Internships and Practicums
Paid Internships
VR offers a limited number of VR Counselor paid internships. These are for graduate-level students working towards a master’s in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling or ASL Interpreting. These internships are generally funded for 600 hours. For the agencies’ purposes, we define an internship as full-time paid work as an OPS employee. A full-time OPS employee qualifies for state group health insurance and are covered by the state workers’ compensation program. Time off for state holidays is not paid. OPS employees do not participate in the state retirement system but are covered under the 401(a) FICA Alternative Plan For OPS Employees.
Unpaid Practicum Volunteers
Additionally, VR offers practicum opportunities for students at the undergraduate level. College students may be required to take a practicum as additional credit course in order to meet degree requirements. A practicum is a hybrid between an actual credit course and an internship. The practicum combines standard classroom coursework with real-world experience within their field of study, while earning credit hours toward their degree. The practicum allows the student to master skills learned in the classroom.
For VR’s purposes, we define a practicum as unpaid volunteer work. In some cases, a graduate student may do one semester as a practicum student volunteer and then the next semester work as a paid intern. In these cases, the student transitions from a volunteer to an OPS employee depending upon available OPS funding.
How to Submit a Request for an Internship or Practicum
- VR Counselor Internships: Complete the VR Counselor Internship Questionnaire and email Lindsay Rassoull. The questionnaire form has typeable form fields that expand as necessary.
- ASL Staff Interpreter Internships: Complete the ASL Staff Interpreter Internship Questionnaire and email Cory Parker. The questionnaire form has typeable form fields that expand as necessary.