Under the direction of faculty director Dr. Cheryl Kaiser, the Psychology Honors program offers a challenging educational experience with the opportunity for significant research and independent study. It requires a two year commitment and students join the honors program autumn quarter of their junior year. The emphasis of the program is intensive, sustained library and laboratory research supervised by a faculty advisor and culminating in a senior thesis. Students who participate in the Psychology honors program graduate with a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in Psychology.
What does the program involve?
During the autumn quarter of the first year, students will be registered for PSYCH 350, taught by Dr. Kaiser. At the end of that first quarter, if students have matched with a research lab/faculty advisor and wish to continue in the program they will be registered for PSYCH 450 once during the first year and once again during the second year. The first year culminates with students writing a research proposal for independent work that will be carried out under the direction of their faculty advisor during the second year of the program.
During the second year of the program, students work on their independent research projects under the direction of their faculty advisor. They collect data, analyze the results, and write an APA style paper reporting their results (Senior Honors Paper). During spring quarter, graduating seniors present their research to faculty and fellow students by participating in the Psychology Honors Poster Session, usually held in late May.
Students must maintain a 3.50 GPA and complete at least ten credits of Psychology 498 and/or 499 which are taken in conjunction with their independent research over the course of their time in the program.
Admission Requirements
To be eligible for admission to the honors program a student must meet three criteria: 1) they must have an overall UW grade point average of 3.50 or higher at the end of fall quarter during which they are enrolled in PSYCH 350; 2) they must be a current UW-Seattle psychology major prior to registering for PSYCH 350 (some exceptions may be made for new transfer students who enrolled in PSYCH 350 during their first quarter); and, 3) they must have successfully matched with a faculty mentor by the end of that first quarter.
Admissions Procedure
Students who are interested in the honors program and wish to submit an application should contact Cy Delgado in the Psychology Advising Office, at delgadoc@uw.edu. Cy will send applications to interested students during spring quarter.
Application Deadline
The deadline to submit a completed Honors Program application for consideration in the autumn 2025 incoming cohort is Friday, June 6, 2025.