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PSY399/487: Independent Internship

These courses are for students completing non-Counseling/Clinical internships (in I/O, Bio, or Social), OR who are not able to enroll in PSY 398 during the academic year, OR who want/need to complete a summer internship. They are developed in one-on-one working relationships between student and faculty sponsor, and differ in their academic components: PSY 399 requires a 12-15 page written paper, and PSY 487 is a writing-intensive senior experience course that requires the development of a 20-25 page paper and an oral presentation to an appropriate audience.

Process

Eligibility:

  1. Min. GPA of 2.5
  2. Sophomore status
    1. Sophomore standing for students who entered the College prior to Fall 2025 (32 course unit model): 8-15.75 earned units.
    2. Sophomore standing for students who entered the College during or after Fall 2025 (30 course unit model): 7.5-14.75 earned units.
  3. For PSY 487
    1. Completion of PSY 299 with at least a C- for students who entered the College prior to Fall 2025.
    2. Completion of PSY 390 with at least a C- for students that entered the College Fall 2025 or after.

 

Steps:

  1. Find an internship that involves intensive field experiences. (See “Find an Internship” below for more information.)
  2. Find a faculty sponsor. (See “Find a Faculty Sponsor” below for more information.)
  3. Submit PSY 399/487 application paperwork to ELOPsy portal by no later than 3 weeks before the start of the semester when the internship will take place. Include a screenshot or word document with email documentation that your course has been approved by your faculty sponsor and Department Chair.
  4. Submit the necessary application paperwork to the HSS Dean’s Qualtrics portal by no later than the last day of add/drop in the internship semester, which can be found on the HSS Internship Courses page.

Find an Internship

There are a few ways students find internship placements:

  • Review sites where TCNJ Psychology students have interned in the past to identify sites of interest to you.
  • Visit the TCNJ Career Center’s College Enhancement Intern program webpage for potential on-campus internships.
  • Check out the Community-Based Academic Internship program at TCNJ’s Center for Community Engaged Learning and Research.
  • Look on Handshake, the online job network maintained by TCN Career Services.
  • Search for opportunities on LinkedIn.
  • Consider using your current job as your internship site if you are employed and are able to perform appropriate intern duties and receive regular supervision from another member of the organization.

If you have a site in mind but are not sure if it will work for course credit, discuss the possibility with a faculty sponsor.

Things to keep in mind when searching for an internship placement:

  • The internship site must provide an on-site supervisor and appropriate intern duties to fulfill the learning objectives for PSY 399/487. Students and potential site supervisors should discuss the TCNJ Internship requirements listed in the Letter to Internship Site Supervisor during an initial, exploratory conversation.
  • Internship sites have varied application / on-boarding time and content requirements, including (for example) fingerprinting, background checks, and a TB test. This may impact when opportunities are available and the time it takes to confirm a position. Discuss specific timing and site requirements with your potential site supervisor early on.

Find a Faculty Sponsor

Below are Psychology faculty who are available to sponsor students for PSY 399 or PSY 487. Email a professor or stop by during office hours to discuss your interest and their availability. You do not need to have an established working relationship with a professor for that person to be your PSY 399/487 faculty sponsor.

  • Faculty sponsors for Summer 2026: Dr. Andrew Leynes, Dr. Jessica Barnack-Tavlaris (for non-clinical PSY 399 only), Dr. Adaurennaya Onyewuenyi, Dr. Tamra Bireta, Dr. Joanna Herres, Dr. He Len Chung, and Dr. Raquel Sosa (preference for clinical/counseling placements).
  • Faculty sponsors for Fall 2026: Dr. Shaun Wiley, Dr. Adaurennaya Onyewuenyi, Dr. Jessica Barnack-Tavlaris (for non-clinical only), Dr. Raquel Sosa, Dr. Tamra Bireta, and Dr. James Graham (for non-clinical only).

Application Materials

Download the PSY 399/487 Application Checklist & Letter to Internship Site Supervisor. The latter lists the required content for the Letter of Intent (see #3 below) and should be shared with a potential site supervisor.

Download and complete the application documents:

  1. PSY 399/487 Application Instructions & Form. Include a screenshot or word document that documents your faculty sponsor’s course approval.
  2. The site supervisor’s Letter of Intent. This will be provided by your site supervisor on organizational letterhead.
  3. Overload form (if needed) Note: Education dual majors must seek overload approval from the School of Education.

Sample Developmental Internship Application Form (PSY 399) 

Sample Industrial/Organizational Internship Application Form (PSY 399)

Sample Clinical/Counseling Internship Application Form (PSY 487)

Evaluation

Supervisor Evaluation Form (PSY 399 & PSY 487) – This form will be completed TWICE: mid-way through & at the end of your internship. Please make a copy of the Google Doc template for your records.

 

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