Honors Program
Honors College: http://www.honors.arizona.edu
Specific Requirements for Honors in Psychology
The Psychology Department requires that students who plan to graduate with Honors in Psychology fulfill the following requirements. The courses can be applied toward the Honors College requirements and toward the credits needed for a psychology major. All of the courses below are Writing Emphasis courses.
1. The Honors Proseminar: PSY 396H (3 units). PSY 396H is taken in the third year of study and only offered in the Fall semesters. Students will need to complete PSY 290A before this course or take it concurrently in the same semester to be able to enroll in the class. PSY 396H is an introduction to the critical and analytical thinking required for conducting research. During the semester, different faculty members are invited to speak to the class about their research. Therefore, the course serves as an introduction to a number of the faculty and their research. Readings include research articles published by faculty members and their colleagues. Students are encouraged to learn to think like research scientists and to use this course to help them focus on a topic for their honors thesis (see below). At the end of PSY 396H, some students will be invited to do a research study for their honors thesis. (Other students will do a literature review paper; see below, PSY 498H).
**It is recommended that students volunteer in one or two laboratories prior to taking this course so that they have hands on experience working in a lab and are better equipped to take on a research study for their thesis.**
2. Honors Thesis: PSY 498H (6 units). Students enroll in PSY 498H for two semesters in their Senior year while completing their thesis. It is a requirement of the honors college that the 6 units be distributed over two semesters. Students are responsible for identifying a core or joint-appointed Psychology faculty member who will serve as their thesis advisor. Students should aim to find an advisor by the end of the fall semester of their junior year (i.e., by the end of PSY 396H).
The thesis in psychology can take one of two forms:
(1) An American Psychological Association research report on a study or an experiment conducted under the supervision of a core faculty member or a joint-appointed Psychology Department faculty member. Because of heavy demand, there are not enough spaces in laboratories for all honors students to do an experiment for their thesis. It is recommended that students interested in this route begin to volunteer in laboratories as early in their undergraduate careers as possible so that by the time they are ready to do their thesis they have found a place in a laboratory. For those students who choose this option and who find a place in a laboratory, it is best begin their thesis research in the second semester of their junior year.
(2) A formal literature review written at a depth equivalent to a point between a large undergraduate research paper and a Master's thesis. The thesis should synthesize and build upon existing scholarship and also further the discipline's understanding of the subject in some way.
3. Thesis Research Presentation: Presentation of the thesis research occurs at an Honors Research Forum held in April of the Spring semester before graduation. Students should contact the honors advisor (Dr. Mehl) in January of the year they plan to graduate. During the Research Forum, students present posters on their honors thesis.
Questions?
Please contact the Psychology Honors Advisor
Dr. Matthias Mehl
mehl@u.arizona.edu
Add yourself to the honors email list by sending an email to list@list.arizona.edu In the body of your email put Subscribe psychonors first name last name. Leave the subject line blank.