Honors Research Program for Concentrators in Psychology or Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science

psych.honors@umich.edu


Students admitted to the Honors Research Program must meet these requirements in order to be awarded the “honors” designation in the concentration for the college B.A. or B.S. degree.

• Meet all concentration requirements for graduation.

  To complete your Senior Concentration Release make an appointment with the Psychology Honors Coordinator. You will then submit this form to the LSA Honors Office, 1330 Mason Hall.
  
  

• Maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.4 (effective September 1, 2006) through graduation.
  (This is a requirement set by the College of LSA for honors degrees)
  
  
• Participate in two terms of honors research independent study (Senior Honors Research I and II).

  For a B.A. Degree in Psychology: Psychology 425 and Psychology 427.
  For a B.S. Degree in Psychology: Psychology 424 and Psychology 426.
  For a B.S. Degree in Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science: Psychology 424 and Psychology 426.

  These courses are 2-4 credits per term, are graded, and may count towards the required concentration hours. The honors courses also satisfy either the Experiental (Psychology) or Research-based (BBCS) laboratory course requirement for concentrators. Psychology 426 and 427 can satisfy the college's Upper Level Writing Requirement.
  
  

• Participate in the Annual Research Forum

  All Psychology Honors students present their research at the Psychology Research Forum. The Research Forum provides a great opportunity for you to give a professional presentation of your thesis research, as well as a chance to win a Best Poster award. All Honors students are required to present a poster at the Research Forum, as your work represents some of the best undergraduate research projects in our department!
  
  

• Complete a thesis describing an original empirical project in collaboration with a faculty mentor.

  Theses typically report a single empirical study, and are written in a style appropriate for submission to a scientific journal. The thesis is typically 30-40 double spaced pages, and must conform to standard American Psychological Association (APA) format. One hard copy and one electronic copy of the thesis and a submission form (available on-line) must be submitted by one of the submission dates (April 1, August 1 or December 1).

  Past theses are bound annually and are available for viewing in the Psychology Student Academic Affairs Office, 1343 East Hall.

• Meet the submission deadline for graduation.

  Students must meet a submission deadline of April 1, August 1 or December 1, during the term of graduation. You MUST meet this deadline in order to be reviewed for graduation in the term. If you cannot meet it, you may postpone the date of graduation until the following term in order to allow the honors evaluation to be completed and included with your degree. An honors designation cannot be added to a degree already awarded by the college.
  
  

• Receive a final thesis evaluation of “honors” from the faculty review committee.

  Theses are evaluated by three faculty readers: the mentor, an outside reader (a faculty member not involved in the research project), and a faculty representative of the Honors Program. Only 5% of theses are awarded degrees "with high honors," and only 1% "with highest honors." The vast majority of theses result in a designation of "with honors." You will be notified by email when the evaluation is completed and reported to the College.

If you have further questions, please contact:


Dr. Denise Sekaquaptewa
Director, Honors Research Program
3040 East Hall
(734)763-0210
psych.honors@umich.edu

OR

Kristi MacKenzie
Academic Advisor & Honors Program Coordinator
Psychology Student Academic Affairs Office
1343 East Hall
(734) 764-2580
psych.honors@umich.edu