Research, Internships, and Special Opportunities

Benefits of special opportunities
Opportunities in the Department of Psychology
Process for Registration
Other special opportunities both on and off campus
Research Conferences

Research, Laboratories, & Projects Search for psychology research projects site for research that is currently being done in the department of psychology.

Faculty Search for faculty members in psychology. Find out their fields of interest.

Adjunct Faculty Search for adjunct faculty through the psychology department. Find out their fields of interest.

Benefits: What will special opportunities do for me?

You can sample various areas and topics in psychology not covered in regular course offerings, set up individual projects in a particular area of study or take a seminar on a special topic offered by a faculty member.
Some special learning opportunities provide direct experience in a specific area of psychology. By working on individual experiments or helping a faculty member with his or her research, you can gain an understanding of work on a typical project.
You will have the opportunity to become acquainted with faculty, graduate students, and other undergraduates.
You will share each other's knowledge and experience in a cooperative effort to explore and resolve some problem in psychology. Faculty members working with undergraduate students become familiar with their capabilities. These relationships can help you obtain letters of recommendation for graduate school and job applications.
The work experience obtained from individual or faculty projects is valuable when applying for jobs and graduate school. Employers place a high priority on work and academic experiences other than regular course work when evaluating job applicants. Graduate schools may place a similar emphasis on experience when making admission decisions.
Special learning opportunities give you the chance to engage in reality-testing of your interests and goals. Students can experience the problems and rewards of working in a particular subject area and under particular working conditions. The self-knowledge gained in these situations allows a realistic appraisal of future satisfaction and success in a particular career area or in graduate school.

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Opportunities in the Department of Psychology

Psy 3960, Undergraduate Seminar/Psy 4960, Seminar in Psychology/5960, Topics in Psychology (1-5 cr., prereq. 1001 & consent of instructor)
Faculty and graduate students teach small seminars on topics of special interest under these course numbers. The seminars usually cover subject areas not included in regular course offerings. Different courses may be taught each term under the Psy 3960/4960/5960 numbers. Always check the Class Schedule on the web for any late course additions.

Examples of Seminars that have been offered under Psy 3960 include:
  Psychopaths and Serial Killers
  Psychiatry and Social Control
  Introduction to Psychophysiological Research
  Overview of Psychological Testing
  The Psychopathic Personality

Examples of Seminars that have been offered under Psy 4960 include:
  Developmental Biopsychology

Examples of Seminars that have been offered under Psy 5960 include:
  Memory, Belief, and Judgment
Psy 3993, Directed Studies (1-6 cr.; prereq. consent of instructor)
Under this course number, you can develop individualized projects on a topic of your choice. This project can be a written library study, literature review, or systematic reading program on a special topic. In consultation with a faculty monitor, you will propose an outline of study that includes objectives, methods, and means of project evaluation. The project results in a written paper (APA style) or an oral or written examination. Projects often cover areas of psychology not offered in course work or explore a specific area of interest to the student.

Examples of Projects Titles:

Children’s Imaginary Companions
Psychological Testing in the Industrial Environment
Personality Characteristics and Achievement of College Women
Cognitive Processes in Reading
Emotional Modulation and the Startle Reflex
Self-Presentation Strategies and Gene-Culture Co-evolution
Social Psychology and Media

See Process of Registration
Psy 3996, Undergraduate Field Study/Internship in Psychology (1-6 cr.; prereq. consent of instructor)
If you are involved in an internship or field experience outside the classroom, or would like to be, you may obtain credit for this experience. The Field Study/Internship in Psychology provides students with a practical, “real world”, more job-related learning experience. Locations and particulars of these internship/field study experiences vary widely, but examples include working with mentally ill adults in a hospital or group home, applying intensive in-home behavior modification programs with autistic children, developing and evaluating remedial academic and vocational training programs for incarcerated individuals, conducting task analyses and human factors research in industry, evaluating patient compliance with drug and physical therapy prescriptions in HMOs, selection and assignment processes for employing volunteers in human services activities, data collection and analysis for clinical trials for a pharmaceutical company, etc.

In order to identify and secure an internship position, students should first activate their GoldPASS account at www.goldpass.umn.edu. This site provides immediate access to postings of currently available internship opportunities. For additional resources, students may also visit the Psychology Undergraduate Advising Office and the CLCC (see below). Upon securing an internship, students may arrange to receive psychology credit in one of the following ways: 1) Students may work with a faculty advisor to determine the parameters of the academic experience that will accompany their internship and the methods in which the student will be evaluated, or 2) Students may enroll in the classroom-based version of Psy 3996 offered Spring Term.

Psy 5993: Directed Research (1-6 cr.; prereq. consent of instructor)
This independent study option involves work on empirical research projects that culminate in a 5-page minimum written report in APA style. Although empirical research typically requires some library work, a Directed Research project is primarily actual data collection and analysis. Students typically work on a faculty member's project; however, you may conduct original research as well. The best way to become involved in a research project is to consult with faculty who are working in areas of interest to you. Explore faculty research interests and adjunct faculty research interests on-line. You may also consult with psychology advisors to identify a faculty member whose research matches your own interests.

Example Projects:

Behavioral and Cognitive Problems in Patients with Alzheimer’s
Situational Predictors of Politeness
Recognition Memory in Infants and Adults
Sports Performance: The Effects of Handicaps
Effects of Differential Outcomes on Short-Term Memory
Thermoregulation in NASA Project
Family Influences on the Development of Eating Disorders
Human Memory and Confidence Values
Eye Tracking and Schizophrenia

All research in which data are collected on human subjects must receive prior approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

See Process of registration

Process for 3993, 3996, and 5993 registration:

1. Explore research programs or consult with an advisor in Psychology Undergraduate Advising the departmental Faculty lists for referral to an appropriate faculty or adjunct faculty member with interests in your topic area.
2. Obtain a contract form from S105 Elliott Hall.
3. With the faculty advisor, negotiate the final project goals, work requirements, and method of evaluation.
Each credit earned through independent study projects requires 3 hours of academic work per week throughout the term of registration (e.g., 3 credits = 9 hours of work each week). The shorter summer session will require a condensed workload.
4. Complete the contract with faculty advisor’s signature and your signature.
5. Obtain approval of a psychology advisor in the Undergraduate Advising Office.
6. Distribute copies to appropriate persons/offices. You may need to deliver the pink copy to 49 Johnston Hall to register for the course or receive a permission number from Psychology Advising (4993) in S105 Elliott Hall.

[Note: A total of six credits from the Undergraduate Seminar, Directed Studies, Directed Research, and/or Field/Internship courses may be applied toward the elective category of the minimum requirements for the psychology major.]

Psy 4960, Seminar in Psychology (1-5 cr., prereq. 1001 & consent of instructor)
Faculty and graduate students teach small seminars on topics of special interest under this course number. The seminars usually cover subject areas not included in regular course offerings. Different courses may be taught each term under the Psy 3960 number. Always check the Class Schedule on the web for any late course additions.
Psy 5960, Topics in Psychology (1-5 cr., prereq. 1001, jr/sr/grad status)
Faculty and graduate students teach small seminars on topics of special interest under this course number. The seminars usually cover subject areas not included in regular course offerings. Different courses may be taught each term under the Psy 3960 number. Always check the Class Schedule on the web for any late course additions.
Volunteer Work in the Psychology Department
If you would like to gain experience working on a project in psychology, but do not wish to register for credit you may be able to serve as a volunteer research and/or laboratory assistant to a faculty member. Students interested in this opportunity should contact the individual faculty member.
Paid Undergraduate Positions in the Psychology Department
Paid undergraduate assistantships in the department are extremely rare. Occasionally a student in the work-study program may find a professor with matching funds who can hire him or her. However, the vast majority of students involved in special learning opportunities of this type do so primarily for credit or for the experience. Paid student positions are posted on the University of Minnesota’s Student Job Postings web site.

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Other special opportunities both on and off campus

Volunteer experiences, internships, and credited projects are also arranged through several offices on campus. These offices coordinate special learning opportunities both on and off campus.
UROP Office
345 Fraser Hall (612) 624-8006
The Undergraduate Research Opportunities program supports research or creative projects undertaken in partnership with a faculty member. Financial awards of up to $1700 are offered twice a year to full time undergraduates. These grants provide students an excellent opportunity to receive a stipend for work on a research project of their own design.
Department of Psychology Scholarships & Awards
Special Summer Research Opportunity: This intensive ten-week program is open to up to 24 undergraduates who plan to or are considering research oriented graduate studies in the behavioral sciences, cognitive sciences, and mental health. The University of Minnesota offers students an ideal opportunity to explore their future options in an intellectually challenging and socially rewarding context. Program details including application deadlines, housing arrangements, and stipend information may be found at the website.
Learning Abroad
An extraordinary opportunity available to University students is the opportunity to experience learning overseas. Also check our Study Abroad in Psychology sheet for more information on integrating your study abroad experience within your psychology degree.
CLA Career and Community Learning Center
135 Johnston, (612) 624-7577
The CLA Career and Community Learning Center (CCLC) was created to locate, develop, and coordinate learning experiences tailored to individual students’ goals and interests. CCLC provides various alternatives to regular classroom study and offers guidelines on how to take advantage of them.

Interdepartmental Directed Study This opportunity is for students who would like to design an independent project including more than one academic discipline. CCLC’s office has information about the initial development of such a directed study. CCLC also has information about receiving extra credit for additional work in a regular course ("X" registration) and election of regular courses without attending lectures ("Y" registration).
Internship Experience CCLC is an excellent resource for identifying potential internship sites in the community. This office maintains a database with over 1400 prospective internship sites in the Twin Cities community. You may receive academic credit for internship experiences through CCLC’s interdisciplinary course, ID 3211, or through Psy 3993 or 3996 (see description above).
Internship Grant If you are interested in an unpaid internship but need financial support, you may apply for an Internship Grant through CCLC. The award is for an internship consisting of 10 hours of work per week provided throughout the semester.
Career Services CCLC also coordinates Career Services (see Career Web Resources and Careers with a B.A. in Psychology).

Psychology Undergraduate Advising Office
Occasionally, the advising office receives requests for student volunteers or workers from community agencies or businesses. These requests are posted outside of S106 Elliott when received. You may also be notified of these opportunities through The Psych Scoop or weekly Psychology Advising Office e-mails sent to psychology majors.

RESEARCH CONFERENCES

To be updated...

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Updated 7/15/05