Honors Program Requirements
Department of Psychology

The Psychology Department Honors Program typically encompasses the junior and senior undergraduate years. Qualified sophomores may be admitted by special permission. The best time to apply to the program is during the first semester of the junior year.

The qualifications necessary for admission into the Honors Program are:

A. Psychology Major.

B. Sophomore, junior, or first-semester senior.

C. Have an overall GPA of at least 3.25 and a Psychology GPA of 3.5 or better.

The requirements that must be fulfilled to graduate with departmental honors are:

A. Admitted to the Honors Program.

B. Enrolled in the Senior Honor Seminar (PSYC 460) for two semesters.

C. Complete an honors thesis which must be approved by the student's research
supervisor, the director of the Honors Program, and a third faculty reader.

D. Present the thesis at the Honors Seminar.

E. Maintain the GPA minimums to the time of graduation.

The requirements that must be fulfilled to receive an 'A' in PSYC 460:

A. Attendance at all meetings

Suggestions for successful completion of an honors project:

A. Basic courses: PYSC 300 (Statistics), 310 (Methodology)

B. Advanced courses: PSYC 618/620/622 (Advanced Methodology and lab)

C. Independent study (PSYC 480) prior to enrolling in Honors (PSYC 460)

The student's honors thesis should be based upon a research study conducted under the supervision of a faculty member (not a graduate student). Anyone with a regular, joint, or courtesy faculty appointment in the Department of Psychology may serve as research supervisor for an honors student, and the honors student is responsible for forming an association with faculty member. The idea for the research upon which the thesis is based does not have to originate from the student alone; the research can be based upon an idea reached jointly by the honors student and the faculty advisor. The honors thesis cannot be based on research conducted for any other purpose (e.g., for someone else's masters thesis or dissertation). Applications to the Honors program are available in the Undergraduate Office (426C Fraser). Direct any questions to Dr. Paul Atchley, Director of the Honors Program.

Rev. 9/00