The Charleston Consortium                        Psychology Internship Program 

The Charleston Consortium’s mission is to provide interns with training that will enhance their expertise in research, clinical assessment and treatment, integration of science and practice, and understanding cultural and individual differences in our increasingly diverse society.

Intern Admissions, Support & Initial Placement Data

The Charleston Consortium Internship Program is a joint endeavor of the Medical University of South Carolina and the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The Consortium is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (last site visit: 2016). We are also a member of the Academy of Psychological Clinical Sciences, which is a coalition of doctoral training programs that share a common goal of producing and applying scientific knowledge to the assessment, understanding, and amelioration of human problems. Membership in the Academy is granted only after a thorough peer review process. Its membership in the Academy indicates that the Charleston Consortium is committed to excellence in scientific training, and to using clinical science as the foundation for designing, implementing, and evaluating assessment and intervention procedures. We particularly welcome applications from students in other Academy programs. We are also committed to providing training to interns who reflect diversity with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability status, gender identity, sexual orientation, and religious belief.

The Charleston Consortium places a high value on providing outstanding clinical training. The rotation descriptions offer a sense of the rich training opportunities available here. The faculty recognize the crucial importance of having your internship year match your clinical training needs. Every effort is made to see that each intern completes a set of clinical rotations that balances specialized interests with exposure to a broad range of clinical practice. Interns are guaranteed their first rotation choice at the time of match. They are also guaranteed six months of training within the track in which they match. Every effort is made to honor intern interests and preferences regarding other rotations. The program has been very successful in matching the clinical interests of interns with available clinical rotations. Thus, interns interested in particular areas of clinical practice (e.g., children and families, neuropsychology, behavioral medicine, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, etc.) can receive substantial amounts of clinical experience in their chosen area(s) of clinical interest.

We offer a General Track, as well as six specialty emphasis tracks:

Tracks do not limit the variety of rotations that interns can complete. That is, it is possible (indeed, it is encouraged) for interns to complete any rotation outside their specialty track. The purpose of matching into a particular track is to guarantee the equivalent of six months of clinical experience within that track.

Intern applicants identify the emphasis areas they wish to be considered for and can select as many as they wish. Interns selected within a track will get at least half of their clinical rotations within the special emphasis area. However, it is important to note that interns typically complete at least one rotation outside of their special emphasis area. This is important for two reasons. First, it maintains the generalist nature of the program because it ensures that all interns receive some clinical training outside of a specialty area. Second, it makes it possible for interns who are not in a given special emphasis area to obtain clinical training on a rotation within special emphasis areas. Each intern applicant is asked to provide information on their preferences for rotation prior to submission of the match list.