Honors in Psychology

What is the Psychology Honors Program?

Do you enjoy conducting psychological research? When you read your textbooks or attend psychology classes, do you think of new research questions that you’d like to address? The Psychology Honors Program provides an opportunity for senior psychology majors to explore a research topic in detail under the guidance of a faculty member. In addition, participants discuss current psychological issues and research questions with other outstanding students.

The Psychology Honors Program is a yearlong program for psychology majors in their final year at Northwestern. The program consists of three components:

  1. Completion of a yearlong, empirical research project and a written final report, which typically takes the form of an APA style research article.
  2. Participation in the Honors Seminar during the Fall Quarter. Students in the seminar, discuss research topics pertinent to designing and conducting empirical research studies.  Each student also presents his or her research plans to the other members of the Psychology Honors Program, and receives feedback on the project.
  3. Preparation of a preliminary research report by the end of Fall Quarter. This report typically consists of a draft of the introduction and method sections for the final research article.

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What is the relation between the Psychology Honors Program and the Weinberg College Honors Recognition (e.g., graduating cum laude)?

Graduating with Honors can mean two different things --College Honors and Departmental Honors. Students receive  College Honors based solely on GPA. Whether or not you complete an honors project in psychology, you will be listed as a top-achieving student by Weinberg College if your GPA is high enough. In contrast, GPA is only one of the criteria for graduating with Departmental Honors. You do need a GPA of 3.5 to receive Departmental Honors, but the primary requirement is successful completion of the honors project.

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How are students selected to participate in the Psychology Honors Program?

Enrollment in honors is by invitation only. Interested students submit applications in spring of their junior year, and students are then invited to participate based on the following criteria:

  1. Level of achievement – an overall GPA of 3.5 is required, and many invited students will have substantially higher GPA's
  2. Clear motivation for participation in all activities of the Psychology Honors Program – including completion of an honors project – as evidenced by the application. Prior completion of Psych 205-Research Methods is required, and prior participation in research for course credit in Psych 399 and/or 397 is recommended.
  3. Faculty nominations and recommendations.

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How can a student apply to participate in the Psychology Honors Program?

Students interested in participating in the Psychology Honors Program submit applications in spring of their junior year.  You can find the honors application online. All application materials should be submitted online by April 18, 2008.  Please follow the instructions closely.  Students selected for honors will be notified by the director of the Psychology Honors Program.

The Psychology Honors Program is an exciting, intellectually challenging, and worthwhile experience.  However, while participating in the honors program is usually a wonderful opportunity, it is not for everyone. You really have to enjoy psychological research and be willing to work hard on your project throughout the academic year. Before you apply to the program, think about whether you will have the time and the motivation to complete a project of this magnitude. Please feel free to talk with the honors coordinator (currently David Uttal, duttal@northwestern.edu), your department adviser, or Joan Linsenmeier (j-linsenmeier@northwestern.edu) if you have questions.