In addition to the clinical internship, doctoral students are required to complete a research internship. The research internship is a half-day 32-week internship. Research advisers works closely with students to develop and implement the research internship.

Students can choose from three options:

• Affiliate with an ongoing funded research project relevant to social work.
• Collaborate with a Smith College School for Social Work faculty member on the faculty member's existing research project.
• Propose a student-generated project to be supervised by a qualified faculty member.

A written proposal of the intended research internship and a written summary and reflection of its outcome are both required components of the successful completion of this requirement.

On rare occasions, students may petition for a waiver of the Research Internship requirement based on prior research experiences.