Honors in Psychology

Psychology Honors Courses

In-class Honors credit: The department also offers Honors sections of content and skill psychology courses, such as for PSY 110, 138, and 231. Students can earn Honors credit by completing the Honors section of these courses.

Honors students may also approach faculty about in-class honors projects for psychology courses. These projects have often involved an additional research paper, but can be any project faculty and students agree upon that is in addition to normal course requirements.

Out-of-Class Honors credit: The department and the Honors Program offer a number of ways for students to earn honors credit outside the standard classroom experience. Students can participate in a research apprenticeship or conduct independent research with a faculty member or complete a honors thesis under the guidance of a faculty member.

See the Psychology Honors Courses Web site for more information about specific courses.

Honors Colloquium

The Honors Colloquium is an opportunity for Honors students to present their theses to faculty and students in the department in a public forum. There are two colloquia, during the fall and the spring semesters. In the fall, the Honors Colloquium is held in conjunction with the colloquium for Advanced Research Apprenticeship (PSY 390) students. At the colloquium, students make oral presentations of their honors theses describing the background, methods used, findings, and conclusions of their research. Family members and friends are welcome to attend.

Students who have registered for senior thesis hours will receive the Honors Colloquium Registration Form in the mail or the form can be downloaded. Completed forms should be returned to the department in order to register for the colloquium.

Registration Form (MS Word) or (IPDF)
Click on the link to download either version of the form to the computer's desktop. Both versions of the form should be completed on the computer.

This Microsoft Word form can be saved and sent as an e-mail attachment to the Honors Coordinator. Adobe® Acrobat® is needed to access the IPDF form. If the IPDF version does not download to the computer's desktop, click on Adobe Reader to download a free copy of the software. The PDF form should be printed and submitted to the department in DeGarmo 435.

See the Honors Colloquium Web site for a list of presentations.

Psy Honors Students Describe Their Experiences

I was in the Honors program while I was an undergraduate student at ISU, and it really helped me to prepare for my future. While in the program, I worked in Dr. Marla Reese-Weber’s adolescent development lab for two years. During the first year-and-a-half, I helped three graduate students collect, enter, and analyze data for their master’s theses. At the end of my first year, I presented a poster at the Undergraduate Research Symposium held at ISU. At the end of my second year, I presented a poster with Dr. Reese-Weber and other students at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence in Chicago. In my last semester, I wrote my Honors Thesis, which I presented as a poster at the Undergraduate Research Symposium at ISU and as an oral presentation at the Psychology Department Honors Colloquium. I am a currently a graduate student in the Developmental Psychology program at ISU, and I feel that never would have been able to continue on in my education without the knowledge and mentoring I received as an honor’s student in Dr. Reese-Weber’s lab. The research/presentation experience I received has really helped me to get hands-on experience doing research in psychology, to build an impressive resume, and to develop more as a professional in the field of psychology.
— Derek Herrmann

My experience in the psychology department honors program prepared me in numerous ways for graduate school. I was able to work with Dr. Gary Creasey on adult attachment and Dr. Rocio Rivadeneyra on Latina youth perception of sexual content on television. I worked closely with Dr. Creasey on my honors thesis, which I was able to present at the ISU undergraduate research symposium and also at the psychology department honors colloquium. These experiences have been valuable to me, because I was able to gain more research experience going into my first year of graduate school than many of the other first year students in my program. The honors program prepared me for the rigorous work in graduate school. I am currently attending Alliant International in San Diego, CA working on my PhD in clinical psychology.
— Lena Gustafson

Being involved in the psychology departmental honors program allowed me to expand on work that I began when I was taking PSY 291 (Special Projects: Undergraduate Teaching) and PSY 391 (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Apprenticeship) with Dr. Tom Critchfield. I was lead investigator on my undergraduate honors thesis project, and I experienced how demanding and rewarding the research process is. I ran participants, analyzed data, and presented my honors thesis findings at the Psychology Department Honors Colloquium. These experiences in the honors program helped prepare me for the level of independence that is expected in grad school. I am currently attending the developmental masters' sequence here at ISU.
—- Shauna Summers