groups. 

2) Presentation of the field of tasks and activities

  • Description of tasks performed with rough estimate of (percentage of) total internship activity.
  • References to diagnostics / evaluation, intervention (counseling, training, psychotherapy), research
  • Proportions of participant observation / hospitation versus (guided) independent activity
  • Reference to the basic and applied courses or to individual modules and knowledge and skills from the lectures of Psychology.
  • Connection between practical and theoretical elements in the master's program in
    Psychology 

3) Evaluation

  • Personal motivation and expectations of internship position / field of activity
  • Acquisition of knowledge and professional skills; suggestions for own personal development and later career choice
  • Learning experience in dealing with supervisors and colleagues as well as the clients/patients during the internship.
  • Prerequisites that would have been helpful for the internship but were not taught enough during studies of Psychology.
  • Criticism and suggestions for improvement regarding the internship
     

4) Appendix

  • Certificate of the examination board "Completion of the internship" as pdf-scan
  • If the internship is externally supervised, include "Follow-up on External Psychological Supervision" as Attachment 2.
  • Proof of exam registration in PORTA

 

3. Submission (deadline, format, etc.) and evaluation

You have to register in PORTA for the exam "Berufsbezogenes Praktikum". Registration and deregistration deadlines are 30.03. (for WS) and 29.09. (for SoSe) of the respective year.

 

If you have registered for the examination but, contrary to expectations, are unable to hand in the report on time in the respective semester, you MUST deregister from the examination again.

 

You can submit the internship report at any time.

Send the internship report in electronic form (pdf document) to: prakmapsy@uni-trier.de. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt.

 

The evaluation of your report will take approximately 6-8 weeks.

The grade for the report and passing the module will then be entered into PORTA for you.

Module Officer

Dr. Henrike Peiffer
Contact: prakmapsy@uni-trier.de

Secretariat examination board               

Andrea Becker
Contact: papsy@uni-trier.de

 

 

signed. Chair of the Examination Board Psychology (Prof. Dr. Jan Hofer), 06.10.2022