PRACTICUM MANUAL

MASTER’S IN INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
PRACTICUM MANUAL
Revised February 2014
I. Background
The State of Connecticut and the UNH Graduate School require that recipients of the Master’s degree
must either successfully pass a comprehensive examination that covers the academic subject matter;
or complete a capstone project that demonstrates their ability to work independently at a professional
level of research or practice. To fulfill this requirement, the Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Master of Arts program offers each student a choice from three basic program options: 1) completion
and defense of a Master's thesis; 2) passing a comprehensive examination and taking extra electives;
or 3) completing an Internship or Practicum in an organizational setting. Students should make this
choice with the program coordinator based on their professional and educational goals.
The Practicum option is for those students who are currently working full-time in an organization
and attending UNH. Practicum students complete a special project related to Industrial and
Organizational Psychology on their present job or elsewhere if the job setting does not allow, for an
appropriate project experience. The Practicum experience involves working on a project that goes
above and beyond the employee/student's normal work requirements and is focused on I/O
psychology. This manual describes the procedure for registering and documenting your Practicum
experience so that academic credit can be earned.
To satisfy the practicum program option, MAIOP practicum students are allowed to propose HR/OD
projects in their current employment position. However, the practicum experience involves additional
study and research on a project that goes above and beyond the student's normal job requirements.
Students who are not able to complete a practicum project in their current workplace may create a
learning opportunity in another setting after consultation with the program coordinator. Examples of
MAIOP practicum projects include:
 Creating a pay-for-performance program
 Developing and delivering a conflict management seminar
 Revising organizational recruitment processes
 Developing and analyzing an employee attitude survey
 Creating an organizational succession plan
 Researching and implementing employment tests
 Conducting workshops on diversity
 Creating work/life programs
 Developing competency models
Students must complete a total of two practicum (either one large project, or two smaller projects),
for six academic credits (PSYC6678 and PSYC6679). The minimum amount of time spent on each
practicum to fulfill the requirements for 3 trimester graduate credits is 130 hours. Students generally
register for practicum after 24 or more credits in the program have been completed.
Students generally register for the Practicum option (PSYC6678, PSYC6679) in one of the last two
trimesters unless there is a compelling reason to register earlier. Students may elect to complete one
large Practicum project or two smaller Practicum projects. If the former is chosen, a one page
progress report must be submitted half way through the project. If two practicums are completed, two
complete Practicum reports must be submitted.
Students consult with the program coordinator to determine the nature and outcomes of the practicum
experience. Prior to beginning the
+ practicum, students must complete an Application to Register for Internship/Practicum form, and a
Practicum Description form.
II . General Information
1. Students should review the material that describes the MAIOP Practicum, Thesis and
Elective options early so that the choice of option is best for his/her particular career goals.
2. If a student does not have a current resume prepared, he/ she must construct one as a first step
in preparing for the Practicum experience.
3. The minimum amount of time spent working on a Practicum to fulfill the requirements for 3
trimester graduate credits is 130 hours. Credit for two Practicum requires 260 hours.
4. The Program Coordinator will be available for the Practicum student on an "as needed" basis.
This may involve extensive or relatively little interaction after the tasks and goals of the
Practicum have been set.
5. Students electing the Practicum option must discuss the nature and goals of the Practicum
with the Program Coordinator. Practicum may take a variety of different forms. The Program
Coordinator works individually with the student to create a Practicum experience that
enhances the student’s knowledge base and market value.
III. Specific Instructions
1. Registration: The student should contact the program coordinator at least 6 weeks before the
beginning of the trimester in which he/she wants to register for the Practicum. Practicum
credit cannot be awarded for work performed without faculty supervision and verification.
2. Internship/Practicum Registration Form: The student must complete this form and
submit it to the program coordinator and the MAIOP graduate assistant before he/she
formally registers for the course. The purpose of the form is to notify the Graduate Records
Department that the student has departmental permission to register for an Internship or
Practicum. You will not be allowed to register for PSYC6678 or PSYC6679 (Practicum I
and II) for credit unless the Graduate Registrar has a copy of this form. The MAIOP program
coordinator will sign the form and distribute the form as follows:
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
a. Original to Graduate Records
b. One copy to student
c. Two copies for I/0 Coordinator
Practicum Description At the start of the Practicum, students must submit a Practicum
Description form to his/her faculty advisor and to the graduate assistant, which includes a
one-page report that describes the goals and timeline of the Practicum experience.
Information about the organizational context should also be provided.
Journal: The student is required to keep a weekly journal when working on its Practicum.
This will make it much easier to write the final report. Whenever the student is working on
the Practicum project, he/she should make a note of the time worked and what was done
while working. This time log can be on one side of the page, and on the other side make
journal notes, which will aid in the task of writing the final report. This will prove to be
especially helpful when writing the description of what was learned. A copy of the journal is
to be included as an appendix to the final report.
Communication: After the student begins his/her Practicum he/she will be mostly working
independently. However, he/she should periodically schedule meetings with the faculty
advisor to discuss his/her progress, or when problems or questions arise.
Final Report: The student will submit a summary report to his/her faculty advisor. In
addition to a literature reviews and project background information, it will contain copies of
all project reports and examples/deliverables that resulted from the Practicum. In the event
the student is not able to submit the final report according to the normal UNH trimester grade
deadline, it will be due four weeks after the completion of the Practicum.
Final conference: Within a week after receiving the report, the student should schedule a
time to discuss the Practicum with his/her faculty advisor. This conference will give both, the
student and the faculty advisor, an opportunity to talk about any problems, questions about
the report, and talk about plans the student may have for the future. If necessary, this
discussion may take place over the telephone.
Grade: After reading the student’s report and the evaluation from his/her sponsor, the
advisor will submit the grade to Graduate Records. Since the period of time the student is
working on a practicum doesn’t always fit neatly into the school’s academic calendar, it is
common for the final grade card to show an Incomplete for the Practicum. The student
cannot receive a grade unless a Practicum report is submitted. When a report is received, the
faculty advisors will then turn in a grade to the graduate registrar. Note: An incomplete
grade cannot exceed one year, or the student must re-register (pay) for the course
credits again.
IV. The Practicum Report
1. Purpose to the Report: There are several purposes served by the final report: It allows the
students to integrate what they have learned from the experience; it helps faculty advisors to
stay familiar with what students are doing in their field settings; and it provides both the
University and employers with documentation to justify the benefits of the Practicum
Program. Although tasks and projects vary from setting to setting, it is necessary to
demonstrate that the student’s experience is worthy of academic credit. Students must
provide evidence of how they were able to apply acquired knowledge to organizational tasks.
Finally, the Practicum report satisfies the State and Graduate School accreditation
requirements for documentation of the “Field Experience”.
2. Content and organization of the report:
a. Organizational Setting: This section should include a description of the
organization, its purpose, goals, products and services, and a description of the
organizational unit where the Practicum was completed.
b. Background/Literature Review: As noted earlier in this manual, the practicum
project must go above and beyond the student’s work requirements as an employee.
In addition to describing what was done in the organizational setting, each report
should include literature review that includes relevant scholarly and professional
literature on the topic. For example, if the project involves developing a new
competency model for the organization, the literature review may include recent
literature on creating and implementing competency models, as well as information
on the processes and outcomes of other organizations that have created competency
models.
c. Description of the Practicum: After summarizing the practical and scholarly work
on the project topic, two basic kinds of information must be discussed in detail in
your report: What was done and what was learned. This will constitute the bulk of
the final report. The reader should be able to form a mental picture of the tasks the
student performed and how the I/0 Psychology training was applied. It is also
important to show how the practicum experience affected the student on a personal
level. The student needs to discuss how his/her understanding of basic concepts of
I/O Psychology and Human Resources Management were broadened. These two
topics do not have to be placed in two separate sections. The student is free to
combine both topics throughout the report any way you see fit.
d. Evaluation of the Practicum: The student should make some evaluative comments
about the work that he/she performed and the learning that was derived from doing it.
What challenges/pitfalls did he/she face when working on the project? What would
he/she do? What recommendations does he/she have for further work in this area?
What was most enjoyable dislikeable about the project?
e. Appendices: Some crucial materials must be included with the final report as
appendices. Copies of the Internship/Practicum Registration Form, a copy of the
weekly time log and journal, a copy of the student’s resume, and copies of any
written products from the practicum experience (e.g., a technical report that were
prepared for the organization, examples of job descriptions written, etc.).
3. Format of report: The final report may be written in a narrative form. It should be typed,
double spaced, proofread, and pages should be numbered. The use of subsections and topic
headings is strongly recommended. It may be written in the first person, but attempt to
minimize the use of jargon and technical abbreviations.
4. Audience Although the student will submit the report to his/her faculty advisor, other people,
such as administrators and accreditation teams will occasionally view your report. The
student may find it useful to show a copy of the completed report to prospective employers
(provided there is no proprietary information included and the organization has given explicit
permission). Write for a broad and technically naive audience, not just for your faculty
advisor.
NOTE: Practicum Reports are not returned to students. Student must make copies of any
materials he/she wishes to keep.