Aging Studies Certificate
Information Packet
Internship
153:190
Seminar
153:195
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Aging Studies Program
Room 308 North Hall
www.uiowa.edu/~socialwk/aging/
Mercedes Bern-Klug, UI Aging Studies Program
Mercedes-bern-klug@uiowa.edu or call: 319 335-1265 (direct line).
up-dated May 26, 2011
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Overview
Requirement for Certificate in Aging Studies: Successful completion of the internship is a
requirement for earning the Certificate in Aging Studies. Students who are not enrolled in the
Aging Studies Certificate program are not eligible to enroll in this internship experience. The
internship experience is for 3 academic credits, and in addition, students are to successfully
complete the internship seminar, for another academic credit (total of 4 academic credits).
Nature of Placement:
Service setting: Most students will seek an internship at a site that works directly with older
adults. Such sites include community based programs (e.g., Senior Centers, Adult Day Center,
Area Agency on Aging), institution-based programs (e.g., Assisted Living facilities, Nursing
Homes, Continuing Care Retirement Communities), or older adult oriented organizations (e.g.,
AARP, University of Iowa’s Center on Aging, Livable Communities).
Research setting: In some cases, students (generally graduate students) may complete the
internship requirement by being part of a research project. The research project should be led by
a UI researcher or a researcher in the field of aging.
Grading: Unless negotiated in advance, the internship and the seminar are graded as
satisfactory/unsatisfactory. If a student desires a letter grade for the internship experience, he or
she must negotiate that with the grading instructor and notify the Aging Studies Program before
the end of the first week of classes in the semester in which the internship is completed. If a
letter grade is desired, the student should propose the amount and quality of work for an A+, A,
A-, B+, B, B-, etc. The seminar is graded satisfactory/unsatisfactory.
Internship seminar and journal notes: Students registered for 153:190 (ASP internship) are
required to participate in a seminar (153:195) related to the internship experience. The seminar
consists of in-person and on-line meetings during the semester in which the student is doing the
internship. The seminar includes submitting short weekly journal essays.
Credit hours and hours at internship and at seminar: The Aging Studies Internship is for 3 credit
hours during one semester. For each semester hour, the student is expected to devote 45 clock
hours (3 credits x 45 hours = 135 clock hours). Over the course of the semester, students should
plan to devote 135 clock hours at the internship. Please note, the actual hours “on location” at
the internship will be negotiated with the agency supervisor.
The Seminar is worth one academic credit. So students will earn 3 credits for the internship and
1 credit for the successful completion of the seminar for a total of 4 credits.
Supervision: In order to pursue an internship in a setting, the setting must be prepared to
provide the student with a supervisor. The ideal supervisor would be someone with the same
academic background as the student, although that is not required. The supervisor will be
expected to:

Work with student to develop a learning contract.
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
Meet weekly (at least 15 minutes, preferably 30 minutes per week) with the student to
review progress on learning contract and discuss the experience. The meeting can be over
the phone if needed.

Orient the student to the setting. Introduce to fellow staff members.

Ensure the student has a place to sit and put belongings, and has access to equipment
needed to complete tasks (for example, a phone or computer, etc.).

Look for ways in which to integrate the student into the setting.

Submit a written mid-term evaluation of the student to the Aging Studies Program.

Submit a written final evaluation of the student to the Aging Studies Program.
If the student is a graduate student, the student needs a “faculty liaison” - a faculty member from
the graduate student’s major department (such as psychology, social work, business, etc.).
When a graduate student does an internship, the faculty liaison is responsible for reading weekly
journals and providing guidance related to the internship experience. The faculty liaison signs
off on the mid-term and final student evaluations. The faculty liaison will be involved in
deciding if the student has passed or failed the internship.
Please note: If the student’s major requires a field practicum or related experience, AND the
student completes it in an aging-related setting, AND the student receives supervision AND
partakes in a practicum seminar, the student can request that the Aging Studies Program consider
that the student has fulfilled the ASP internship requirement. In other words, the student can get
credit toward the Certificate in Aging Studies for an internship/practicum/field experience in his
or her major field, and not complete an additional internship specifically for the ASP.
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Steps to landing an Aging Studies Internship (for students working toward the Certificate)
1. Make sure you are enrolled in the Aging Studies Certificate
Program and have completed the 4 core courses. It is preferred –
not required--that you have also completed the electives.
2. Read through this entire internship packet.
Contact the Aging
Studies Program (ASP) Director if you have questions.
3. Half way through the semester BEFORE the semester in which
you intend to do your internship, make an appointment with the ASP
Director to discuss your internship. A list of possible settings will
be discussed. The learning contract will be reviewed. Bring an updated copy of your resume to this meeting. Tips on resume writing
can be found at: http://www.careers.uiowa.edu/guide.html#resumes
4. IF YOU ARE A GRADUATE STUDENT - After meeting with the ASP staff, schedule a meeting
with a faculty member in your major (social work, business, psychology, etc.) and share the internship
ideas with this person. Ask this person to serve as your UI faculty liaison, or to suggest someone else in
make
an appointment
the Writing
Center to develop
your MAJOR field to serve as a faculty
liaison.
(There is awith
checklist
that summarizes
duties ofone.
the
faculty supervisor.).
5. Contact the ASP director with your final ideas about an internship setting.
The ASP will contact the
internship setting, forward your resume, and talk with the agency/organization to see if they have a
person who could serve as your on-site supervisor.
6. After the ASP lets you know the agency is open to a student, please make an appointment with the
agency staff to meet and discuss the types of learning activities available. You should ask about the
expectations of students. If, after the meeting, it is mutually agreed that the match is good, please
complete the INTERNSHIP REGISTRATION FORM and submit it to the ASP director via email.
Negotiate your schedule (the hours you will be expected to be there) with your on-site supervisor.
7.
By the end of the second week, finalize (by signing) the proposed LEARNING CONTRACT with
your on-site supervisor. (If you are a graduate student, please get your faculty liaison’s signature as
well). It is the student’s responsibility to submit the signed LEARNING CONTRACT to the ASP
ICON site (scan it with signatures and save as a pdf to upload). Tips for making the most of your
internship: http://www.careers.uiowa.edu/Making%20the%20Most%20of%20Your%20Internship.pdf
8.
It is the students’ responsibility to ensure that the site-supervisor completes the MID-TERM
evaluation and the FINAL evaluation. Please note, the student also comments on both the midterm and
the final evaluation. Please scan the signed documents into pdf and submit them to ASP through ICON.
Your grade will be forwarded to the UI registrar after all the documents have been submitted through
ICON. Please note, the ASP is always interested in your feedback about your setting .
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FORMS
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Student Internship
Interest Form
Date:__________________________
Student’s last name:_________________________________
Student’s first name:___________________________________
Your student status (check one): ___undergraduate
____graduate
_____other
What is your major:_________________________________
What semester and year are you hoping to complete your ASP internship (for example:
fall 2012) Semester_____________ year________________
The Aging Studies Program requires students to complete a 3-credit internship experience as part
of the Aging Studies Certificate. The 3-credits results in 135 hours on-site at an internship over
the course of one semester. You are also expected to participate in a one credit seminar related
to the ASP internship.
Please indicate ANY experience you have had working directly with older adults or with olderadult related programs:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Please jot down the type of organization you would be interested in interning with, or types of
learning opportunities you would like (like direct interactions with older adults; policy-oriented
work; program planning; program administration; marketing; evaluation; etc.)
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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Please send this to Mercedes Bern-Klug, UI Aging Studies Program, Room 308 North Hall: fax
319 335-1711 or Mercedes-bern-klug@uiowa.edu.
LEARNING CONTRACT
Aging Studies Certificate
INTERNSHIP
The purpose of the learning contract is to clarify the learning opportunities and to formally
communicate expectations.
Semester in which field placement will take place:
____ fall 20__
____ spring 20___
___ summer 20__
Start date:_________
Estimated end date:________________
Which days/hours planning to be on-site (135 hours required):________________________
Student Contact Information
1. Name:______________________________________
2. ID number:___________________________________
3. UI email:_______________________________
4. Phone number:___________________________
5. Major:____________________________________
6. Check one: ____ undergraduate
____graduate
___other
Agency Supervisor
1. Name:____________________________________
2. Phone number:______________________________________
3. Email:______________________________________________
4. Agency name:________________________________________
5. Agency address:_________________________________________
6. Have you hosted an ASP student before? ___ yes ___no
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Sample Template:
Learning Contract & Evaluation Form
<INSERT SEMESTER AND YEAR >
Check one:
___Midterm evaluation
____ Final evaluation
Student’s name: <INSERT>
On-site supervisor’s name :
Internship Agency:
<INSERT>
<INSERT>
To develop the knowledge, skills, and values to become an effective _________.

Practice personal reflection and self-correction to
assure continual professional development
 Use supervision and consultation
 Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior,
appearance and communication
Learning Activities:
Meet with internship supervisor each week to discuss
my professional behavior, learning contract, and overall
experience
Keep a list of observations about others’ professional
behavior throughout the semester and identify positive
and negative conduct; evaluate my professional
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Above
Expectation
Practice Behaviors
Meets
Expectation
Below
Expectation
Not Completed
In Process
Completed
Goal 1: Identify as a professional in aging, and conduct oneself accordingly
behavior
Receive feedback on professional writing skills every
two weeks from the agency or the UI Writing Center
(document this in journal).
Submit weekly journal to ASP via ICON. Entries
should be about one page-typed-and should
communicate what I am learning and doing at my
internship.
Review my resume with my supervisor, ask for
feedback, and discuss how my internship can enhance
my resume.
Complete assignments from supervisor, on time
Maintain a consistent work schedule
Demonstrate initiative by accepting feedback, seeking
tasks, and asking questions.
Goal 2 - Learn about the agency/setting where I am doing my internship
Learning Activities:
Discuss with staff members the agency’s mission and
history to develop an understanding of the agency in
relationship to the community.
Discuss how the setting interacts with older adults (as
employees, clients, volunteers, etc.) and summarize the
characteristics of older adults involved, in one or two
sentences, for example: “Settings serves primarily white
older adult women seeking shelter.”
Understand the “big picture” of the agency’s budget
and funding sources. Read through the annual report
and discuss funding sources and major organizational
expenditures with your supervisor.
Attend a meeting of the board of directors.
Goal 3: Learn about your discipline’s role in this agency
Practice Behaviors:


Make ethical decisions applying disciplinary
standards
Apply strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at
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principled decisions
 Tolerate ambiguity in resolving ethical conflicts
Learning Activities:
Identify your field’s (nursing, social work, etc.) code of
ethics, and think through how this code affects your
behavior in the setting.
Discuss with your supervisor how the code of ethics
applies to the internship setting.
Interview 2 staff members about ethical situations they
have encountered and the process for seeking
resolution
Discuss with supervisor ethical situations that have
occurred over the past two years at the agency and the
process for addressing them
Identify five settings where people in your major field
who have a background in aging studies are working.
Discuss these settings as part of the on-line seminar, in
terms of whether you see yourself in the settings.
If people in your field are considered “mandatory
reporters” for older adult abuse/neglect in the internship
setting, seek out and undertake the training.
Goal 4: Engage diversity and difference in practice
Practice Behaviors:

Recognize the extent to which a culture’s structures and
values may oppress or marginalize older adults.
 Recognize and communicate your understanding of the
importance of difference in shaping life experiences.
 View yourself as a learner
Learning Activities:
Interview Executive Director or supervisor about the diversity
of the agency’s client population and how it has changed in the
last 10 years, and what is expected over the next 5 years.
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Locate and read at least 3 articles about working with diverse
populations in settings similar to your internship setting and
discuss with supervisor implications for professional practice.
Talk with at least two clients from diverse groups to
understand their perspective about the agency’s openness to
people like them.
Other:
Other:
Goal #5: (task/job/role to be filled in by student and supervisor)
Practice Behaviors:
Learning Activities:
Goal #6: (task/job/role to be filled in by student and supervisor)
Comments by Internship supervisor (general impressions of how well prepared this student was to succeed
in the setting, how motivated, how effective in the setting, and what further academic coursework or
experience you would recommend for the student in light of the student’s professional
aspirations:____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_Recommended Grade: (check one):
___Satisfactory
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__Unsatisfactory
Response from Student:_________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________
____________________________
Supervisor’s signature, date
Student’s signature, date
ASP Director:
___ All journal entrees were submitted on time in ICON
___ All seminar meetings were attended
___Midterm and final evaluations—with signatures—were submitted on ICON.
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