Internship Major Psychology

Upon completion of the internship, students will be able to:
– Apply theoretical knowledge to practical contexts
– Interact effectively with professional staff
– Make effective use of individual and group supervision
– Acquire profession-specific skills relevant to entry-level positions
– Reflect on their strengths and areas for development in psychological practice
– Develop greater awareness of and plan for future career goals

• Recommended timing: the internship should be completed in a higher semester (4th semester or higher) and ideally outside the lecture period.
• Minimum internship duration: 4 weeks full-time or equivalent (e.g., 5 weeks with 4 days per week). Longer durations are always possible. Importantly, the minimum number of working days per week is 3. Work contracts or recurring hourly based activities (“Werkstudent:in”) are not eligible for the internship.
• Internship position: The internship can be conducted in a counselling center, a public institution, a private company, a research facility or any other organization working in a relevant psychological domain.
• Internship supervisor: The primary supervisor of the internship must hold a university degree in psychology (diploma/ master’s degree in psychology), or a comparable degree in the field of Applied Psychology. Should you be unsure whether the degree of your proposed supervisor fulfills this requirement, please contact study coordinator Dr. Thies Lüdtke (thies.luedtke@leuphana.de).
• Internship certificate: The internship certificate (Praktikumsbescheinigung) from the company/organization/research institution can be informal. It should include the internship position and the period, must be signed by the primary supervisor, and must indicate the academic degree of the primary supervisor.
• Tasks during internship: Your activities must be predominantly professional in nature, i.e., corresponding to the activities of (prospective) psychologists.
• Psychotherapy internships: It is not possible to get credit points for an internship in a psychotherapy setting. thus,Leuphana Psychology Major is not certified under professional law within the meaning of the PsychThG (Psychotherapeutengesetz) and thus cannot provide any education or training in psychotherapy. Internships in clinical settings are only possible if your work does not revolve around therapy. For example, you could do an internship in the field of clinical diagnostics, neuropsychology, forensics, or clinical research.
   

It is often expected by companies/institutions that basic knowledge in the field of psychology has already been acquired when assigning challenging tasks. Therefore, it is recommended that the internship be completed in a higher semester (5th semester or higher). You should actively and independently search for an internship position that is suitable for you. Completing further internships or longer internship periods can be useful depending on the subject orientation, availability of places, and requirements of the sponsoring organizations (companies, public institutions, research institutions), but is not obligatory as an examination performance in the module. Following the suggestions of the German Psychological Society (DGPs), a total internship period of 8 weeks is recommended (4 weeks are mandatory). It is also recommended to take the module in the semester in which you have been accepted for an internship. Furthermore, it is recommended to complete the internship outside the lecture period in order not to suffer any disadvantages in the ongoing courses.

Sometimes, there is a prerequisite for the participation in the internship program at some organizations: a study-related compulsory or elective internship is mandatory in the study regulations of a university or college. If this is the case, a corresponding certificate confirming the mandatory nature of the internship as part of the module can be found below. Please download the Sample Confirmation Letter of Participation Module Internship Major Psychology below and then further contact the teaching staff for this module on MyStudy.

You will receive a document from Leuphana which confirms that the internship is a mandatory part of the Major Psychology curriculum. Companies often need such confirmation, inter alia to confirm that the internship is unpaid. Beginning with winter semester 2026/27, you will be able to download the confirmation from the seminar’s material folder in MyStudy. Until then, you may send an email from your Leuphana mail account to studiendekanat.nachhaltigkeit@leuphana.de to receive the confirmation.

The internship module (1 SWS, 5 Credit Points) is offered every semester by Prof. (apl.) Carolin Schuster. There are no regular meetings during the semester but there will be individual counselling sessions with the lecturer (one counseling session is mandatory). Ideally, you should participate in the seminar in the semester following your internship (e.g., if you do the internship in the summer semester break, you should take the seminar in the following winter semester). 
The examination consists of a combined assessment including 
(1) The internship (an internship certificate from your internship institution must confirm that you completed the internship)
(2) An internship report
(3) A presentation at the mandatory internship forum
You will receive more detailed information on the seminar and the examination from Prof. (apl.) Schuster once you are enrolled in the module.

• Can I do more than one internship? Yes, completing further internships can be useful depending on the subject orientation, availability of places, and requirements of the sponsoring organizations (companies, public institutions, research institutions), but is neither obligatory nor advantageous in terms of examination performance in the module.
• Can my internship be longer than 4 weeks full-time? Yes, longer durations are allowed. Following the suggestions of the German Psychological Society (DGPs), a total internship period of 8 weeks is recommended, and institutions may require even longer periods. Four weeks is merely the minimum requirement.
• Where do I find internship positions? It is expected that you actively and independently search for an internship position. To assist you in this task, you will find a database in MyStudy (uploaded not before winter semester 2026/27), which lists institutions where internships were conducted in the past. Of note, the list is only meant to provide ideas for potential internship positions from students for students. There is no guarantee that the listed internships are still available. The database is intended to be updated continuously.
• Where do I find English-speaking Internships? Internships at research institutions might be suited for international students who would prefer an internship in English language.
• Is it possible to do an internship at Leuphana University? It is not recommended to complete the internship at Leuphana, as the aim of the internship is to gain new experiences, find your feet in an unfamiliar environment and develop new perspectives. However, it is not prohibited to complete the internship at Leuphana.
• Can a student assistant job (SHK) be recognized as an internship? No, a student assistant job usually comprises a fixed set of tasks whereas an internship is meant to provide a more holistic impression of a certain position, so they are not considered equivalent. Also, the internship requirements (unpaid, at least 3 full days per week) are not met with student assistant positions.