Clinical Psychology Internship Program

Welcome to the University of North Carolina School of Medicine Clinical Psychology Internship

Explore Our Internship Tracks

Addiction Medicine (2 positions)

Adult Psychotherapy Track (1 position)

Affective Neuroscience (1 position)

Behavioral Medicine (1 position)

Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) (1 position)

Child Community-Pediatrics (1 position)

Eating Disorders (1 position)

Primary Care (2 positions)

Reproductive Psychology (1 position)

TEACCH Autism (1 position)

Transplant Psychology (1 position)

Traumatic Stress (1 position)

Program Overview

What to Expect

Spend, on average, approximately 40% of the time in activities in their specialization area, in each of the six-month rotations.

Obtain significant experience in the areas of diagnosis and assessment, therapy, consultation, and severe mental illness.

Elect additional clinical experiences, choosing from almost all of the services offered within the internship, depending on interests and the feasibility of scheduling.

Participate in the weekly didactic and professional seminar series.

Elect to engage in research activities, up to one day a week. Research collaboration with a faculty member is required in the research elective.

Start Date: July 3

All interns participate in a weeklong orientation program at UNC. The starting date for this orientation will be July 1. All faculty members will be on hand to help orient the new trainees and facilitate a smooth transition.

Crystal Schiller, PhD

Program Director

The University of North Carolina School of Medicine Clinical Psychology Internship, directed by Crystal Schiller, PhD, is a comprehensive, one-year, full-time internship for doctoral students in psychology. The Internship is accredited by the American Psychological Association and holds membership in the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC).

Our Program

The Internship, administered by psychologists within the Department of Psychiatry, provides a broad range of clinical training opportunities across the School of Medicine and the University of North Carolina Hospitals, as well as multiple community-based sites. These inpatient, outpatient, and community settings provide interns with opportunities to work with children, adolescents and adults, in interprofessional teams.

We know the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on training opportunities for internship applicants. As a result, we are adjusting our typical expectations for clinical training hours. Applicants are encouraged to describe the impact of the pandemic on their training hours in their cover letters and/or application materials.

The faculty place a high value on providing excellent clinical training, matched to each intern’s training goals. Internship positions include adult-focused internship tracks in Affective Neuroscience, Behavioral Medicine-Transplant, Primary Care, Addiction Medicine, Eating Disorder, and Reproductive Psychology programs; more child-focused internship tracks in the Clinical Child program, Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD), and TEACCH Autism program. The Traumatic Stress track spans all ages.

Interns spend about half of their time in their primary area gaining depth in their chosen area gaining depth of expertise in their chosen area of focus, while having the opportunity to broaden their clinical training through rotations in other areas. Intern also participate in weekly didactic and professional development seminars and engage in clinical research.

The University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the UNC Medical Center are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace that enhances our learning environment, innovative research, and the quality of care available to all. We believe that a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion leads to new ways of thinking, behaving and caring.We embrace the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) definition of diversity, including the recognition that diversity is not limited to gender, race and ethnicity, but must also include age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious commitment, physical ability and other varied backgrounds and life experiences.Together, the UNC School of Medicine and the UNC Medical Center strive to recruit, retain, and develop a diverse group of individuals to ensure a vibrant community that promotes excellence in education, discovery, clinical care and the elimination of health disparities locally, regionally and nationally.

Applicants must be from APA- or CPA-accredited programs. The Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Child-Pediatric positions are limited to students who are degree candidates in clinical psychology programs. No other positions have this restriction.For all positions, a minimum of 500 AAPI hours (400 intervention plus 100 assessment) is expected, as is the completion of at least three years of graduate training. Comprehensive exams and dissertation proposal must have been passed by the application deadline. Immediately prior to the start of the internship year, a criminal and background check must meet UNC requirements for working with patients. For more information about pre-employment screening, please visit https://hr.unc.edu/managers/hiring/background/faq/.

Stipends of approximately $28,352 each are provided for all tracks. Health insurance is also provided as a benefit for these interns.All interns are provided with professional liability insurance at no cost. Thirty days of leave time are provided; these include vacation and sick leave, professional leave, and 11 major holidays observed by the University. Interns are eligible for the UNC One Card, which permits access to University libraries and use as a debit card for UNC Student Stores and other services. Interns have access to UNC facilities and are eligible for a free pass to non-revenue sporting events. There is no charge for the bus service within Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Each intern also has a professional development budget of $1,550 for travel to conferences, books or other relevant materials or activities.

Policy on Non-Discrimination

Professional Training Philosophy & Model

Internship Admissions, Support & Initial Placement Data