Federal

DOJ Pathways Internship Program - Bureau of Prisons (Psychology Student Trainee )

Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System Β· Department of Justice
πŸ“ El Reno, Oklahoma GL-07 $57,188 - $72,328/yr
Posted: Apr 7, 2026 Deadline: Apr 14, 2026 (Closes in 6 days days left)

About This Position

Corrections professionals who foster a humane and secure environment and ensure public safety by preparing individuals for successful reentry into our communities.

Qualifications

To be considered for the position, you must meet the following: Applicants must be current students pursuing a degree or certificate in a qualifying educational institution with an overall GPA of 2.5 or higher AND maintain at least a half time or full time course load. AND Completion of 1 full academic year of graduate level education; or Eligibility under the Superior Academic Achievement Provision and completion of a bachelor's degree in an appropriate field. One full academic year of undergraduate; graduate; vocational; trades; technical or high school education is the number of credit hours determined by the college, university or school to represent 1 year of full-time study.

The high school curriculum must be approved by a State or local governing body. All education beyond high school must be accredited by an accrediting body or organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Special Provisions/or Interns with Previous Related Education or Experience. Previous education and/or experience may be evaluated to determine the highest grade level for which the individual is qualified.

Applicants must provide documentation from the educational institution verifying current enrollment with at least a half time or full time course load. This documentation may be a Current Enrollment Verification Certificate or a statement of current enrollment or acceptance letter (which verifies all of the required information). AND Quality Ranking Factor: A graduate student in clinical or counseling psychology program that is accredited by the American Psychological Association.

NOTE: The above quality ranking factor is preferred. Therefore, applicants who possess the quality ranking factor can be ranked above those who do not, but no candidates can be rated ineligible solely for failure to possess a quality ranking factor. If applicable, credit will be given for paid and unpaid experience. To receive proper credit, you must show the actual time (such as the number of hours worked per week) spent in activities. Your eligibility for consideration will be based on your responses to the questions in the application.

Major Duties

This position is part of the Pathways Internship Program and is located at the Central Office, Regional Office, and or at an institution within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Psychology Student Trainee works in the Psychology Services Department or Branch under the direction of a licensed psychologist. Responsible for assisting in the collection, monitoring, coding, entry, analysis and interpretation of administrative, operational, training and/or research data for various Psychology Services and Treatment Program (PTP) functions.

Assists in preparation and coordination of all phases and aspects of Psychology training such as CENTRA training, seminars, home study materials, teleconferences, Crisis Management training and workshops.

Conditions of Employment

PATHWAYS ELIGIBILITY - To be eligible for appointment to a position in the DOJ Internship Program an individual must: Be accepted for enrollment or enrolled and seeking a degree or certificate in a qualifying educational institution; to include β€œqualifying career or technical education programs” (which may include Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Job Corps, Climate Corps, AmeriCorps, and Peace Corps). Be seeking a degree that is relevant to this position. EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor.

More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline.

Education

See Qualifications Section for education requirements, if applicable. ONLY if education is a requirement/substitution for specialized experience, applicant MUST upload legible transcripts as verification of educational requirement. Transcripts MUST be uploaded and electronically linked from USAJOBS at the time you apply and MUST include identifying information to include School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable).

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, Click Here.

Foreign Education: For information regarding foreign education requirements, please see Foreign Diploma and Credit Recognition at the U.S. Department of Education website: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. Superior Academic Achievement. (S.A.A.) applicants MUST provide a transcript in order to be considered under S.A.A.

S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.

Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies In order to be creditable under this provision, superior academic achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. If you are selected for this position and qualified based on education (i.e. basic education requirement and/or substitution of education), you will be required to provide an OFFICIAL transcript prior to your first day on duty.

How You Will Be Evaluated

Your application will be evaluated and rated under DOJ's Category Rating and Selection Procedures. Based upon your responses to the assessment questions during the application process, your application will be placed into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Applications will be reviewed from the top quality category.

Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement. If you are found qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to the responses you provided on the online assessment.

NOTE: Candidates within the top quality category and who are eligible for veterans preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles. If you are entitled to veterans preference, you should indicate the type of veterans preference you are claiming on your resume. Although veterans preference points are not assigned under the category rating procedures described under "How You Will Be Evaluated", veterans preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-veterans within each category for which they are qualified.

Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher). As noted above, an agency may not select a non-preference eligible in lieu of a preference eligible in the same category unless there are grounds for a passover and the agency has complied with the passover procedures at 5 U.S.C. Β§ 3318(b). What Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities are Required for this Position?

The following Competencies/Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's) are required: Psychological Assessment Intervention Oral Communication You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Additional Information

PATHWAY PROGRAM OVERVIEW: Allows students to be exposed to the work of the Government through Federal internships while pursuing their degree.

This position is being filled under the Pathways Internship Program which is designed to provide students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions, from high school to graduate level, with paid work opportunities in agencies to explore Federal careers while still in school. The Internship provides managers a ready source of student employees and potential permanent employees upon completion of the program requirements. It also provides the student with work experience directly related to the curriculum studies or career goals.

To learn more, please visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/students-recent-graduates/#url=Program-Fact-Sheets Special Conditions of Employment Section: Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a pre-employment and panel interview, urinalysis, physical and background investigation.

How to Apply

You must apply through the online application system at www.USAJOBS.gov.

Follow the prompts to register, answer a few questions and submit all required documents. Limit your resume to 2 pages. If the only resume(s) received is/are longer than two pages, your application is ineligible for further consideration. Submission of a resume alone is not a complete application.

This position may require the completion of additional forms and/or supplemental materials as described under the Required Documents section. Please carefully review the complete job announcement and the "How to Apply" instructions. Failure to provide the required information and/or materials will result in your application not being considered for employment.

We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches.

Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. USAJOBS Help Center - How to add a resume to your profile Claiming Veterans Preference? If yes, you MUST claim preference on-line during the application process and upload documentation to support preference claimed.

Failure to claim Veterans Preference or provide supporting documentation may result in you not receiving appropriate consideration during the assessment process. Required supporting documentation must be electronically uploaded or transferred from USAJOBS (uploaded). All required supporting documentation MUST be received by the Consolidated Staffing Unit by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

You MUST include the vacancy announcement number on your supporting documentation. Supporting documentation for announcements with an application limitation MUST be uploaded the same day you apply, as these positions may close earlier than stated in the announcement. Paper applications: If applying online is impossible, please contact the Consolidated Staffing Unit at the telephone number listed below, prior to the closing date of the announcement for the alternate application procedure.

If applicable see Notice for Preference Eligible Veterans Applicants. Contact for Assistance in Applying On-Line: DOJ, Federal Bureau of Prisons Consolidated Staffing Unit 346 Marine Forces Drive Grand Prairie, TX 75051 E-Mail: [email protected] Phone: 972-352-4200

Required Documents

Failure to provide legible required documents and/or follow the prescribed format often results in removal from consideration. If uploading documentation, do not identify/save your documents utilizing a special character such as %, #, @, etc. Documentation should be identified/saved as VA Letter, DD-214, or Transcripts.

Veterans' Preference Documentation: Failure to submit all required documents at the time of application will result in the loss of claimed preference eligibility. DD-214: Veterans MUST provide a DD-214 demonstrating that they have been discharged or released from active duty under honorable conditions (i.e., the individual must have received either an honorable or general discharge). SF-15: If you are a disabled veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, widow/widower of a veteran, the spouse of a disabled veteran or the parent of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit: A completed Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference" AND all required documentation identified on the SF-15.

NOTE: A Department of Veterans Affairs letter must contain the Veteran's Name and Combined Service-Connected Evaluation. For a copy of the most current SF-15, Click Here. If you are on active duty and expect to be discharged or released from active duty service within 120 days, you may submit a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty from the appropriate Branch Personnel Office containing the following information: (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; (2) and the character of service (must be an honorable or general discharge); and (3) any qualifying service/campaign/expeditionary medals.

Resume (limited to 2 pages) must include your name, contact information, and relevant experience (cover letter optional). Experience that would not normally be part of the Federal employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence of qualifying experience (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, Human Resource Manager, SF-52, MOU, etc.). If providing a memorandum, it must follow the format below AND clearly cite the duties performed.

To receive credit for experience, your resume and/or any satisfactory evidence must include: Start date and end date in month/year format (MM/YYYY) AND Number of hours worked per week. College transcript: includes the School Name, Student Name, Degree, and Date Awarded (if applicable).

NOTE: If you are selected, official transcript(s) will be required prior to your first day. SF-50: for proof of prior LEO coverage, if applicable. For more help, visit USAJOBS Help Center - What should I include in my resume? We cannot be held responsible for incompatible software, delays in mail service, applicant application errors, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the DOJ Pathways Internship Program - Bureau of Prisons (Psychology Student Trainee ) position at Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System?
The salary range for this position is $57,188 - $72,328/yr. This is a GL-07 position on the General Schedule pay scale. Actual pay may vary based on locality adjustments.
Where is the DOJ Pathways Internship Program - Bureau of Prisons (Psychology Student Trainee ) job located?
This position is located in El Reno, Oklahoma. This is an on-site position.
What qualifications do I need?
To be considered for the position, you must meet the following: Applicants must be current students pursuing a degree or certificate in a qualifying educational institution with an overall GPA of 2.5 or higher AND maintain at least a half time or full time course load. AND Completion of 1 full academic year of graduate level education; or Eligib...
How do I apply for this position?
Apply through USAJobs.gov by clicking the 'Apply on USAJobs' button. You'll need a USAJobs account, a federal-style resume, and supporting documents. The deadline is Apr 14, 2026.
Is a security clearance required?
No security clearance is required for this position.
What does GL-07 mean?
GL-07 refers to the General Schedule grade level. Higher grades require more experience and offer higher pay. Visit our GS Pay Scale page for full salary tables by grade and locality.
What benefits do federal employees receive?
Federal employees receive comprehensive benefits including health insurance (FEHB), retirement through FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with government matching, paid annual and sick leave, paid parental leave, life insurance, and student loan repayment programs.