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6 Syllabus

Course Description:

Students will complete at least 120 hours of supervised field practice in community agencies and programs. As a practical application of psychology knowledge and skills gained from major coursework, students will complete reflection journals and a final integration paper. This course may be repeated for credit once. NOTE: Students majoring in Community Psychology and Health Promotion must take this course twice, with one of the internships being directly related to community psychology and include a minimum of 30 field hours related to one or more of the following applied learning experiences: program evaluation; outcome/process evaluation of a mental health education workshop, health promotion initiative, or prevention program; narrative interview or other form of qualitative research; and/or grant writing experience.

Instructor Information:

Instructor: Zoe Hess, M.S., LSC

Office: BA 143

Phone: (507) 537-7585

Class Meeting Time and Location:

Tuesday 5-7 pm on Zoom

Course Schedule:

Fall Class Meeting Dates

Spring Class Meeting Dates

September 9

January 27

September 30

February 17

November 18

April 14

**Classes are mandatory for all students. If you must miss, you need to have documentation and provide it to the instructor 

Attendance Policy:

Students- Attending the Tuesday evening Internship Seminar is expected for all students. If you cannot attend, please email me, letting me know you will not be attending. Students will work with the internship faculty supervisor to set up an individual meeting.

Resources Needed:

  • SMSU Field Experience Handbook
  • Essential Ethics for Psychologists: A Primer for Understanding and Mastering Core Issues ISBN: 978-1433808630
  • APA Code of Ethics   ****Can be found here: https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/

Course Objectives:

  1. Students will gain applied experience, specifically in a certain career that is closely related to, if not within, their desired career path
  2. Students will be able to relate their applied experience to the various psychology courses and psychological concepts learned throughout their academic journey
  3. Students will be able to integrate their knowledge learned from this experience into other areas and aspects of their life
  4. Students will have a greater understanding of their desired career goals/path and the required next steps to achieve this
  5. Students will be able to reflect upon real-life experiences within their internship and gain a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses as it relates to their desired career goals/path
  6. Students will be more equipped and prepared to work in the field of psychology, and related mental health fields

Assignments:

  • Journal Entries-

o Should write one entry for about every ten hours

o 12 total entries

o Follow prompts on D2L

  • Assigned Readings and Notes-

o Read two chapters and take notes on insights gained, importance of that ethical standard, etc.

  • Mid-Semester Evaluation Forms-

o Mid-Semester Evaluation of self

o Site Supervisor’s Mid-Semester Evaluation of intern

  • Final Evaluation Forms-

o Final Evaluation of Internship site

o Site Supervisor’s Final Evaluation of intern

  • Time Log-

o Complete record of hours logged throughout field placement

o Site Supervisor MUST sign and date this

  • Additional Documents-

o There is great leeway in what these are

o Examples include: certificates awarded throughout your internship, schedules of typical day at the internship, worksheets/lessons you taught or created, etc.

**If you are wondering or questioning a certain document and if it applies, please email or call me 🙂

  • Seventh/Eighth week; Fourteenth/Fifteenth week of semester individual meeting with instructor
  • Three week Class meetings- Zoom

Grading Breakdown:

 

Assignment

 

Points

-Assigned Readings and Notes

80 points (40 points each)

-Journal Entries

240 points (20 points each)

**** for those of you that do zoom meetings, please at least write a paragraph summarizing the class discussion and key insights

-Mid-Semester Evaluation Forms

Mid-Semester Evaluation of self

Site Supervisor’s Mid-Semester Evaluation of intern

 

30 points

30 points

-Final Evaluation Forms

Final Evaluation of Internship site

Site Supervisor’s Final Evaluation of intern

40 points

200 points

-Time Log

200 points

-Additional Documents

20 points

-Final Paper

 

250 points

 

Grade Scale:

A   94-100%

A-  90-93.9%

B+ 87-89.9%

B   83-86.9%

B-  80-82.9%

C+ 77-79.9%

C   73-76.9%

C-  70-72.9%

D+ 67-69.9%

D   63-66.9%

D-  60-62.9%

F   59.9% and below

Attendance Policy:

Attendance to scheduled zoom meetings (2 individualized meetings set up by student and instructor, and 3 class meetings)

Academic Honesty Policy:

It is expected of the student to acquaint themselves with the Academic Honesty Policy, which can be found in the SMSU Student Handbook. Any form of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and cheating, on assignments will be dealt with according to the procedures specified in this policy. This can include but is not limited to: receiving an automatic zero for a grade on an assignment, or it could involve an automatic failing grade for the course, depending on the severity of the academic honesty issue.

Accessibility Accommodations:

Please notify the instructor as soon as possible if you require an accessibility accommodation. Students requiring accommodations must register with Accessibility Services to verify their eligibility for appropriate accommodations and to coordinate the provision of those services. Contact Vickie Abel, Coordinator of Accessibility Services: vickie.abel@smsu.edu (507)-537-7318 IL 220. This course involves the use of D2L Brightspace as well as various other software tools. Students needing assistance with the use of these technologies should notify Accessibility Services.

Assessment Statement:

Please be aware that student materials from this course (including homework assignments) may be used anonymously for assessment of the Psychology program student learning outcomes. If you do not want your data included in any such assessment efforts, please inform your instructor. This course is meant to aid you in developing and/or honing critical thinking skills and ethical decision making, specifically in the fi eld of Psychology. Skills that may be assessed & developed include but are not limited to: respect and understanding of others’ viewpoints, acquaintance and understanding of the process of supervision, handling ethical dilemmas in the health services field, and greater clarity of career goals.

Withdraw Deadline:

November 25th

License

Southwest Minnesota State University Field Experience in Psychology Copyright © 2025 by Zoe Hess and Scott Peterson. All Rights Reserved.