Internship

• The internship covers 25 ECTS (700 hours), including report writing and literature study, and preferably lasts 6 months (24-32 hours/week).
• The external internship must be approved by the coordinator.
• The organization of the placement should have a primary focus on providing care for people with suspected or known acquired brain dysfunction, developmental disorders or other syndromes or medical conditions that cause cognitive disorders (e.g. psychiatric disorders).
• The organization should be large enough to offer learning from qualified professionals – mainly psychologists, but other disciplines as well. One-man practices are not advised.
• Supervision from the internship field is provided by an academically trained (neuro)psychologist and amounts to one hour a week on average. Permission after consulting with the internship coordinator is required for exceptions to this rule.
• A substantial part of the activities must consist of activities that a neuropsychologist is expected to perform within the host organization. The activities should have a master’s level and should enable students to make a connection between (academic) knowledge and research practice.
• At least 60% of the clinical internship must focus on diagnostic work, with the remaining 40% in other psychological activities. The intern must be involved in the decisions about the work to be performed and the evaluation thereof.
• At least 40% of the activities must involve direct contact with the target group, such as during diagnostics or interventions.
• Activities should also include assessment of needs, psycho-education and treatment. If it is not possible for interns to carry out psychological treatment within the host organization, both the organization and the intern should actively think about alternative options.
• The intern should actively participate in achieving the internship objectives, especially in diagnostics. The intern should therefore participate in as many aspects of the diagnostic process as possible.
• The supervision will have to address both the more personal and the professional aspects of the learning objectives of the student.
• The internship activities are embedded in the framework of the organization. The intern will be given a place to work in accordance with the nature of the activities.

• Only approved internship positions qualify for the Master's programme in Neuropsychology.
• The internship covers 25 ECTS (700 hours), including report writing and literature study, and preferably lasts 6 months (32 hours/week) or 9 months (24 hours/week).
• The internship covers 25 ECTS; this corresponds to 700 hours. These hours include writing the internship report and studying the literature. An internship preferably takes six months (32 hours a week) or nine months (24 hours a week).
• The internship field must be an institution or organisation where demonstrable innovation and implementation activities take place within the neuropsychology profession and for which scientific research forms the basis.
• Supervision is provided by a psychologist/neuroscientist with a PhD and amounts to one hour a week on average. Permission after consulting with the Internship Coordinator is required for exceptions to this rule.
• The internship activities are embedded in the framework of the organisation. The intern will be given a place to work in accordance with the nature of the activities.
• The student must actively participate in these activities and contribute to achieving the objectives of the internship. The idea is for the intern to take part in as many aspects of the research process as possible.
• The intern will carry out work as a ‘junior researcher’ for which their academic programme in neuropsychology is preparing them, using the knowledge (literature) and abilities (practicals) that they have acquired on their university programme.
• A substantial proportion of the work should consist of activities that a neuropsychologist would be expected to perform in the internship organisation in question. Besides performing the work itself, these activities will also involve the generation, analysis, and preparation of a systematic/methodological design of the work. The intern must be involved in the decisions taken on the work to be carried out and its evaluation.
• Supervision at the internship organisation should cover both the more substantive and technical aspects. It is for the Internship Coordinator to decide to what extent the above conditions and criteria are met by the internship organisation.

• Though you can start at any given time, we strongly advise you to begin immediately in September. In the second semester (from February onwards) placements are scarcer and the competition is fiercer. You must be (conditionally) admitted to the Master’s programme before searching for a clinical internship. You can apply for one up to six months after the programme starts. If you haven't secured a clinical internship by then, applying for an innovation internship becomes mandatory.
• If you start your internship between September – April, you will have courses in block 1, 2 & 3 (assuming you pick the courses of our programme), generally you will spend 1 day a week on course work and the other 4 days on your internship.
• Internships abroad should be scheduled in the second semester, after the coursework has been completed.
• International students who want to do a clinical internship are advised to start looking for an internship while they are still in their home country as this makes the search considerably easier.

Step 1. Think carefully about what you want

To find out, you can ask yourself a few questions: 
 

• Which field of work (e.g. neurology, psychiatry, developmental disorders) within my master do I like? Which kind of challenges would I like to work on? (Think of the courses in your study that you found very interesting, explore your options) 
• In what kind of organization within this workfield would I like to work later? Do you like small teams and a personal approach, or do you want to work in a big organization with all sorts of disciplines?
• What kind of target group would you like to work with? For example would you like to work in a hospital, a rehabilitation center or a nursing home?
• What do I want to do and learn during an internship? (Do you want to learn more about (neuropsychological) treatment methods or how to support nursing staff? Or are you more interested in doing research?)

Step 2. Select internship possibilities that match your personal preferences

There are various ways to find an internship post. You can use your own network or look for interesting organizations online. All students are encouraged to contact the Internship Coordinator once they have been conditionally admitted. For information about the clinical internship, please send an email to the Clinical Internship coordinator (masterneuropsychologie_Klstage@uu.nl).

Dutch-speaking students will be provided with a list of possible host institutions in the Netherlands once they’ve contacted the Clinical Internship Coordinator. Furthermore, there’s an internship database for students enrolled in the Neuropsychology Master’s programme. Use your student number and solis password to log in. Note that you can apply for an internship only after you completed your application.

You can also take a look at the general internship bank of the university.
If you are student member you can use the database of SPS-NIP.
See also the general page of the UU about internships for some extra tips.

Step 3. Write your motivation letter and CV

You can apply for an internship with your curriculum vitae (CV) and motivation letter. Remember that an internship institution will respond based on your letter and CV, so pay a lot of attention to that. If you want to use LinkedIn, make sure your personal page is up to date.  

Do you not have a CV yet, and have you never written an application/motivation letter? Take a look at the (online) workshops of Career Services.

Step 4. Distribute and follow- up on your motivation letter and CV

Dream big. Send letters to different organizations. Email again if you don't get a response. Or call the organization and try to organize a personal meeting. Finding an internship takes time and a bit of guts. But you can do this!

Step 5. Prepare for a job interview

You can come for an interview, that is good news! Prepare yourself well. Make sure you can tell why you are interested in this internship in this specific organization and what your added value is. For extra tips, take a look at the (online) workshops of Career Services about this subject.

Step 6. And then…?

If you found an internship (great!), approval of the Internship Coordinator is required. Send an e-mail to masterneuropsychologie_KLstage@uu.nl. 

If you are rejected after the job interview, ask for feedback and incorporate this in your preparation for the next interview. You may be more successful next time!