The coordinator of cooperative education activities in the Psychology Department is Dr. David Lutz. (Hill 424, 836-5830). For more information about cooperative education in the Psychology Department than what you may find here, please contact Dr Lutz. The bulletin board outside his office has more information, also.

PSY 499: Practicum in Psychology:

PSY 499 is designed to offer students the opportunity to obtain experience through guided research or field experience. Students who are interested in cooperative education activities and who want Psychology credit for those activities, should take PSY 499. The prerequisites are PSY 121 plus 17 additional hours of psychology. While not rigid about these prerequisites, students are rarely allowed to enroll in PSY 499 with less than 18 hours in psychology. The reason for this is that the PSY 499 experience should allow the students to integrate their academic experience with "the real world."

Finding a Practicum:

There are two ways to obtain a practicum. The most likely way is to talk with the Career Services Office in Carrington 303 (836-4135). They have listings of placement sites, and have talked with the placement sites about their needs and requirements. You should contact the Co-Op office at the beginning of the semester prior to when you want the practicum. So, if you want to do a practicum in the summer or fall semester, you should begin talking with the Co-Op office at the beginning of the spring semester. The second way to obtain a practicum is to develop one on your own. If you know of a potential placement site, talk with the supervisor there. If this might be a possibility, then talk with Dr. Lutz to see whether this practicum would be appropriate for a psychology practicum.

Paperwork:

Once you have obtained a practicum site, then paperwork must be completed to enroll. You must complete a contract with the department. This contract is signed by you and the faculty representative, typically Dr. Lutz. You must also complete a "Student Learning Plan" with the Co-OP office, at which time the Co-Op office enrolls you in the course. Enrollment does not take place until these steps are completed.

Completing the Practicum:

For each hour of academic credit, you must complete about 42-45 hours on site. For a typical three hour course, this means completing about 125 hours on site. In addition to hours on site, you must keep a journal and write an integrative paper.

Benefits:

• A great answer to that question, "Do you have any experience?"
• Academic credit and occasionally payment, about 25% of the practica are paid.
• Direct experience with a field in psychology.
• Sometimes you make a difference. Practicum students often report that they put in more time at their site because the felt needed and important.

Sites that are or have recently been seeking practicum students or have been used by Psychology students:

• Adventure Club
• Association for Retarded Citizens
• Balanced Care Corporation
• Barnes Jewish Hospital
• Bellview Baptist
• Big Brothers/Big sisters
• Boys and Girls Club
• Boys and Girls Town
• Burrell Center
• Caring Communities
• Child Advocacy Center
• Childhood Learning Center
• Citicorp Mortgage
• Clark Community Mental Health Center
• Columbia Hospital
• Community Alternative Sentencing Program
• Community Learning Center
• Court Appointed Special Advocates
• Cox Hospital
• Cox Hospital: Center for Addictions
• Creative Learning Center
• Division of Family Services
• Division of Youth Services
• Division of Youth Services, Delmina Woods
• Excel School
• Family Violence Center
• Federal Bureau of Investigations
• Greene County Juvenile
• Greene County Prosecuting Attorney
• Greene County - Teen court
• Harbor View Mercy Hospital
• Hartline Hospice
• Highland Child Placement
• Hospice of Southwest Missouri
• Independent Living Center
• Jefferson Memorial
• Judevine Center for Autism
• Kids Across America
• The Kitchen
• Lakeland Regional Hospital
• Lakes Country Rehabilitation Center
• Marillac (Residential for children)
• McGregor School
• Mid-Missouri Mental Health Association
• Missouri Rehabilitaion Center
• Missouri State Legislature
• National 4-H Council
• Nova Center of the Ozarks
• OACAC-Foster Grandparents
• Occupational Therapy
• Ozark Correctional Center
• Ozarks Food Harvest
• Parenting Life Skills Center
• Partners in Caring
• Pathways
• Probation and Parole - Missouri
• Rainbow Center
• Regional Girls Shelter
• Salvation Army
• Missouri State Residence Life and Services
• Solutions School
• Springfield Family Y
• Springfield Police
• Springfield R-XII Psychology Office
• Springfield R-XII Solutions
• St. John's Hospice Care
• Up Town Kids
• Victory Mission
• Wilson's Creek Group Home