Psychology Department Combined Honors Program

Application form for the Honors Program.

Undergraduate Program Coordinator:  Tim Snyder

Director of the Honors Program Director:  Prof. Nora Prior

The Psychology Department Honors Program Handbook.

The honors program is intended for exceptional students majoring in either Psychology or Human Development who wish to pursue an intensive year-long program of research. It is designed to give talented Human Development and Psychology undergraduate majors an opportunity to formulate and carry out independent research under the supervision of a member of the Department of Psychology faculty. This year-long program provides an excellent preparation for later graduate work in psychology, sociology, neuroscience, medicine, law, and related fields. (Note that the faculty supervisor or “mentor” of an honors thesis must be a member of the Department of Psychology, and this can include lecturers, senior lecturers, and emeritus faculty.) A faculty member from outside the Department of Psychology can serve as a second (or third when a third member is required by the mentor) committee member, but not as the mentor. 

• Application: this form includes a brief description of intended study.
•  Academic Record in Psychology, Human Development, and other relevant coursework: Although in rare circumstances exceptions can be made, a minimum GPA of 3.7 in Psychology/HD courses is required.

• Previous independent study: Typically, students are expected to have completed 2 semesters of previous independent study or other formal experiences with the proposed mentor, but at least one previous semester of independent study is required. 

  In very rare instances, students may work with faculty outside the Department of Psychology, e.g., members of the Graduate Field who are not department members. When this occurs, a member of the psychology faculty will sign off on the necessary papers as the mentor and assure the department that the study meets the expectations of our students.

• Statistics: Students must have completed at least one semester of statistics. Typically, students take PSYCH 2500, but a list of other statistics courses that can fulfill this requirement is updated regularly by the faculty (see Professor Thomas Cleland’s list of recommended and non-recommended stats courses). This list may be amended as the statistics advisory committee sees fit. 
• Research Methods/Scientific Literacy: Students applying for the Honors program must also have completed a research methods or scientific literacy course. Currently the following courses satisfy this requirement:  
  • HD/PSYCH 2830 - Research Methods in Human Development
  • PSYCH/HD 2930 - Introduction to Data Science for Social Scientists
  • PSYCH 3020, Methods in Neuroscience
  • PSYCH 3240 - Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory
  • HD 4765 - How to Think Like a Scientist
  • BIOG 1500 - Investigative Biology Laboratory
  • COMM 2820 - Research Methods in Communication Studies
  • GOVT 3999 - How Do You Know That?
  • STS 2011 - What is Science? An Intro to the Social Studies of Science and Technology (Under consideration is the possibility that this course, taught by Professor Hobbs, may be able to satisfy either the methods requirement or the statistics requirement, but not both.)
• Faculty Recommendation: The faculty mentor of the student’s honor thesis must support the student's application to the program, which is indicated by signing the Faculty Commitment and Recommendation Form and emailing it to the Honors Program Director along with a completed application form. Admission decisions will usually be made by the director of the honors program within several weeks of receipt of a completed application. 

More information can be found in the full Honors Handbook.