Internships

Internships can provide excellent opportunities to understand the applications of psychological science in the world beyond Macalester.

Our urban location affords a rich array of placement options, including sites focusing on clinical and counseling, health, industrial-organizational, developmental, forensic, and educational psychology.

During an internship, your primary work happens at your off-campus site, but you will have a Macalester faculty sponsor with whom you will meet throughout the semester and to whom you will submit work.

This work typically consists of readings and writing assignments that link your hands-on learning to the scholarly literature; the specific details are arranged jointly with your site supervisor and faculty sponsor through a learning contract.

Most internships occur during the academic year, and you may opt to earn 1-4 credits per internship, depending on how many hours you are at your site. Internships conducted during the January term are covered by your regular tuition, and students can earn up to 2 credits. Students can also earn internship credit over the summer. The Macalester Summer Internship Grant program provides modest stipends plus 1 academic credit in support of this work; applications for MSIG funding are typically due early in the  Spring semester. Students can also undertake summer internships without MSIG funding but, to receive academic credit, you’ll need to pay extra tuition. 

Psychology faculty can help you identify internships that suit your particular interests. Please also consult with Career Exploration. They maintain databases of past internships, and they can offer you assistance choosing and registering an internship for credit. Psychology students can use internships to fulfill requirements for the major, as stipulated in our internship policy.