Internships

CLINICAL INTERNSHIP All students in the Clinical Neuropsychology track must complete a one year, full-time internship, preferably at a site that is accredited by the APA. All internships offer a stipend minimally commensurate with the standard of living in their geographic area. Although many clinical psychology internships cover the breadth of training encompassed by clinical psychology (e.g., psychotherapy, personality assessment, intellectual assessment), we encourage our students to apply to internships with a specialty (not just a “rotation”) in Clinical Neuropsychology. According to the Houston Conference Guidelines [PDF], an internship in Clinical Neuropsychology is designed to complete training in the general practice of Clinical Psychology as well as to extend specialty training in Clinical Neuropsychology. There are only a few internships in the New York metropolitan area that meet the Houston Conference guidelines for a specialty clinical neuropsychology internship, so the likelihood of being accepted to a good program improves if the student can cast a wider geographic net. Internships that specialize in neuropsychology can be located in the APPIC online directory or by consulting with Clinical faculty members.

In order to be eligible to apply for internship, students must be at Level III. The student should have a dissertation proposal accepted by the dissertation advisory committee before the start of the internship year. In order to strengthen the application and facilitate the transition to professional life, it is strongly advised that a student’s dissertation be complete, or almost complete before the start of the internship year.

Selecting an appropriate internship site is often a matter of balancing geographical necessity versus breadth of training. There are only a few internships in the New York metropolitan area that meet the Houston Conference guidelines for a specialty clinical neuropsychology internship, so the likelihood of being accepted to a good program improves if the student can cast a wider geographic net. Internships that specialize in neuropsychology can be located on the internet through Neuropsychology Central and by consulting with the Director of Clinical Training.

Applying for internship requires a significant time commitment as the process is competitive. There is a standard application for internships that is administered by APPIC, the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). The Neuropsychology Program participates in the APPIC Internship Matching Program (Subscriber Code=209). Students complete a standard application documenting coursework, practicum hours, and testing experience. The application consists of two parts (1) the standardized application form, completed by the applicant (Part 1), and (2) the Academic Program’s Verification of Internship Eligibility and Readiness Form, completed by both the applicant and his/her academic DCT (Part 2). Each year, during the summer, the current year application becomes available online; Application deadlines typically range from November 1 to December 15 and applicants are encouraged to register for the Match by December 1st. Interviews are conducted during December and January, and rank order lists are due in early February. Match day occurs at the end of February. Students who do not match to an internship site can participate in the APPIC clearinghouse. The DCT will hold an information session each Fall for interested students to review the policies and procedures for applying to internship.

In addition to the APPIC application, nearly all sites also require an official transcript from the student’s graduate program, three letters of recommendation, and two sample reports (both of which should be neuropsychological evaluations). Some sites request minor supplemental information or additional letters. The decision process for making offers for internship obviously differs from site to site, but a recent survey conducted by APPIC indicates that over half of Internship Training Directors consider interviews, essays and letters of recommendations as among the most important indicators of internship selection. Only 40% of those responding to the survey rated the total number of hours as “very important”, suggesting that after meeting the minimum standard (e.g., 1600 hours), other factors become more important.

In order for a statement as to the successful completion of an internship to appear on the official CUNY transcript, and also for the purpose of licensing, an official letter from the internship site, attesting to successful completion of the internship training, must be sent to the Director of Clinical Training of the Neuropsychology Subprogram. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that this documentation is provided to the Subprogram.

The Ph.D. is awarded upon successful completion of the internship and successful defense of the doctoral dissertation.