Compulsory internship in the 4-year BSc Psychology (BPO2012)

In a six-month internship, you don't merely scratch the surface by observing a workplace in a snapshot, but get to really immerse yourself in everyday work life and become a part of the routines of the place. However, you do have the option to split up your internship into two three-month internships. This might offer you a greater variety of impressions, but might at the same time keep you from truly getting in touch with the reality of the actual professional practice. Three months may be sufficient to get to know an occupational field, but does not give you the routine that will be at the heart of your professional life later on.

The purpose of the internship is to gain practical experience in an occupational field of psychology. This means that the tasks executed during the internship should be relevant and psychological in nature. In general, any institution or organisation that provides supervision by a psychologist with a master's degree or a Diplom (German university degree) and guarantees full-time employment for six months (or three months, if you want to split your internship) is suitable. 

In the 4-year bachelor's programme, the internship is scheduled for the 5^th semester.

The internship has to be full-time over a period of six months (26 weeks). You may split your internship into two three-month internships.

The general requirement is for the internship to be full-time. There are special regulations, for example for parents with small children. If this applies to you or if any other urgent reason requires you to work part-time, please talk to the internship coordinator.

The internship takes place in the 5^th semester of the 4-year bachelor's programme.

We recommend that you start organising your place well in advance, at a minimum 1 semester before the planned start of your internship. 

Three months before you start your internship, you have to get your internship contract aproved by the internship coordinator. Also, don't forget to register your internship in StudIs at the beginning of the internship.

After you completed your internship, submit your internship certificates and a completed internship questionnaire to the internship coordinator: you must hand in these documents a minimum of 4 weeks before the end of the registration period for your last final exam!  However, we recommend that you submit the documents immediately after the end of your internship.

No.

The compulsory internship is an integral part of the bachelor's programme (see study and examination regulations PO B 8.1 - available in German only). 

The admission and enrolment regulations of the University of Konstanz (§ 12) stipulate that you may not take leave of absence for the internship, because it is a practical activity that is prescribed in the examination regulations of the degree programme and factored into the standard period of study.

Yes, you are allowed to write exams and attend seminars (e.g. block seminars) in your internship semester, if it is compatible with your work schedule. Your employer can (but does not have to!) exempt you from work so that you can attend seminars or exams. Nevertheless, the internship still has to be full-time.

You should start sending out applications at least 1 semester and up to a year before the planned start of your internship to make sure that you won't be stranded without a place when your 5^th semester comes around.

Students are responsible  to find and organise their own internship. Good places to start are: 

• the links to internship offers and the internship database (in German) in the menu on the left
• online job and internship platforms 
• the website of the Career Service
• the lecture series "Berufsperspektiven für PsychologInnen"

Yes.

Here is the link to the database, but unfortunately they are all in German:

https://www.psychologie.uni-konstanz.de/en/study/bachelor-of-science-1/compulsory-internships-in-the-profiles-psychology-and-psychotherapy/internship-database/

If you have concrete ideas regarding your field of work or region, you can search the internship database for specific reports. You must be logged in to do this. The reports are anonymous.

When you have found an internship institution, please come to the internship coordinator during consultation hours with the completed internship agreement (3 copies - 1x original and 2 copies). 

Please make sure that the following criteria of the compulsory internship are fulfilled:

• 6 months full-time employment
• supervision by a psyhologist with a master's degree or a Diplom (German university degree)
• execution of psychological activities

In special cases (e.g. recognition of previously completed internships), an application must be submitted to the Examination Board Psychology (StPA). You can seek advice on this from the internship coordinator.

We recommend that you use the internship agreement template provided by the University. Alternatively, you can use the internship contract provided by the company, if its conditions meet the criteria for recognition of the compulsory internship. You should keep in mind, however, that this limits the influence of the internship coordinator, should problems arise.

Once signed, the internship contract is legally binding and can only be terminated for serious reasons. The termination must comply with current labour law. If, for example, you are still waiting to hear back about an application for another internship that you would prefer, it is not advisable to sign any other agreements. Many employers plan ahead to include interns in their workflow, so it creates difficulties for them if you terminate your contract on short notice.

Please keep this in mind before you sign your internship contract.

If you want to do your internship abroad, it is best to start planning early (1 year in advance).

Students and graduates who want to do an inernship in another European country can apply for an Erasmus+ internship grant.

The registration for the internship via Zeus is open all year round.

Please register your internship during the semester in which you are doing it.

This is how you do it...

Changing your internship place is only possible in exceptional cases, for example, if you face serious problems in your current position. A quick transition (within two weeks) to a follow-up internship must be guaranteed. Please contact the internship coordinator.

Yes. A refund of the semester fee for the duration of the internship is no longer possible.

In order to receive the credits, you need a confirmation from the organisation where you completed your compulsory internship, or a copy of your internship certificate.

You also need to complete the online internship questionnaire in detail (in the case of two three-month internships, please complete two questionnaires, one for each partial internship). To complete the questionnaire, you must log in to the University's website with your (email)-user name and password (top right).

Please also submit the declaration of consent for data use. This is required in order to publish the contact details of the internship provider and the contents of the questionnaire in accordance with data protection laws.

Only complete documents will be processed.

The deadline for submitting these documents is a minimum of 4 weeks before the end of the registration period for your last final examination! However, we recommend that you submit the necessary documents immediately after completing your internship.

Note: If the internship is completed at several institutions, the above documents must be prepared or obtained for each individual partial internship. Only after all 26 internship weeks have been completed the documents for all partial internships can be submitted together.

An online questionnaire must be entered into the internship database for each partial internship.

After your internships have been fully completed - a total of 26 internship weeks (total internship time) - the following is required for each partial internship

• a <<Proof of internship>> and
• a <<Declaration of consent for data use>>.

online as a PDF to the Psychology Internship Coordinator. The original internship certificates and original consent forms must also be submitted by mail to the Internship Coordinator.

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Overview:

1. online internship questionnaire

• Please note: If you have completed two 13-week partial internships, please complete the online internship questionnaire separately for each partial internship.
• In order to complete the internship questionnaire, you will need to log in to the university's website with your (email) username and password (top right).

2. original recognition sheet (proof of internship).
You will need proof of the organization where you completed your internship. The documents must be prepared or obtained for each individual partial internship.

3. original declaration of consent from the institution providing the internship.
Please also submit the declaration of consent for the use of data. This is required in order to be able to publish the contact details of the institution providing the internship and the content of the questionnaire in accordance with data protection law. The consent forms must be created or obtained for each individual partial internship.

Note
Only complete documents will be processed. Please apply for your recognition via our online form. After successful verification of the completely submitted documents (online questionnaires, original internship certificates and original consent forms), the internship will be booked as "Passed with 30 ECTS".

Submission deadline
The deadline for submitting documents is always no later than 4 weeks before the end of the registration period for your last final exam! However, we recommend that you submit the necessary documents immediately after completing your internship.