Doctoral Internship for Psychology
Doctoral training in professional psychology requires a doctoral internship, which is often considered to be the capstone training experience. Internship is required of accredited programs in professional psychology. During this year, typically after completion of academic requirements (i.e., coursework and practica), a doctoral student engages in intensive work as a psychology intern at a training site. This year generally involves full time work for one year, but some students choose to fulfill this requirement part-time over two years. Doctoral interns generally work under the supervision of a licensed psychologist to acquire 1,500 to 2,000 hours of supervised experience, with at least 25% of time spent in face-to-face contact with clients.Training experiences vary from one site to another, but agencies with established internships include Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Medical Centers, University-based Counseling Centers, hospital-based settings, university medical centers, community mental health centers, and other agencies that meet criteria for internship training (See CoA Guidelines and Principles as well as APPIC Membership criteria). Most internships provide opportunities for assessment, intervention, and consultation, as well as exposure to multicultural diversity, supervision models, and program evaluation.
I. Match
A distinguishing aspect of the doctoral internship in professional psychology is the Match process coordinated through the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). Every year, prospective interns enter the Match in order to try and secure an internship position. More on the Match process can be found here, as this is merely a brief overview of the Match process. Internship year generally starts in the summer or fall (usually July through September) and continues through one calendar year. So let’s say a doctoral student planned on starting internship in the Fall of 2014. This process would begin with the student applying for doctoral internship via the match process in Fall 2013. Most internship sites have an application deadline of November or December (see the APPIC directory online for specific deadlines for each site). This student would have to have all of the application materials, letters of recommendation, and other materials completed by November/December 2013. Prospective interns apply to average of 10-15 sites, as Match data suggest that 14-15 applications is optimal to matching).
Next, the prospective intern spends December and January hearing back from each program about their interview status, with interviews generally held during January and early February. Interviews are usually done on-site, over the telephone, or via Skype. Students must budget for the expense of traveling, sometimes across the country, for these interviews.
In February, all prospective students have to submit their rank ordered preferences to the matching system. If a student had five interviews, he/she would rank their site preferences from 1-5. At the same time, the internship sites also rank all of the students they interviewed. After these lists are submitted in February, a computer matching system (through National Matching Services) matches interns to sites. In late February or early March students find out if they matched to a site, and if so, where they are going to be for the next year.
II. The Match Imbalance
Due to a variety of factors, an imbalance exists between the number of internships available and the total number of students entering the Match. This has meant that over the past decade, an increasing number of students who applied for internship have not matched, and thus must reapply the next year or pursue alternative options. In 2012, 22% of applicants did not match to an internship, and 47% did not match to an APA/CPA accredited internship (see the section of this web site on accreditation).
In 2013, the Match rate improved to 81% of students participating in the Match (with 19% who did not Match during Phase I or Phase II). Of note, there were 195 more internship positions offered in the Match compared to the previous year, reflecting the efforts made to increase slots for students. Importantly, these rates reflect matches to APPIC-member internships, and not APA accredited internships.
III. Geographical aspects of the match
Geographical limitations may interfere with Match success given that many students are unwilling or unable to move for internship and are limited with the options in their area. For instance, for a person living in Maine, there are presently only two APA-accredited internships in that state. Internship, for many students, means having to move for the internship training year.
IV. Cost
APPIC reported that the 2011 average cost of applying and interviewing for internship was $1,812. APPIC also noted that this cost had wide variability with some students spending much less and others spending much more. These costs usually depend on how much travel is needed to interview with desired sites. Thus a student who is interviewing at all sites in his/her city will have lower costs than the student who has to fly to every site.
V. Unaccredited internships
Many students who do not match to an accredited internship accept unaccredited internships, if allowed by their graduate program. These internships often satisfy requirements of the doctoral program so that the student can graduate and move on to postdoctoral fellowship and/or licensure. Unaccredited internships may be potentially problematic for an individual’s later professional career as some employers only consider applicants with accredited internship experience. Many students choose to wait and reapply to the Match during the following year rather than accept an unaccredited internship. In 2012, only 53% of students applying matched at an accredited internship.
VI. Other matching systems
The state of California has created a separate system known as the California Association of Psychology Internship Centers (CAPIC) to try and provide internships to students within the state. This system is not the same as being a member of APPIC or APA-accredited, and there are differences (e.g., CAPIC does not require internship sites pay interns).
I. Match
A distinguishing aspect of the doctoral internship in professional psychology is the Match process coordinated through the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). Every year, prospective interns enter the Match in order to try and secure an internship position. More on the Match process can be found here, as this is merely a brief overview of the Match process. Internship year generally starts in the summer or fall (usually July through September) and continues through one calendar year. So let’s say a doctoral student planned on starting internship in the Fall of 2014. This process would begin with the student applying for doctoral internship via the match process in Fall 2013. Most internship sites have an application deadline of November or December (see the APPIC directory online for specific deadlines for each site). This student would have to have all of the application materials, letters of recommendation, and other materials completed by November/December 2013. Prospective interns apply to average of 10-15 sites, as Match data suggest that 14-15 applications is optimal to matching).
Next, the prospective intern spends December and January hearing back from each program about their interview status, with interviews generally held during January and early February. Interviews are usually done on-site, over the telephone, or via Skype. Students must budget for the expense of traveling, sometimes across the country, for these interviews.
In February, all prospective students have to submit their rank ordered preferences to the matching system. If a student had five interviews, he/she would rank their site preferences from 1-5. At the same time, the internship sites also rank all of the students they interviewed. After these lists are submitted in February, a computer matching system (through National Matching Services) matches interns to sites. In late February or early March students find out if they matched to a site, and if so, where they are going to be for the next year.
II. The Match Imbalance
Due to a variety of factors, an imbalance exists between the number of internships available and the total number of students entering the Match. This has meant that over the past decade, an increasing number of students who applied for internship have not matched, and thus must reapply the next year or pursue alternative options. In 2012, 22% of applicants did not match to an internship, and 47% did not match to an APA/CPA accredited internship (see the section of this web site on accreditation).
In 2013, the Match rate improved to 81% of students participating in the Match (with 19% who did not Match during Phase I or Phase II). Of note, there were 195 more internship positions offered in the Match compared to the previous year, reflecting the efforts made to increase slots for students. Importantly, these rates reflect matches to APPIC-member internships, and not APA accredited internships.
III. Geographical aspects of the match
Geographical limitations may interfere with Match success given that many students are unwilling or unable to move for internship and are limited with the options in their area. For instance, for a person living in Maine, there are presently only two APA-accredited internships in that state. Internship, for many students, means having to move for the internship training year.
IV. Cost
APPIC reported that the 2011 average cost of applying and interviewing for internship was $1,812. APPIC also noted that this cost had wide variability with some students spending much less and others spending much more. These costs usually depend on how much travel is needed to interview with desired sites. Thus a student who is interviewing at all sites in his/her city will have lower costs than the student who has to fly to every site.
V. Unaccredited internships
Many students who do not match to an accredited internship accept unaccredited internships, if allowed by their graduate program. These internships often satisfy requirements of the doctoral program so that the student can graduate and move on to postdoctoral fellowship and/or licensure. Unaccredited internships may be potentially problematic for an individual’s later professional career as some employers only consider applicants with accredited internship experience. Many students choose to wait and reapply to the Match during the following year rather than accept an unaccredited internship. In 2012, only 53% of students applying matched at an accredited internship.
VI. Other matching systems
The state of California has created a separate system known as the California Association of Psychology Internship Centers (CAPIC) to try and provide internships to students within the state. This system is not the same as being a member of APPIC or APA-accredited, and there are differences (e.g., CAPIC does not require internship sites pay interns).