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
Psychology majors may join this program if they have a UW overall grade point average of 3.50 or above. Students who are not yet in the major, but intend to major in psychology may be elgible to attend the PSYCH 350 class in the autumn quarter, but will not officially be accepted into the program until they are admitted into the psychology major. Likewise, transfer students who start at the UW in the autumn quarter and do not have a UW overall GPA yet, will be elgible to attend the PSYCH 350 class, with permission by the instructor, and will be able to be accepted into the program once they have a UW overall GPA of a 3.50 or above and have been admitted to the psychology major.
Admissions Procedure
Students who are interested in the honors program and wish to submit an application should contact Carrie Perrin in the Psychology Advising Office, at cyoung@uw.edu. Carrie will send applications to interested students during spring quarters.
Application Deadline
The expected deadline to submit a completed Honors Program application to be considered for the autumn 2023 incoming cohort is June 10, 2023.