The Psychology Department invites applicants for our Honors Program. In this program, our top students conduct an independent research project under the supervision of a Psychology faculty sponsor. The Honors Program is a 3-quarter sequence of courses, beginning with Psychology 597 (Honors Seminar) and culminating with Psychology 598A and 598B (Honors Project). Students planning to pursue graduate training in Psychology are strongly encouraged to apply.
Students must meet the following requirements to be considered for admission to the Honors Program:
a) at least a 3.5 GPA in the major;
b) an overall GPA of 3.25 or better;
c) completion of PSYC 311 (Introduction to Experimental Psychology) with a "B" or better prior to enrollment in the Honors Program; and
d) completion of the Application for Honors Program in Psychology, which includes a statement of purpose and a writing sample.
To receive honors in psychology at graduation, a student must complete the year-long honors project. Each student entering the Honors Program must have a faculty sponsor--someone who is willing to advise, work with, and supervise the student on his or her honors project.
Students in the Honors Program must enroll in a 3-quarter sequence of courses, consisting of the following:
FALL QUARTER - Psyc 597 (Honors Seminar): In the first quarter, students meet weekly in a classroom setting to discuss and formalize their projects. At the end of the first quarter, students will submit a detailed proposal of their honors project completed in consultation with their faculty honors mentor. The seminar also provides an opportunity to discuss other matters of interest to honors students, especially issues related to applying to graduate school (4 units).
WINTER QUARTER - (Psyc 598A) and SPRING QUARTER - (Psyc 598B): In the final two quarters, students enroll in individual study directly with their faculty mentor. While no formal classes are held during these two quarters, students conduct and complete their honors project during this time (2 units each quarter).
By the end of the program, students will receive a total of 8 Units for the year-long Honors Program. Only 4 units will count towards the 16 units in upper-division psychology electives.
A student successfully completes the Honors Program with the completion of his or her honors project and a written Honors Thesis on the project. You present your findings at the Psychology Research Symposium. Upon completion of the program and meeting all other requirements noted above, the student will graduate with Honors in Psychology.
Prospective honor students are strongly encouraged to begin planning for the honors program no later than the spring quarter prior to their Senior year. Prospective applicants should contact Dr. Charles Hoffman at choffman@csusb.edu and visit the department office (SB-425) to retrieve an application.
Download Application
Note: Some of the files contained on this page require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. If you need the reader, you can Download Adobe Reader for free.
