6: Preparing for your Internship or Practicum Requirement
Many Ph.D. and Ed.D programs are now requiring students to have experiential learning experiences—experiences that allow students to apply information they’ve learned in the classroom to real-world projects. The internship and practicum requirement is one of the ways doctoral programs help to ensure that students are prepared to tackle real problems when they graduate. My doctoral program was no different; I was required to meet 600 hours of internship experience before graduating from the program. This requirement was a necessary evil—necessary because the internship often provided me with intensive experience in my field of interest, but it was evil due to the time and effort required to sustain an internship along with my other responsibilities. For traditional students, the internship requirement is usually not a problem, but for working professionals, this requirement often demands significant changes in a professionals’ job, recreation, and family time. Here are our tips for navigating the internship and practicum requirement without losing your head.
Let’s face it, there are only 24 hours in a day. Find ways where you can get credit for something you’re already doing.
If you’re already working in your field of interest, ask your advisor if your current job or role can satisfy your internship requirement. At the very least, ask your current supervisor if you can take a few hours a week to work on a separate project that fits into the scheme of your practicum experience. If you just can’t seem to find the time to fit an internship or practicum in your already full schedule, ask your supervisor, your advisor, and your family for help. Ask your stakeholders to work with you during this time and you’d be surprised how many of them are willing to help you meet your goals. Always remember, a closed mouth doesn’t get fed.
Don’t work for free.
I typically tell my clients to volunteer for experiences that they believe are true investments that will pay off in the future. This includes working for a mentor to build a relationship or working on a short project so that you can learn a new skill. However, internships are different. Internships often require a significant amount of work throughout a prolonged period of time. The organization that benefits from this time and effort is incredibly fortunate to have a qualified individual devout hundreds of hours to the organization, but I don’t believe that this type of undertaking should be pro bono. Remember, this experience will require significant changes in your life; as such, you need to be compensated appropriately for your sacrifice.
- Choose wisely.
Your experiential learning experience is designed for one important purpose: to prepare you to solve real-world problems in your discipline. When choosing an internship or practicum site, ensure that the organization is actively engaged in the work that they claim. As a master’s student, I once choose an internship during the summer, moved nearly 400 miles away only to find out that the internship was not what I thought it would be. Instead of actively engaging interns in serious projects and programs, the internship was really just a method to bring women and students of color to the organization. I ended up leaving after two weeks because the sacrifice of leaving my home, my friends, and family was not worth simply being a “poster child” or “token minority” without the benefit of learning new skills.
Your internship or practicum experience doesn’t have to be a headache, but be prepared for problems that arise. Remember to ask for help when you need it, expect compensation, and choose a site that offers you the ability to learn new skills. After your experience, you’ll be more capable and competent in your work, but most importantly, you’ll be a more competitive candidate when it’s time to apply for a new role.
Please comment and share your thoughts!
~Inez