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Non-APPIC Internships

APPIC Match and Post-Match Vacancy Service
Policies for Non-APPIC Member Internship Programs

Updated March 27, 2020

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR NON-APPIC MEMBER PROGRAMS

Beginning this Fall (2020), non-member internship programs will NOT be permitted
to participate in the APPIC Match or Post-Match Vacancy Service until they
become Provisional or Full APPIC Members. See below for more information.


The information below summarizes the relevant APPIC policies related to participation in the APPIC Match and Post-Match Vacancy Service (PMVS) by internship sites that are not APPIC members. Information is also provided that non-member sites may find helpful.

Important Changes to Match/PMVS Participation for Non-Members in 2021


 The APPIC Board recently established a new membership category, called “Provisional Membership,” intended to assist new/developing internship programs with recruitment while also maintaining quality standards for training programs. Provisional Membership is a time-limited APPIC membership status for new and/or developing internship programs and non-member internship programs that wish to become APPIC members but have fewer than two interns currently on site. Programs may apply for Provisional Membership beginning in the Spring of 2020 if they meet all APPIC membership criteria except the requirement to have a minimum of two interns “on site and in training.” Additional information about Provisional Membership is available at this link: https://www.appic.org/Joining-APPIC/Provisional-Membership.

For the 2020 APPIC Match and PMVS, non-member internship programs that have not reached their limitations on eligibility (as described below) will be permitted to participate as they have in recent years. However, effective with the 2021 Match and PMVS, non-member programs will not be eligible to participate until they become Full or Provisional APPIC Members. Beginning with the 2021 Match, Provisional Membership will replace the current mechanism for non-APPIC member programs to access the Match and Post-Match Vacancy Service.

The remainder of this page provides information about the 2020 Match and PMVS participation by non-members.

Eligibility Requirements for Non-Members for the 2020 Match


 Due to APPIC’s commitment to assuring that internships participating in the Match and PMVS are of high quality, APPIC has established a set of minimum requirements that non-member internship programs must meet in order to participate. When registering for the 2020 Match, the Training Director must certify that the non-member program meets the following criteria:

  1. The psychology internship is an organized training program, with a defined curriculum, that provides interns with a planned sequence of training experiences. The primary focus and purpose is assuring breadth and quality of training. The internship has a written statement that provides a clear description of the nature of the training program and is made available to prospective interns.

  2. The internship program has a clearly designated doctoral level staff psychologist who is responsible for the integrity and quality of the training program. This person is actively licensed, certified, or registered by the Board of Examiners in the jurisdiction where the program exists, and is present at the training facility for a minimum of 20 hours per week.

  3. Regularly scheduled individual supervision is provided by one or more doctoral level licensed psychologists, at a ratio of no less than one hour of supervision for every 20 internship hours.

  4. The internship provides training in a range of psychological assessment and intervention activities conducted directly with recipients of psychological services.

  5. The internship must provide at least two hours per week in didactic activities such as case conferences, seminars, in-service training, or grand rounds.

  6. Internship training is at the post-clerkship, post-practicum, and post-externship level, and precedes the granting of the doctoral degree.

  7. The internship agency has a minimum of two internship positions at the doctoral level of training. These interns must be at least half-time (i.e., 20 hours per week).

  8. The internship experience (minimum 1500 hours) must be completed in no less than 9 months and no more than 24 months. Only school psychology programs will be allowed to participate in the Match with 1500 hours or 9-10 month internships.

  9. The internship program provides training that meets the requirements for licensure eligibility in the state, province, territory, or jurisdiction in which it is located.

  10. At least twice a year the internship program conducts formal written evaluations of each trainee's performance.

  11. A stipend is paid that is reasonable for the institutional and regional context and stated clearly in advance.
Effective with the 2021 APPIC Match/PMVS, non-member programs will not be eligible to participate until they become Full or Provisional APPIC Members.

Participation Limit for Non-Members


 In general, internship programs that participate in the APPIC Match and PMVS must meet APPIC membership criteria and be members of APPIC. However, in order to support the development of new internship programs, the Board currently provides non-APPIC internship programs with a grace period, allowing them to participate in the Match and PMVS for a limited time while in the process of becoming members. As noted above, this grace period is only valid through and including the 2020 APPIC Match/PMVS. Beginning with the 2021 Match, programs must be Full or Provisional APPIC Members to access the Match and Post-Match Vacancy Service.

Internship programs that are not APPIC members and that meet the eligibility criteria described above may participate in the APPIC Match and/or PMVS for a maximum of two years as non-members, with the following exceptions to the two-year limitation:

  1. This two-year limitation does not apply to non-member programs that are members of CCPPP, the Canadian Council of Programs in Professional Psychology.

  2. Programs that have reached their two-year participation limit may not participate in the 2020 APPIC Match or PMVS unless they submit an application for Full APPIC membership during the Fall, 2019 membership cycle (i.e., by September 1, 2019*). Sites are eligible for this exception only once. More details are provided in a separate section, below.

  3. Programs that have reached their two-year participation limit and that don’t qualify for APPIC Membership solely because they don’t meet the criteria for having two interns on site and in training may request an exception to the two-year limit for the 2020 Match and PMVS. Sites will only be considered for this exception if they meet all of the following requirements: (a) the program currently meets all other APPIC membership criteria and would have previously submitted a membership application had they met the requirement for two interns on site, (b) the program will be offering a minimum of two positions in the 2020 Match and therefore would fulfill all membership criteria if both positions were filled, and (c) if the program successfully fills both positions for the 2020-2021 training year, the program will submit an APPIC membership application by April 1, 2020 (the application will be reviewed during the Fall 2020 APPIC membership review cycle, once the 2020-2021 interns are on site).

    This one-time exception is only valid for the 2020 APPIC Match and PMVS. To request an exception, please contact Dr. Greg Keilin at gkeilin@mail.utexas.edu.

Participation in the APPIC Match and/or PMVS within the same selection year constitutes one year of participation.

Please note that the two-year grace period for non-member participation expires for all programs at the conclusion of the 2020 APPIC Match and PMVS. Thus, sites that previously participated in the APPIC Match or PMVS and have one year of non-member eligibility remaining may only use it for the 2020 Match/PMVS. Beginning with the 2021 APPIC Match and PMVS, all participating programs must be Full or Provisional APPIC Members.

Following is a summary of the eligibility rules for the 2020 APPIC Match and PMVS for non-members based on previous participation:

  • IF YOUR SITE HAS NEVER BEFORE PARTICIPATED IN THE APPIC MATCH/PMVS: Your site may participate as a non-member in the 2020 APPIC Match/PMVS if you meet the criteria outlined in these policies. Effective with the 2021 Match/PMVS, your site must be a Full or Provisional APPIC Member in order to participate.

  • IF YOUR SITE HAS PARTICIPATED EXACTLY ONCE BEFORE: Your site may use its second year of non-member eligibility by participating in the 2020 APPIC Match/PMVS. Programs that choose not to use their second year of eligibility for the 2020 APPIC Match/PMVS will not be permitted to use it in a future year. Effective with the 2021 Match/PMVS, your site must be a Full or Provisional APPIC Member in order to participate.

  • IF YOUR SITE HAS PREVIOUSLY PARTICIPATED EXACTLY TWICE BEFORE: Your site is not eligible to participate in the 2020 APPIC Match or PMVS unless your site meets one of the three criteria outlined above under Participation Limit for Non-Members.

  • IF YOUR SITE HAS PREVIOUSLY PARTICIPATED THREE TIMES: Your site is not eligible to participate in the 2020 APPIC Match or PMVS, unless your program is a CCPPP member.

Please note that participation in the APPIC Match and PMVS by non-members of APPIC is a courtesy extended by the APPIC Board of Directors, and the Board may revoke that participation at any time.

For Sites That Plan to Apply for Full APPIC Membership by September 1, 2019*


If you apply for Full APPIC membership during the fall membership cycle (i.e., by September 1, 2019*) and your site has not participated in the Match or PMVS for three years as a non-member, APPIC policies require you to register for and participate in the 2020 APPIC Match and to accept internship applications via the AAPI Online service (see below). To register for the Match you must complete the online registration process and pay the non-refundable Match fee of $295 USD to National Matching Services Inc. (NMS). Your APPIC membership application will not be processed by APPIC until your site has registered and paid to participate in the Match. Please note that the membership application fee paid to APPIC is separate from the fee you are required to pay to register for the Match.

*APPIC is currently transitioning its Fall membership application deadline from September 1 to August 1. In this transition year, APPIC will continue to accept Fall membership applications through September 1, 2019.

Important Points about Participation in the APPIC Match and Post-Match Vacancy Service


  1. An internship program's accreditation and/or APPIC membership status is an important factor for students in choosing where to apply. Given that students often know little about the accreditation process, and given that many sites underestimate the amount of time that it takes to achieve accreditation or APPIC membership, it is vitally important that statements about accreditation and APPIC membership are as clear and unambiguous as possible in order to minimize the likelihood of misunderstandings.

    APPIC established a "Policy on Public Statements about Accreditation and APPIC Membership" that outlines important requirements for programs that have not yet achieved accreditation and/or APPIC membership. Please review this policy carefully and ensure that your program follows these requirements. Please feel free to contact APPIC if you have any questions about this policy.

  2. Please note that participation in Phase I of the 2020 APPIC Match as a non-member does not provide effective advertising for your internship program. You will not be listed in the APPIC Directory, as such listings are reserved for APPIC members. Furthermore, while you will be included in the “List of Participating Internships” on the Match web site, most applicants do not use this list to identify programs of interest for Phase I of the Match. Thus, during Phase I, you will need to use other methods of advertising (e.g., contacting the DCTs of nearby doctoral programs) to let potential applicants know about your program.

  3. While your program may have little visibility to applicants during Phase I of the Match, your program will have more visibility during Phase II. If you don't fill all of your positions in Phase I, your program will be included on the "List of Available Positions" for Phase II, which applicants use to determine which positions are still available. Thus, non-member programs may find that they receive more applications in Phase II than during Phase I.

  4. Non-member sites that participate in the APPIC Match are required to use APPIC's AAPI Online service. The AAPI Online is a centralized application service that allows applicants to complete a standardized internship application and to submit their applications to internship programs electronically via the internet. As an APPIC Match participant, you are required to accept applications via the AAPI Online, and there is no additional fee to you to use that service (other than the $295 USD non-member Match fee described below). Information about the AAPI Online is available on the APPIC web site at appic.org.

  5. It is very strongly recommended that ALL non-member programs that are eligible for Provisional Membership apply as soon as that opportunity becomes available (in the Spring of 2020, application deadline of 4/1/20) rather than waiting to apply for Full Membership in the Fall of 2020. Provisional Membership will allow your program to be listed in the APPIC Directory Online much sooner, and applying prior to the April deadline will minimize risk of delay in your registration for the 2021 Match. As a Provisional Member, once you have an internship class of at least two interns “on site and in training,” it should be a simple process to transition to Full APPIC Membership.

Getting Started


 If you wish to participate in Phase I and/or Phase II of the 2020 APPIC Match, you must register for the Match online and pay the non-member registration fee to National Matching Services Inc. Registration occurs via completion of an online registration process and paying the non-refundable Match fee of $295 USD to National Matching Services Inc. (NMS). Registering for the Match also allows you to use the APPIC PMVS, if needed, at no extra cost once both Phases of the Match are completed. For information about registering for the Match, please contact NMS at 800-461-6322 or psychint@natmatch.com.

If you don't register for the APPIC Match but wish to participate in the APPIC PMVS (which operates between March 23, 2020 and October 31, 2020), please contact the APPIC Central Office at (832) 284-4080 or appic@appic.org to request an application. You may participate in the PMVS once APPIC has received the completed application and the PMVS participation fee of $295 USD.

Additional Information


Here is some information about the Match and about APPIC that you may find useful:

  1. Information about becoming an APPIC member is available on the APPIC web site at appic.org, including membership criteria and application materials. Please feel free to contact APPIC if you have any questions about the membership process.

  2. Extensive information about the APPIC Match may be found on the following web sites:



    Match Web Site: natmatch.com/psychint

    APPIC Web Site: appic.org

  3. We strongly suggest that you subscribe to the APPIC e-mail list, MATCH-NEWS. This list provides news and information about the APPIC Match, and is an extremely valuable resource for Training Directors and applicants. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to:



    subscribe-match-news@lyris.appic.org

    You will subsequently receive an e-mail message (with the subject line "Your confirmation is needed") that contains instructions for you to follow in order to confirm your subscription. Simply follow those instructions and you will soon receive a "Welcome" e-mail in response. This "Welcome" e-mail confirms that you are successfully subscribed to the list (please note that you are NOT subscribed to the list until you have received the "Welcome" e-mail).

    PLEASE NOTE: If your e-mail program uses "Spam" or "Junk Mail" filtering, it is possible that the confirmation message from the APPIC server will be automatically redirected to your "Junk Mail" folder without your knowledge. If you do not receive a confirmation message in your Inbox, you should check your "Spam" or "Junk Mail" folder to see if the message is there. If your e-mail program does use filtering, you should instruct it to accept all e-mail from APPIC's e-mail list server.

  4. The APPIC Board of Directors has established a mentorship program with the goal of facilitating the growth and development of new internship programs. If you wish to find out more information about this mentorship opportunity, or if you would like to be assigned a mentor, please complete and submit a New Training Director Mentor Request Form available on the APPIC site at appic.org - select the pull-down menu for "Joining APPIC" then choose "Request a Mentor".

We appreciate your interest and participation in the APPIC Match and look forward to a strong working relationship in the future. If you have any questions or concerns, or if we can provide any additional assistance, please feel free to contact the APPIC Match Coordinator, Dr. Greg Keilin, at gkeilin@mail.utexas.edu or (512) 410-0002. Alternatively, for questions about the APPIC Match you may contact National Matching Services Inc. by e-mail at psychint@natmatch.com or by phone at (800) 461-6322.