You likely are starting your MS in Child and Adolescent Development because you currently work with children and adolescents and want to develop your skills and knowledge further, or are interested in pursuing work in the arena of child and adolescent development. As you move through your degree program, there will be a culminating project, which may be either an internship or capstone. This assignment will allow you to begin to think about your areas of interest.
Your task this week is to prepare a letter of interest for an internship or a research project in an area of child and adolescent development. Begin by reflecting upon the various jobs and careers you may pursue with your MS in Child and Adolescent Development. You may want to include why this field interests you and what experiences or knowledge you may have by the time you would be writing this letter in the future.
Assume you are applying for an internship in an area related to children and/or adolescents that is of interest to you or that you are applying to work in a field of research.
- Identify a community organization, business, public agency, research institution, or other type of organization of interest to you in pursuing a possible internship or research opportunity related to child and adolescent development.
- Next, prepare a statement of interest in which you address the following points:
- Why are you interested in child and adolescent development?
- What theories and principles in the field of child and adolescent development do you want to explore further?
- How do you see yourself contributing to the field of child and adolescent development?
- How do you envision an internship or research opportunity with your selected organization/setting/agency/institution assisting you in building your expertise in child and adolescent development?
To complete the assignment, you have two options:
Option 1– Schedule a Skype session with your professor during the first week of the class. During that session, share your thoughts, ideas, and dreams with the professor (be sure to discuss all three questions above). Complete your readings prior to meeting with your professor so you can discuss them and ask any questions you have about the articles. Then, write up a brief summary of your Skype discussion and submit it. Unless you have obtained permission to submit written responses, be sure to contact your professor in a timely manner to schedule a time to complete assignment 1 via Skype prior to the Sunday due date.
Option 2– If a Skype session(the preferred option)is not possible (e.g., scheduling conflicts, etc.), a second option for completion of the assignment for this week is to write your responses to the areas outlined above, and then submit them below.
Using your NCU e-mail account, please send your professor an email indicating which option you have chosen in order to complete this assignment as early in the first week as possible. If there are issues with your NCU email account, please contact tech support to resolve them so that you can send this message to your instructor.
Length: 1-2 pages
Your paper should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. Be sure to adhere to Northcentral University's Academic Integrity Policy.