F.A.Q.

What is your APA Accreditation status?

For more information about our APA Accreditation status for all three regions go here.

What is your APPIC Membership status?

For more information about our APPIC membership for all three regions go here.

What does the application process entail?

Please click here for the Application Procedures.

What materials are necessary for application?

More information about what is required in your application can be found here: Internship Application

What type of applicant is NPTC interested in?
  • Comprehensive Examination successfully completed
  • Dissertation proposal approved by match ranking deadline
  • Completion of a minimum of 1000 total practicum hours, of which…
    • 250 should be Intervention and Assessment hours
    • 100 should be Supervision hours
  • Must have completed three years of graduate training (some sites require receipt of Master’s degree)
  • Enrollment in an APA- or CPA-accredited clinical (preferred), counseling, or school psychology doctoral program; OR a non-accredited school that has had or has been approved for an APA site visit.

For more information about what the individual sites look for in an intern, check out the “Intern Selection Process” tabs on each of the site bio pages found in the Central Current Sites and Great Lakes Current Sites and Cascade Current Sites sections.

What is your Virtual Open House like?

Our Virtual Open House event occurred on September 20 – 23, 2022. During these virtual events, applicants had the opportunity to learn more about NPTC and each of our regions. Applicants also had the opportunity to ask questions of our Regional and Site Training Directors and learn more about the application process. The dates and times of our Virtual Open House meetings were as follows:

NPTC Virtual Open House 

Tuesday, September 20th from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Central

Great Lakes Region Virtual Open House

Wednesday, September 21st from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Eastern

Central Region Virtual Open House

Thursday, September 22nd from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Central

Cascades Region Virtual Open House 

Friday, September 23rd from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Pacific

Interested applicants can request recordings of these meetings by emailing applicant@psychologyinterns.org. You can also review our Virtual Open House FAQ document which is a compilation of all questions and answers from the meetings this year. 

 

 

What are the start and end dates for the training year?

Cascades Region

The 2023-2024 training year begins on June 14th, 2023 and extends through June 13th, 2024.

Central Region

The 2023-2024 training year begins on July 24th, 2023 and extends through July 23th, 2024.

Great Lakes Region

The 2023-2024 training year begins on July 24th, 2023 and extends through July 23th, 2024.

 

What is the current annual pay?

Cascades Region: $40,000 for 2023-2024

Central Region: $31,200 – $37,500 for 2023-2024

Great Lakes Region: $32,000 – $37,500 for 2023-2024

See site pages for salaries at each location.

What is the cost of living?

Cost of living estimates will vary by region. However, due to our focus on rural psychology, many of our sites are in areas where the cost of living is far lower than in other parts of the country. The salary provided at many of our sites will thus go farther than it would in more expensive parts of the country.

More information is provided below by region:


CASCADES REGION

Applicants interested in the Cascades Region should choose Seattle, Washington as the main source of data for HealthPoint and Yakima, Washington for the main source of data for CHCW. Please keep in mind that since Seattle is Washington’s largest city, the cost of living for areas outside of Seattle where interns choose to live may be lower than what is reported below. If the cost of living calculator allows you to put in specific cities (like Smartasset.com), then you can find more specific site locations for the Cascades Region listed here.

Smartasset.com provided the following list of percentages comparing the cost of living in both Seattle and Yakima to other major cities.

Seattle had a…

Yakima had a…

5% higher cost of living compared to Phoenix, AZ
2% lower cost of living compared to Miami, FL
2% lower cost of living compared to Anchorage, AK
7% higher cost of living compared to Dallas, TX
21% lower cost of living compared to New York, NY
5% lower cost of living compared to Chicago, IL
9% lower cost of living compared to Los Angeles, CA
19% lower cost of living compared to San Francisco, CA
11% lower cost of living compared to Phoenix, AZ
17% lower cost of living compared to Miami, FL
16% lower cost of living compared to Anchorage, AK
9% lower cost of living compared to Dallas, TX
32% lower cost of living compared to New York, NY
19% lower cost of living compared to Chicago, IL
22% lower cost of living compared to Los Angeles, CA
31% lower cost of living compared to San Francisco, CA

This means that $30,000 in each city is equivalent to having approximately*:

Seattle

Yakima

$19,000 – $28,000 in Phoenix, Arizona
$22,000 – $30,000 in Miami, Florida
$23,000 – $30,000 in Anchorage, Alaska
$20,000 – $28,000 in Dallas, Texas
$37,000 – $46,000 in New York, New York
$23,000 – $31,000 in Chicago, Illinois
$28,000 – $32,000 in Los Angeles, California
$37,000 – $38,000 in San Francisco, California
$30,000 – $33,000 in Phoenix, Arizona
$35,000 – $36,000 in Miami, Florida
$36,000 – $37,000 in Anchorage, Alaska
$32,000 – $33,000 in Dallas, Texas
$44,000 – $54,000 in New York, New York
$36,000 – $37,000 in Chicago, Illinois
$38,000 – $44,000 in Los Angeles, California
$44,000 – $59,000 in San Francisco, California

*Salary ranges were pulled from the results on Smartasset.com and Money.cnn.com


CENTRAL REGION

Many cost of living calculators only allow you to choose main metro areas within a state. If that is the case, then applicants interested in the Central Region should choose Springfield, Missouri as the main source of data, though city location will vary by site. If the cost of living calculator allows you to put in specific cities (like Smartasset.com), then you can find the specific site locations for the Central Region listed here.

Smartasset.com provided the following list of percentages comparing the cost of living in Springfield, Missouri to other major cities. According to this chart, Springfield had a…

9% lower cost of living compared to Phoenix, Arizona
15% lower cost of living compared to Miami, Florida
15% lower cost of living compared to Anchorage, Alaska
7% lower cost of living compared to Dallas, Texas
30% lower cost of living compared to New York, New York
17% lower cost of living compared to Chicago, Illinois
20% lower cost of living compared to Los Angeles, California
29% lower cost of living compared to San Francisco, California

This means that $30,000 in Springfield is equivalent to having approximately*:

$33,000 – $34,000 in Phoenix, Arizona
$35,000 – $39,000 in Miami, Florida
$35,000 – $42,000 in Anchorage, Alaska
$32,000 – $36,000 in Dallas, Texas
$43,000 – $60,000 in New York, New York
$36,000 – $42,000 in Chicago, Illinois
$38,000 – $50,000 in Los Angeles, California
$43,000 – $66,000 in San Francisco, California

*Salary ranges were pulled from the results on Smartasset.com and Money.cnn.com


GREAT LAKES REGION

Many costs of living calculators only allow you to choose the main metro areas within a state. If that is the case, then applicants interested in the Great Lakes Region should choose Logansport, Indiana as the main source of data for Four County, Lafayette, Indiana as the main source of data for Valley Oaks, Fort Wayne, Indiana as the main source of data for Bowen Center, Columbus, Indiana as the main source of data for Centerstone, and Indianapolis, Indiana as the main source of data for Aspire and LittleStar. If the cost of living calculator allows you to put in specific cities (like Smartasset.com), then you can find other site locations for the Great Lakes Region listed here.

For ease of reporting, we used Indianapolis, Indiana as our source of cost of living comparisons. Keep in mind that since Indianapolis is the largest city in Indiana, the areas where our sites are located will have even better cost of living comparisons than what is listed below.

Smartasset.com provided the following list of percentages comparing the cost of living in Indianapolis, Indiana to other major cities. According to this chart, Indianapolis had a…

3% lower cost of living compared to Phoenix, Arizona
8% lower cost of living compared to Miami, Florida
8% lower cost of living compared to Anchorage, Alaska
Similar cost of living compared to Dallas, Texas
25% lower cost of living compared to New York, New York
10% lower cost of living compared to Chicago, Illinois
15% lower cost of living compared to Los Angeles, California
23% lower cost of living compared to San Francisco, California

This means that $30,000 in Indianapolis is equivalent to having approximately*:

$30,000 – $33,000 in Phoenix, Arizona
$33,000 – $37,000 in Miami, Florida
$33,000 – $40,000 in Anchorage, Alaska
$30,000 – $35,000 in Dallas, Texas
$40,000 – $58,000 in New York, New York
$33,000 – $40,000 in Chicago, Illinois
$35,000 – $48,000 in Los Angeles, California
$40,000 – $63,000 in San Francisco, California

*Salary ranges were pulled from the results on Smartasset.com and Money.cnn.com


Estimated cost of living amounts were collected from the cost of living calculators found on Smartasset.com and Money.cnn.com.

NPTC chose these tools for their ease of use but does not promote the use of any particular cost of living calculator. We encourage all applicants to review the information utilizing their own research and data in addition to any information we provide here.

Note: All cost of living estimates were gathered on June 9, 2021. We will try to update this information on a regular basis, but please note that the calculations may vary from what is provided here.

Will I need a car as an intern?

While some interns have completed internship without a vehicle, we strongly recommend that interns have their own form of transportation due to the rural nature of most of our sites. In addition, some rotations require interns to travel between site locations, and travel is required for didactics.

How often do I need to travel for didactics?

In the Cascades Region, interns will travel for didactics on the first Friday of every month. Didactics will be hosted by HealthPoint in Renton, WA and by Community Health of Central Washington in Yakima, WA on an alternating basis.

In the Central and Great Lakes Regions, interns will travel for in-person didactics once per quarter. Didactics will take place in Springfield, MO for Central Region interns and in Logansport, IN for Great Lakes Region interns.

How does NPTC facilitate social opportunities for interns in each region?

Social events in the Cascades Region typically take place when interns come together for didactics once per month. Chief interns in the Cascades Region also plan intern-led social events throughout the training year.

Social events in the Central and Great Lakes Regions typically take place when interns come together for didactics once per quarter. Intern representatives in each of these regions also plan social events for interns outside of didactics. In the past, intern-led social events across all regions have included virtual game nights, virtual Uber Eats socials, ski trips, ice cream socials, and roller-skating parties.

What type of benefits does NPTC offer?

Information on Intern support and benefits is available here: https://psychologyinterns.org/about-nptc/internship-admissions-support-initial-placement-data/

What is a consortium?

Please see “Guidelines for Development of Consortia” from APPIC by following the link.

What does it mean to be Partially Affiliated?

The National Psychology Training Consortium is partially affiliated with both The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and Pacific University School of Professional Psychology. These partial affiliations state that between equal candidates, students from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology or Pacific University School of Professional Psychology will be given preference. Interns from other programs will still be considered and are encouraged to apply.

The following table shows the ratio of interns from affiliated sites to interns from non-affiliated sites for each of our regions from the past three years:

 

2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023
Cascades Central Great Lakes Cascades Central Great Lakes Cascades Central Great Lakes
Chicago School 0 1 5 1 1 5 1 2 6
Pacific University 4 0 0 4 1 0 3 2 0
Non-Affiliated 6 23 17 5 28 19 10 36 14
Total 10 24 22 10 30 24 13 40 20
Does NPTC offer half-time internships?

Not at this time.