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Honors Program

Prerequisite

  • Recommended overall UC San Diego GPA of 3.3 (3.5 transfer GPA for first year transfer students).
  • Grade of B or better in Psyc 60 (or its equivalent).
  • Completion of all lower division major courses is strongly recommended. Contact Psychology Student Affairs Office if work is not complete.

Honors Information Session

We will be holding Honors Information Sessions for the 2016-18 Cohort in both May and October of 2016.

  • Mon. May 2 from 1:30pm-2:30pm in 1507 Mandler Hall
  • Tues. Oct. 11 from 2pm-3pm in 3545 Mandler Hall (the Crick conference room)
  • Wed. Nov. 9 from 9am-10am in 3545 Mandler Hall (the Crick conference room)

Find out more information


Applying to Program

The online application requires the following information-

  • Student information
  • Major GPA and course information
  • Personal Statement: Describe the nature of your interest in psychology and research
  • Supplemental Questions, answer all four
    • Briefly describe your reasons for applying to the psychology honors program
    • What personal and academic strengths do you possess that will contribute to your success in the psychology honors program?
    • What challenges do you foresee yourself facing in the program and what steps will you take to overcome them?
    • What are your future plans/goals after you have completed your undergraduate degree?
    • The personal statement and supplemental questions are limited to 1,000 words each
  • 2 References: at least one must be academic

Deadline is Noon on Friday, November 18, 2016

  • You must be logged into your UCSD email account on the browser you are using to access the application
  • You need to complete the application in one sitting (there is no save and continue at a later time feature)
  • You can submit one application, be sure it's complete and accurate before you hit "submit"
  • The online link will close at Noon on 11/18/16 and we do not accept late applications
  • Hard copies of applications will not be accepted

Online application link (applications are now closed for FA16)

Applications will be reviewed by the undergraduate advisors and Honors Coordinator. Students will be contacted with the final decision during the last week of December prior to the holiday break. Students should not wait to register in Winter courses. If admitted into the program students can change their schedule to enroll in Honors courses.

If you have any questions about the application, please contact Kristi MacKenzie, kmacken@ucsd.edu.


Overview of Program

Junior year

Winter quarter courses:

  • Psyc 110. Junior Honors Research Seminar
  • Psyc 111A. Advanced Statistics and Research Methods

Spring quarter course:

  • Psyc 111B. Advanced Statistics and Research Methods

Senior year

Psyc 194A/B/C (FA, WI, SP). A year-long independent research project under the mentorship of a faculty advisor. This research culminates in a thesis and a poster presentaton during the Spring quarter.

During the Junior/Senior Year

For the B.A. with Honors

At least one laboratory course (Psychology 114, 115A, 115B, 116, 117, 121, 140) or, one Psychology 199 Independent Study (199s, however, do not count as upper division credit towards the major).

For the B.S. with Honors

Because the B.S. degree already requires two research experiences, there is no additional laboratory requirement to participate in the honors program. The 194ABC series fulfills one of the two requirement.

Honors Seminar, Psychology 110

This is a series of lectures where faculty members present their research. Students in Psych 110 prepare themselves for each lecture by reading articles published by the various faculty members. These articles are made available in the form of a reader. The course will allow personal contact with faculty and enable students to discuss the future senior thesis project with potential supervisors. The grade for Psych 110 is based on participation and several short papers.

Honors Thesis Courses, Psychology 194 ABC

It is important to identify a thesis advisor during or after Psych 110. It is possible to do the project outside UC San Diego, i.e., in the VA or Children Hospital, etc. The sponsor in this case would be the program coordinator. In the introductory meeting, the program coordinator will give guidance regarding the whole procedure of Psych 194 A,B,C. Briefly: the first quarter is reserved for setting up the research project and writing of the research proposal. The proposal must be handed in at the end of the quarter and will be graded with a letter grade. The second quarter is dedicated to data collection and analysis. The grade for this course will be IP (in progress). It will change to a letter grade upon completion of the project at the end of the third quarter. The thesis will be read by student's advisor, an outside faculty member in student's area of research, and the program coordinator. He will assist students with setting up the poster-session at the end of the quarter, to which students' instructors, friends, and families are invited. At this session students will answer questions regarding their research project.

The Psychology Student Affairs Office carries copies of Honors theses from past years. Students are welcome to study what other honors students have worked on and what methods they employed for research and written presentation.

Graduating with Psychology Honors

Successful completion of the Psychology Honors program requires the following:

  • Grade of at least an A- in the Psychology 194 series
  • Minimum GPA of 3.5 in the upper division courses taken for the major
  • 8-12 units of supervised research (PSYC 194 A/B/C)
  • Public presentation of Honors project (Honors Poster Session)
  • Submission of final thesis that is considered “honors worthy” by Faculty Mentor and Honors Faculty Advisor

Honors Program Coordinator:

Dr. Gail Heyman

The Honors Program is strongly recommended for all students interested in graduate school. For more information regarding the Honors Program, contact an undergraduate advisor at the Psychology Student Affairs Office.