1

Owned by:

MODULE HANDBOOK
BPC 3126 INDUSTRIAL TRAINING
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN
PSYCHOLOGY

FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCE

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY MALAYA-WALES
 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

No Topic Page No
1 Overview 3
2 Areas and Career Options in Psychology 3
3 Internship and Careers in Psychology 6
4 Introduction 7
5 Summary of Internship (BPC 3126) 9
6 Supervision 10
7 Application for Internship 12
 3

OVERVIEW

An Internship in Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology involves working

alongside psychology professionals in human services, business, education, or other
work setting. The intern’s on-site work experience is supervised by an employee of
the organisation providing the Internship. An intern may or may not be paid for the
on-site work by the placement because the Internship earns academic credits of 6
credits. The Internship also has an academic component. The opportunity to work in a
professional setting helps students apply and expand their knowledge of Psychology,
develop appropriate professional work standards, explore career options, and build
mentor and other network relationships in the workplace.

Finding an Internship
There are two important resources to help students find internships:

 Internships that students have completed in the past

 Students can also find their own internship, in collaboration with the Faculty

AREAS AND CAREER OPTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Areas of Psychology

Abnormal Psychology
This field of psychology deals with psychopathology and abnormal behaviour.
Mental health professionals in this field help assess, diagnose and treat a wide variety
of mental disorders, inclusive of schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, anorexia and
many more.

Clinical Psychology
Similar to abnormal psychology, clinical psychology also deals with abnormal
behaviours and mental disorders, and are often taught together. The difference
between the two is in their definition, whereby abnormal psychology is the scientific
study of abnormal behaviours & mental processes, and clinical psychology is the
discipline concerned with the application of psychological science to the assessment
and treatment of the aforementioned disorders.

Careers related to this field: Clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, or counsellors.

 4

Counselling Psychology
Counselling psychology is centred on treating client experiencing mental distress and
other psychological symptoms. This includes helping to improve interpersonal
functioning, emotional health, marriage and family, traumatic experiences, phobias,
problematic habits and many more.

Careers related to this field: Counsellors of various kind, social workers, or

therapists.

Cognitive Psychology
This area of psychology focuses on the science of mental processes, such as
perception, memory, language and generally how people think and learn. It also
involves the study of the physiological mechanisms behind such processes, such as
the brain and neurons.

Developmental Psychology
The primary goal of developmental psychology is to study and understand the
development of human, physically, socially and emotionally over time. This involves
evaluating and diagnosing patients with developmental disabilities, such as language
or personality problems.

Careers related to this field: Developmental psychologists.

Educational Psychology
This field of psychology tries to understand how people are capable of learning in
educational settings and the effectiveness of certain educational methods. They also
help identify gifted and disabled learners in hopes of treating issues in the early stages,
as well as working with parents, teachers, social workers and other professionals to
develop new learning methods to cater to the vast variety of population.

Experimental Psychology
As its name suggest, experimental psychology involves the use of various scientific
methods to research the mind and behaviour. Experimental psychologists can work in
a wide variety of settings, from general research works to helping to understand the
influence of environment on students or workers in their respective settings.

Social Psychology
Social psychologists focus on analysing human behaviours and interactions, as well
as how they are influenced by social factors.
 5

Forensic Psychology
A mix between psychology and the justice system, forensic psychology involves the
understanding of fundamental legal principles, as well as relevant jurisdictional
considerations. The job scopes of this field is wide and vary, including consulting law
enforcement firms, crime scene investigation, criminal profiling, evaluating the sanity
& competence of the both parties in law suits and many more.

Health Psychology
It should be easily known that health psychologists are interested in improving health
across a wide variety of domains. This includes the prevention, treatment of illnesses,
as well as research and promoting healthy behaviours through public awareness
programmes.

Human Factor Psychology

This field of psychology focuses on the interaction between humans and machines.
This includes studies on human error, product design, ergonomics, human capability
and many more. All in all, people who work in this field focuses on improving the
interactions between humans and the products they are using, with the intention of
improving efficiency, safety and overall the "human experience".

Industrial- Organisational Psychology

This field of psychology works to improve the productivity of a company, as well as
improving the well-being on employees. This includes examining employee
behaviours and the motivation behind them, and the infrastructures in place and how
can it be improved.

School Psychology
Trained in both education and psychology, school psychologists often aid children
and youths to succeed academically, socially and emotionally by providing the most
supportive learning environment for students.

Sports Psychology
Working with athletes, teams and coaches, the goal of social psychologists is to help
such individuals overcome psychological issues, rehabilitation, team-building, as well
as other relevant factors to improve the performance and workings of a particular
sports team or athlete.
 6

INTERNSHIP AND CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY

 Achieving an internship position in the field of psychology is an excellent step

towards a rewarding and successful career in the field.
 A highly respected internship is a great way to gain hands-on learning
experiences as well as help boost your resume.
 An internship allows students to gain experience on what it's like to work in
their related field, as well as serves as an opportunity to learn from the experts.
 Furthermore, it also helps increase the employability of students as they
graduate, due to employers increasingly wanting to see experience in fresh
graduates that they hire.
 7

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Programme Details

Module Industrial Training (Internship)

Code BPC 3126
Pre-requisite of 80% satisfactory completion of all courses on
Module the psychology curriculum
Programme Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology
Year/Semester Year 3 / Semester 7
Credit Value 6

1.2 What is an Internship (BPC 3126)?

An Internship is also known as Industrial Training is a core module for

Psychology Undergraduate students who are in their 3rd or final year of study.

This module aims to provide the students with information on the knowledge and
skills required to perform professionally in the work setting and a basic
understanding of how psychological theories are used in the workplace for
individual and group behaviour in an organisation.

This module provides hands on, experiential opportunities to solve problems and
make decisions individually and as a group within the work setting.

1.3 What is the requirement of Industrial Training (BPC 3126) based on MQA?

The Industrial Training (BPC 3126) module is a supervised fieldwork that is

important in psychology programmes. This can take the forms of industrial
training or practicum/internship.

At the bachelor’s degree level, internship is required. Some examples of

internship may include community service or placement at NGOs (e.g. working
with people with disabilities, elderly people, prisoners, drug addicts, orphans, etc.),
attachment with human resource departments within corporate organisation, and
community based project, hospitals, drug addiction centre, mental health
institutions, etc.

The internship should consist of at least 480 hours of learning experience and will
be done in a continuous placement of at least 3 months/ 12 weeks in an
organisation.
 8

1.4. What are the Learning Outcomes of the Industrial Training (BPC 3126)
module?

 To demonstrate knowledge and skills needed in students’ assigned placement

 To apply critical and creative thinking skills to address issues which arise
during placement
 To perform effectively as a member of a team during placement
 To maintain the use of appropriate ethics and professionalism during
placement
 To propose suggestions for improvement appropriate to the placement
 9

2. SUMMARY OF INTERNSHIP/ INDUSTRIAL TRAINING (BPC 3126)

No Important Points Additional Remarks

1 Eligibility Criteria Undergraduate Psychology students in their third or
final year who have 80% satisfactory completion of all
their courses on the psychology curriculum
2 Duration Complete a minimum of 480 hours AND 12 weeks
in one semester
Students expected to remain for full placement as this
is an integrated part of their degree
3 Time Commitment Minimum 5 days per week or based on mutual
agreement with the respective site
supervisor/organisation/company
4 Supervisors Students will need to report to two supervisors:
1. Site supervisor
2. Academic supervisor (IUMW)
5 Supervision Named site supervisor to provide a minimum of 2
(recommended) hours of formal supervision per week plus additional
one hour informal contact as needed (e.g. ad hoc
consultation) every 2 weeks
6 Time Allocation (480 Students will need to complete both psychology-
hours) related activities and administrative works within their
internship
Example of psychology-related activities: exposure to
assessment, exposure to testing, involvement in
seminars, workshops, health promotion, etc.
7 Assessment Method Presentation of the overall internship experience and
(100% Coursework) report in the work setting through submission of the
following:
1. Final Report (Week 14) (50%)
2. E-Poster (Week 14) (20%)
3. Site Supervisor Evaluation Form (Week 14) (30%)
 10

3. SUPERVISION

3.1 Academic Supervisor

An academic supervisor is IUMW’s Psychology lecturer who will oversee all

functions of students’ internship experiences. He or she will serve as professional
mentors to the intern students and will conduct consistent evaluations of students’
strengths and challenges.

3.2 Site Supervision

Site Supervisors can be from any profession. It is particularly important that the
supervisor does not simply treat the intern/undergraduate as a member of their support
staff but rather, understands, and responds appropriately, to their professional
developmental needs.

Weekly or bi-monthly supervision that is protected and uninterrupted is a significant

part of that commitment. To prepare them for the role, supervisors should have
completed some type of supervision training previously.

Interns often have no previous experience of supervision, and may be unsure what it
entails. Providing the following brief explanation of what psychology supervision is
like may be helpful at the start of the placement:
 Supervision should be reflective, and encourage honesty and openness.
 Both intern and supervisor should bring items for the agenda that they wish to
discuss.

3.3 Site Supervision Main Functions:

i. Educative
Interns are expected to reflect on any clinical work they have observed or engaged in
directly themselves. This is an excellent opportunity to discuss any psychological
theories that may apply. Similarly, they may also discuss any other professional
interactions they have been involved in, to improve their understanding of the role of
psychology.

ii. Supportive
Supervision is a private session in which interns may express their concerns or
frustrations with their supervisor, in order to improve their experience, and therefore
the quality of the internship/placement.
 11

iii. Managerial
The supervisor is also responsible for managing and approving things like sickness
absence, time out of the placement, and communications with the university about
placement progress. Ultimately, it is the supervisor who is likely to provide a
reference for the students and therefore their function is partly evaluative as well as
managerial. If an intern is working on a service evaluation, a significant part of
supervision is likely to be related to managing that project, for example explaining
audit governance processes, checking spreadsheets or draft reports.
 12

4. APPLICATION FOR INTERNSHIP

4.1 The Place and Application of Internship

The responsibility of finding the place of internship belongs to the students.

Students are encouraged to approach the respective organisations and site supervisors
two (2) months before starting their internship.

Therefore, before starting the Internship students must obtain the approval of the
Academic Supervisor. Any Internship which started without the approval of the
Academic Supervisor is not valid. International students may choose to complete the
Internship in their home countries.

Please refer to important dates below.

THE SEMESTER BEFORE INTERNSHIP

TIMELINE TO-DO
Submit the Graduation Checklist Form (Appendix 1) & CT letter (if
WEEK 1 - WEEK 6 applicable) in GC
Scout for relevant internship places
After submission of
Get approval from Internship Coordinator to undergo Internship
Graduation Checklist
Submit the ‘Form to Apply for Letter from Registry’ to Registry
Collect the Application Letter to organization/companies that will be issued
WEEK 7 ONWARD
by Registry
Do your thing (go for interviews etc.)
Submit the Internship Application Form (Appendix 2) to GC
Once internship is Submit offer letter from organization/company and Acceptance Form
confirmed (Appendix 4) to GC
Update Internship excel sheet on GC
End of semester Register for Internship module through Pluto

THE SEMESTER DURING INTERNSHIP

TIMELINE TO-DO
WEEK 1 Submit the Report Duty Form (Appendix 5) in Week 1 of Internship in GC
Ensure that the Site Supervisor has filled the Site Supervisor Evaluation
WEEK 13
Form (Appendix 7)
WEEK 14 Submit the final report, e-poster, and site supervisor evaluation form in GC
 13

4.2 Documents Related to the Internship

1. Graduation Checklist Form – Appendix 1

2. Internship Application Form – Appendix 2
3. Letter from Registry – Appendix 3
4. Acceptance Letter – Appendix 4
5. Report Duty Form – Appendix 5
6. Site Supervisor Booklet – Appendix 6
7. Student’s Evaluation Form – Appendix 7
8. Final Report – Appendix 8

Students can get all related forms from the Google Classroom.
 14

4.3 Submission of Internship Report (50%)

The report must be written in English.

Information about the student's Internship content will be analysed. As a result, it can
be decided that the student’s work may be rejected or lead to a rewriting and re-
submission of the report.

FINAL REPORT (max: 4,000 words)

- To be submitted in Week 14
- The Final Report evaluation is based on the following requirements:
No Content Marks
1 Introduction N/A
2 Details of Organisation / Company (including site supervisor 10
profile)
 Here students need to demonstrate insight in functioning
of the organisation / company
3 Description of Internship Setting (including job description / 10
responsibilities of internship)
4 Learning Outcomes: 20
 Explanation and examples of learning outcomes
achieved throughout internship
 There should be usage of literature and/or theoretical
underpinning(s) to support explanation and examples
5 Explanation of psychology-related involvement in goals or 20
projects:
 E.g.: assessment training, psychological testing, clinical
observation, psychological intervention
training/experiences etc.
 There should be usage of literature and/or theoretical
underpinning(s) to support explanation and examples
6 Internship Log: 10
 List of tasks accomplished weekly (from Week 1 to
Week 12)
 Record of distribution of 480 hours allocated to
psychology-related activities and administrative tasks
7 Recommendations, Reflection and Conclusion 10
8 Relevant Appendices 10
9 References 5
10 Presentation/Format/Language of Report 5
Total 100

Marks will be weighted to 50%.

 15

Format of the report:

 Times New Roman (12 font size)
 1.5 line spaced paragraphs
 Page numbers in the footer
 Section headings formatted with Times New Roman, 14 font size
 Subsection headings formatted with Times New Roman, 12 font size;
bold
 Spelling and grammar checks must be performed
 16

4.4 Submission of E-Poster (20%)

Students are also required to submit an e-poster detailing their experiences during
their internship. For instance, students can showcase what they have accomplished
throughout their internship.

The poster need not be wordy, students may put up pictures with brief explanations.
Think of it as a summary of your internship.

Format of the poster:

 You may use PowerPoint to design your poster
 40.97x23.04 (16:9 aspect ratio)
 You may include images, graphs, videos

Posters should include the following content sections:

 Project Title. The title should include specific language that focuses on
the key facets of the internship experience.
 Introduction. Include the student name, company name, internship
position, and internship dates.
 Abstract. The abstract should provide a concise summary of what was
done and learned in the internship and the course.
 Learning Objectives. List 2 to 5 learning objectives that you had planned
to achieve by completing the internship.
 Description of Key Responsibilities. Summarize the major
responsibilities, activities, and project(s) completed during the internship.
 Application. Explain how your course helped with the internship. Link
relevant modules, theories, and concepts to their applications within the
internship.
 Lessons Learned. Explain what you learned about the industry, the
company, the career process, and yourself through the internship
experience.
 Visuals. Incorporate visual aids to illustrate key points. Be sure to label
all visuals. Include: names, dates, locations, and photographers. Do not
include photographs of children unless you have secured approval from
your site supervisor to use the children’s images.

Sample of poster: https://www.vwu.edu/academics/the-lighthouse/img/internship-

poster.jpg
 17

No Content Marks
1 Title, Introduction, Abstract 10
2 Learning Objectives 10
3 Description of Key Responsibilities 30
4 Applications and Lessons Learned 30
5 Visuals 5
6 Presentation/Format/Language of Poster 10
7 References 5
Total 100

Marks will be weighted to 20%.