Requirements & Expectations

If you plan to apply, please send an email containing: 1) your full name; 2) full address including city, state, and zip; 3) your university; and 4) your telephone number to psychint@musc.edu. Thanks again for your interest in our program.

To be eligible for the program, the applicant should be in good standing enrolled in an APA-accredited Ph.D. program in clinical, counseling, or school psychology. The Charleston Consortium prefers applicants from APA-accredited programs, but we understand that training programs cannot attain accreditation without placing their graduates in APA-approved internships. Therefore, we accept and give full consideration to applications from students enrolled in Ph.D. training programs that are currently applying for accreditation. The internship currently accepts a variable number of interns each year, depending on budgetary factors. Over the past seven years, that number of interns has ranged between 18 and 24.

Applicants should note that the internship is an intensive experience guided by the scientist-practitioner/clinical scientist model. Accordingly, interns selected for this program should have sufficient supervised clinical practicum experience to achieve an intermediate level of clinical competence in evidence-based treatment models (as attested to by letters of recommendation) and demonstrate considerable interest and ability in conducting research beyond that required by the thesis and dissertation (as evidenced by previous research accomplishments and letters of recommendation). Additionally, although our program’s faculty have many theoretical orientations, the large majority are behavioral or cognitive-behavioral. Thus, we seek interns who have a background in behavioral or cognitive-behavioral theory and at least basic experience in implementing these intervention strategies with clinical populations. You do not have to be experienced in a particular intervention, or with a particular clinical population, to complete any rotation at the Charleston Consortium. If you have the appropriate foundation of clinical preparation and skill, our rotations will help you develop your expertise level, no matter your starting point.

As noted elsewhere, international students cannot be paid via some funding sources (e.g., VA stipends, National Institute of Health training grants), but they are eligible to be paid by others. Furthermore, we impose no restrictions regarding the completion of individual rotations at VA training sites (i.e., international students may complete rotations at VA sites).

All matched interns must complete employment eligibility for either MUSC or the Ralph H. Johnson VAMC. Background checks and pre-employment drug screens are required at both sites. Background checks are aimed at identifying serious past felonies. Both MUSC and the Ralph H. Johnson VA require COVID-19 vaccination for all employees who interact with patients. Although medical and religious exemptions can be requested, applicants should be aware that vaccination is expected for all interns. In addition, applicants are advised that neither recreational nor medical use of marijuana is currently legal in South Carolina, and the VA has advised its national workforce that marijuana use is not allowable. Positive tests for marijuana (as well as other illicit drugs) may be grounds for denial of employment at MUSC and the Ralph H Johnson VAMC.