Internship
HDF 499: Supervised Professional Experience
The internship provides an opportunity for you to have a hands-on experience in a professional setting directed to children, youth, and/or families. This is a unique experience in which you will be able to develop reciprocal relationships with community partners; it is a valuable experience aimed at promoting personal and professional growth. The purposes of the internship experience are to:
- Develop professional skills through a guided professional experience
- Bridge between knowledge in Human Development and Family Studies (e.g., addressed in coursework) and professional practices
- Provide an opportunity for learning, exploration of interests, and reflections about your future career goals and expectations.
Through the internship experience, you will also reflect on your social responsibility to the community. It is important to recognize that the internship experience is a two-way relationship – You will serve your agency and clients thinking of their needs while at the same time learning, developing, and reflecting about your professional skills and experience.
Prerequisites
- HDF 377 (previously HDF 477)
- 2.50 GPA
- Permission of instructor
Please see the Catalog Description, along with a Sample Syllabus (PDF), of HDF 499.
Requirements
- Our students major (Formerly Child, Youth, and Family Development) must complete a total of 6 semester hours of internship; these semester hours can be completed in one semester or in two separated semesters.
- In addition to internship hours, students must attend the weekly seminar (HDF 499).
- Students registered for 6 credits are required to complete 240 contact hours (average 16 hours/week).
- Students registered for 3 credits are required to complete 120 contact hours (average 8 hours/week).
- Interns are required to intern for at least 12 weeks, which may include university and/or federal holidays.
- Students should start the internship in the first week of classes and should end around the last week of classes.
- If students need to obtain more hours after that, they can intern until two days before the grades for the semester are due (please contact the internship coordinator if you need to obtain more hours after grades are due).
- For a final grade to be submitted, interns must complete at least 90% of their internship hours (216 contact hours for students enrolled in 6 credits and 108 contact hours for students enrolled in 3 credits).
- Interns who fail to complete their total required hours but have achieved at least 90% will lose two points for each percentage they fall short of their required number of internship hours. This means if you only complete 90% of your hours, you will lose 20 points from your final grade.