Registering your Internship

INTERNSHIPS FOR CREDIT

Spire registration

All fall/spring internships are expected to be registered for credit. As of summer 2024, the university is discontinuing Handshake for internship contracts. You can now register through Spire:

• Log in to your student account on SPIRE.
• Click on the Academics Tile.
• Under the Forms and Academic Requests tab, choose Experiential Learning Request.
• Click the Create a New Request button.
• Fill out all the information. Items marked with an asterisk are mandatory fields.

You will be able to edit and cancel your internship requests within Spire.

Additional information to keep in mind

• The internship supervisor listed here is the one that will receive your end of semester evaluation, so please choose someone who is actually directly supervising you and can speak to your performance. There are no specific degree or job title qualifications for this person.
• List Ashley Woodman as your UMass faculty sponsor
• List PSYCH 398DD as the Department and Course number
• Copy and paste the following description of your academic project: “I will submit weekly internship activities and reflections reports, using a template provided by my faculty sponsor. I will also submit a final timesheet and complete an evaluation of my internship site.” If you have a better idea, you can pitch it here, otherwise the journal is the default academic assignment.

The approval process is entirely electronic, no hard copy signatures are needed. Your internship site supervisor does not need to sign this or any form at the start of your internship. If you have any problems, contact the Field Experience Office at Career Services.

Credits

You receive 1 academic credit for every 40 hours of internship. You can count hours for professional development and training. You cannot count hours traveling to and from your internship site from campus. If your internship requires travel from the main office to homes or schools, however, you can count these hours. You can count up to one hour of time per week spent working on the required journal entries.

You can adjust the number of internship credits at the end of the semester, so if you fall short or do more hours than expected, you can contact the program director to request a change in credits.

Journal

You will be added to a Canvas section for PSYCH 398DD. You will submit a journal entry each week responding to the following prompts:

1. Describe in some detail two events you observed this week that made a strong impression (positive or negative) on you.
2. Did you meet with any supervisors or co-workers to debrief about your experiences this week? If yes, in what type of meeting (e.g., one-on-one meeting with supervisor, team meeting, informal meeting before/after shift)?
3. Make a bullet list of lessons you learned in your internship this week (including lessons you learned about yourself).
4. Note two questions raised for you by your internship experience this week. 

Timesheet

You will keep a timesheet throughout your internship. You will upload your final timesheet to the Canvas page.

Evaluation

Your internship supervisor will receive a request from Career Services for an evaluation of your performance. Their completion of this form has no bearing on your final grade, unless it indicates that you did not complete the required hours.

You will also be asked to provide an evaluation of your internship and internship supervisor through the PSYCH 398DD Canvas page.

INTERNSHIPS NOT FOR CREDIT (WINTER/SUMMER ONLY)

Since there are additional fees for winter/summer internships, you are not required to register these internships for academic credit. You must register these internships with the program director using the form below in order to count these hours toward the DDHS internship requirement.

Since you are not completing this internship for credit, you are not required to complete the journals each week. You should, however, still track your hours using the same timesheet. You will be asked to submit this at the end of the semester.

INTERNSHIPS THROUGH OTHER PROGRAMS/DEPARTMENTS

Most students complete their internships through PSYCH 398DD: Prac/Fieldwork in Developmental Disabilities and Human Services with Ashley Woodman as their faculty sponsor, but you may also choose to complete some or all of your internship hours through another program or department. Only hours directly working with people with disabilities and/or their families should be counted toward DDHS.

Since you are completing these internships through other programs or departments, you are not expected to complete the same writing assignments as PSYCH 398DD. You should, however, still track your hours (either using the general timesheet template or whatever template your program requires).

• Community Education and Social Change majors. Students in this major can still register for EDUC 398C and add Ashley Woodman as their faculty sponsor.
• Early Education majors. You can request at least one of your placements to be in an inclusive classroom setting, so that you can count your practicum hours toward DDHS.
• Special Education majors. By definition, all of your practicum hours would meet DDHS internship requirements, so please just register your hours using the link below to let the program director know.
• Internships abroad. You can complete an internship with people with disabilities during your semester abroad, either through an organized program or on your own.