Internship

Practical internship (external)

In a practical external internship, you will work as a junior psychologist in one of the practical fields of  Social, Health, or Organisational Psychology. These internships can take place in various external organisations, both commercial and public, and often combine practical activities with research.

Research internship (internal or external)

In a research internship, you will work as a junior psychologist in Social, Health, or Organisational Psychology. It can be conducted internally (non-paid) or externally (e.g., at a research institute). These internships can sometimes be combined with the thesis and are ideal for students pursuing a research career.

Internship Training & Coaching (internal)

In the ‘Impactful Training & Coaching’ internship (IT&C), you will work as a junior trainer at the department of Social, Health, and Organisational Psychology, teaching communication skills to Bachelor students. The focus is on developing as an impact-oriented trainer/coach, using theory to guide your activities. This internship is only available to Dutch-speaking students.

Entrepreneurial project

Start your own company, either solo or with other Master students, in the Netherlands or abroad. To prepare, complete the entrepreneurial e-module in Periods 1- 2, which guides you from developing a business idea to creating a company. By Periods 3-4, you will have a business plan ready to execute. You need to find a mentor in the field to assist with setting up your company. More details are in the e-module.

• The internship position must be in an organisation (or part of an organisation) whose policies are explicitly aimed at achieving objectives that are typical of the professional field of Social, Health and/or Work and Organisational Psychology.
• The internship position should be in an environment in which several qualified professionals, including psychologists, are engaged in achieving these objectives. For this reason, one-man enterprises and very small organisations are generally not suitable.
• The supervision in the internship organisation itself should preferably be given by a qualified Social Psychologist, Health Psychologist, or Work & Organisational Psychologist. If the supervisor at the internship organisation has a different background, permission from the internal supervisor will be required. The internship work activities are aimed at achieving the objectives mentioned under 1. The intern must actively participate in achieving the objectives. The intern should not simply accompany and observe, but also carry out analyses, come up with proposals, participate in discussions, perform research, etc.
• Preferably, and if possible, work activities will be carried out that involve direct contact with commissioning parties, clients, colleagues, and so on.
• The internship work activities should be at an academic level and should be related to Social Psychology, Health Psychology and/or Work & Organisational Psychology (depending on the student’s track). The intern will carry out work as a junior psychologist, and needs to use and apply knowledge (theory and literature) and abilities (skills) that have been acquired during the university programme.
• A substantial proportion of the work should consist of activities that a psychologist would be expected to perform in the internship organisation. The work activities should also involve the preparation for and reflection on work activities. The intern must be involved in decisions and evaluations concerning work activities. Support tasks may form part of the agreed work tasks, but should never be the main task.
• The supervision at the internship organisation should cover both personal and work-related aspects.

• It is important that you take an active approach to obtain an internship in time and orient on internship opportunities before you start with the programme.
• However, we advise you to wait with the actual application process until September (unless you aim to participate in our ‘Impactful Training & Coaching’ programme) when you will receive additional information and guidance that will help you obtain an internship.
• The internship is conducted in the second semester, encompassing a total of 420 hours.
• It is recommended, but not required, to conduct the internship on a part-time basis.
• The tasks of the intern should be appropriate for a junior psychologist in the field of Social, Health and/or Organisational Psychology.
• Supervision should preferably be provided by a qualified Social Psychologist, Health Psychologist, or Work & Organisational Psychologist. One-man enterprises and very small organisations are generally not suitable.

Step 1. Think carefully about what you want

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

• Which subfield of work within my master track would I prefer for my internship? Would I like to conduct a highly specialized internship, or would I prefer I an internship that covers a broad range of activities? Think of the courses in your study that you found highly interesting.
• In what kind of job and organisation would I like to pursue a career? See the career prospects for the master SHOP and explore options on the labour market. 
• What do I want to learn during an internship? Which kind of challenges would I like to work on during my internship?

Step 2. Select internship possibilities that match your personal preferences

There are various ways to find an internship. You can use your own network, look for interesting organisations online, or approach professionals in the field. We will also post vacancies that we receive from organisations on our internship job board. There are also several useful websites that may help you obtain an internship. See for instance:
 

• Graduateland 
• Europlacement 
• Anyintern
• Glassdoor
• Gooverseas
• Undutchables
• Together Abroad
• Nationale vacaturebank
• HoiTalent
• Expatjobs
• iAgora
• Dutch startup jobs
• Abroad Internships
• Erasmus internships
• Erasmus intern
• Aiesec
• Jobs and vacancies Career Services
• Integrand
• Internships in Spain

These websites do not only offer internships, but may also give you an impression of organisations that you could approach as an international student. For more general information about a professional career in the Netherlands, see for instance the I am Expat website.

On Brightspace and on the general internship page of the UU you will find more information regarding internships.

Step 3. Write your motivation letter and CV

You can apply for an internship with your motivation letter and curriculum vitae (CV). Make sure your LinkedIN page is up to date. In Period 1 your will receive a lecture and tutorial that will help you write your motivation letter and CV. You can also 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, including open applications, to different organisations. Email again if you don't get a response. Or call the organisation and try to organise 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’s good news! Prepare yourself well. Make sure you can tell why you are interested in this internship in this specific organisation 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 have obtained an internship, submit an internship proposal to your internal supervisor to gain permission. Your internal supervisor will be appointed to you in September. Only with permission from your internal supervisor you can accept the internship.

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