Psychology majors have the option of registering for an interdisciplinary SIP 593 supervised by the Psychology department. An SIP 593 does NOT carry a unit of credit that counts for the Psychology major, but does count as a unit of credit towards graduation and does satisfy the SIP graduation requirement. SIP 593’s are most often completed in summer before the senior year and are one unit. They are intended to give students flexibility to design a project that will be beneficial for them without having to adhere to the guidelines of a particular discipline. Students complete weekly reflections detailing their progress, maintain a log of hours worked and tasks completed, and write a final comprehensive reflection that showcases their acheivments. If you want information on a Psychology SIP that will count for Psychology credit then please visit our Psychology SIP page.
Interdisciplinary SIP 593 Models
Most SIP 593s that we supervise in the Psychology department fall into one of two broad categories. However, if you have an idea that doesn’t fit squarely into one of these, it might be possible to make it work!
Creative Product
In this type of SIP 593, students create something that showcases their interest in Psychology but is not a traditional academic Psychology paper. Students turn in both the creative product as well as a reflection about their process, how the creative work exemplifies various principles, and how the project has affected their future goals. To be successful with this kind of SIP, students must have strong skills in the creative domain in which they are working (e.g., art, creative writing, etc.). Students must have a proposal approved in order to embark on this kind of SIP.
Examples:
- Write a series of children’s books that would be useful for a speech-language pathologist working with bilingual children. Explain in the reflection how the books exemplify particular principles.
- Produce a series of podcast episodes that narrates an original story about a world where people have stopped dreaming. Explain in the reflection how various plot elements were inspired by Psychological theories of dreaming.
- Paint several works that capture various ways to think about mental illness. Explain in the reflection how each painting is related to a Psychological theory about mental illness.
Experiential
In this type of SIP 593, students engage in a sustained experience over multiple weeks of the summer. The experience must total at least 100 hours over at least eight weeks. Students are given prompts for weekly reflections that relate their experiences to their college coursework and to their future plans. Students submit a log of hours worked and tasks completed, as well as a final reflection. Students are encouraged to include photos of themselves onsite or images of artifacts that further demonstrate their accomplishments. To register for this type of SIP, students should submit an internship offer letter from an organization or a SIP 593 proposal that details a self-designed experience to the SIP coordinator.
Examples:
- Intern full time at the YWCA
- Organize and run a weekly support group for a particular population
- Organize a community action project (e.g., a diaper drive)
- Intern 20 hours a week in the marketing department of a company
Frequently Asked Questions
Who will help me with my creative SIP 593?
When students choose to embark on this kind of unique project, they are taking on the responsibility for having (or learning) the skills they need to successfully complete the project on their own. The SIP coordinator is available to help students with deadlines, to read drafts of the reflection, or to provide feedback on the work, but in most cases, the SIP coordinator is not able to help with the specifics of an SIP 593 project (e.g., creating a webpage, painting, community organizing, etc. are not within the SIP coordinator’s expertise.)
What is an appropriate scope for an SIP 593?
Because an SIP 593 earns a unit of academic credit, the work involved should approximate the work involved in a course at Kalamazoo College. We estimate this to be about 100 hours. Although there is some flexibility here, thinking about a “100-hour project” can help you imagine a project of an appropriate scope. If you have an internship lined up that is 10 hours a week for 10 weeks, you do not need to do much beyond that—documenting your hours and writing a short reflection is fine. On the other hand, if you have an opportunity to shadow someone in a profession for a day (~8 hours), that experience alone is not enough for a SIP 593, unless you add additional things to it (e.g., doing additional research about the profession, interviewing additional people, putting together an original website that describes the profession, engaging in substantial self-reflection about whether the career is right for you, making connections between the profession and your college coursework, etc.). Similarly, organizing and holding a single three-hour event on campus might not be enough, but leading a support group that meets every week for many weeks (combined with reflection) could be. The intent of completing the SIP 593 proposal is to work with the SIP supervisor to make sure that your project is of an appropriate scope.
How do I register for a SIP 593?
The first step is to discuss your plans with the SIP coordinator. For an experiential SIP, a letter showing that you have an offer for an internship will be required. For a creative SIP, a SIP 593 proposal will need to be completed in which you detail your plans and demonstrate that you have the skills needed to embark on the project. Students may register for the SIP with the registrar only once the SIP coordinator has approved the internship or the proposal (for a creative project). Summer SIPs must be registered by the end of spring quarter.
Do I need IRB approval to do an SIP 593?
It depends on the project, but in most cases, no. IRB approval is needed only if you are collecting data from human participants and will use that data as the basis of research. In most SIP 593 projects, students are not collecting data from human participants. You can interview people about their profession or experiences without having IRB approval, as long as the purpose of the interview is to gain information from the person about a topic they know something about that you do not. Further, you can write about observations you make of other people in a support group, internship, or otherwise without having IRB approval, as long as the focus of your writing is on your own thoughts and feelings. Of course, you should always provide pseudonyms for individuals and avoid describing anyone in any individually-identifiable way.
For example, if you are working at a camp, it is fine to write about observations you made of two campers who got into an argument and how they resolved it, as long as the focus is on your own role in this process. “e.g., after observing a disagreement between campers A and B, I had to think quickly to help Camper A refocus her attention on something else before this incident ruined her whole day. I realized that even relatively small interventions from me could help turn a negative incident around for the campers.”
It would NOT be okay to make observations about the campers that are focused on them or to use the campers as research for some question without having IRB approval. E.g., “While working at the camp, I was interested in how campers dealt with group conflict. I asked several campers to share with me how they were feeling after an altercation with another camper. One said… Another said… I found that…”ßThis is research that would need IRB approval and consent from all the campers and their parents in order to do.
If you have questions about whether your project needs IRB approval, please speak with your SIP coordinator and/or the current chair of the Kalamazoo College IRB.
What kinds of things should my final reflection include?
Each reflection will be unique, just as each SIP 593 is unique. However, all reflections should begin with a clear explanation of what you did for your SIP. For an experiential SIP, where were you working, for how many hours/weeks, and what were your main responsibilities in the position? For a creative SIP 593, what were your goals setting out, how did you structure your time, and what did you end up producing?
Students will have completed weekly reflections while working on the SIP 593, and these reflections will be appended at the back of the SIP. The final comprehensive reflection should highlight the most compelling parts of the students’ experiences. Many SIP 593 reflections will connect observations/content of the project to course content or to psychological principles. When doing this, you should attempt to make connections to multiple courses if you can (consider thinking about courses that are not as “obviously” related to your topic or position as well as those that are). When linking observations or elements of your project to psychological principles, you should include citations to published literature wherever possible.
You are encouraged to include pictures and images wherever possible! Take photos of yourself on site (though make sure that you do not show the faces of any minors and only show the faces of other adults with their permission). Capture images of achievements from your internship (e.g., the email you wrote, the social media post you made, the final presentation you gave), or of the creative project that you did.
Finally, remember that good writing is clear, organized, and credible. A well-written reflection should provide the reader with plenty of concrete examples to illustrate your points. Try not to over-simplify or sugar-coat your experiences too much. Including examples of struggles that you had and overcame along the way can lend credibility and depth to your reflection. Your reflection should flow well, leading the reader through your SIP journey and ending with some clear ideas about how this SIP was beneficial for you.
How will my SIP 593 be assessed?
Each SIP 593 is given to a member of the Psychology faculty to read and consider. That faculty member makes a decision about whether the project should earn credit or not. Each project is considered with respect to scope (was this a project that seems to approximate the work of a Kalamazoo College class?) and the student’s level of reflection (does the student seem to have made connections with their coursework? Does it seem they have personally grown through the project?). SIP 593s can earn “honors” in situations where multiple faculty members agree that the student really went above and beyond the standard expectation with respect to the quality of the ultimate product and/or the depth of reflection exhibited.
When is my SIP 593 due?
SIP 593s supervised by the Psychology department follow the same deadlines as Psychology SIPs. One unit summer SIPs will be due Friday of Week 1 of Fall term. A draft will typically be due to the SIP ccoordinator for feedback 2-3 weeks before that. Please ask your SIP coordinator if you are not sure.
Is there funding available to support my SIP 593 project?
The Psychology department does not have funding to support SIP 593 projects. Depending on the project, there may be funding opportunities through other departments or centers on campus, such as ARCUS or the CCPD. Some projects may be eligible for one or more institutional grants. Note that some students use a paid internship as the basis for an SIP 593.
Do I have to present my SIP 593 publicly?
No, students who complete an SIP 593 do not have to present their work publicly. SIP 593’s are not typically included in the Psychology Van Leire SIP symposium, although students who really want to present theirs should reach out to the SIP coordinator to see if it might be possible.