Honors Program

UO Psychology Honors Program

If you enjoy research and would like more first-hand experience we invite you to become involved in department research through research assistantships (Psychology 401). You might also consider joining our departmental honors in psychology program.  To be eligible to apply for Psychology's honors program, students must have completed PSY 302 and 303, with a grade of B+ or higher in PSY 303.  The program is full for 2012-2013.

Students in Psychology 401 and honors in psychology students work closely with department researchers.  Honors students obtain valuable experience in designing, carrying out, and writing up a substantial project for the senior honors thesis. Both experiences lead to stronger faculty recommendations for future training.

How to Get Involved in Research as a Research Assistant

Please look at the department directory on our webpage for faculty interests, and on the Psychology Blackboard page for openings for research assistants.  Working in a research lab is good experience and also an excellent way to find a supervisor to advise you on an honor’s thesis. 

How to Apply to the Honors Program

We strongly recommend you first become a research assistant in one of the many research labs in the department (see above).  Faculty or other researchers in the lab may be willing to be your advisor for an honors project once they get to know you as a research assistant.  You will need at least 4 terms to complete the honors project, so be sure to get started as soon as you can!  As long as you still have at least 13 months left at the UO before graduation you can apply to the honors program, but the chances you will be admitted into the program (and that there will be space available for you to register in the required courses) are greater the earlier you apply relative to your graduation term.  To formally apply to the program:

  1. Complete the application form (applications are not being accepted at this time) and turn it in to Cindy Salmon (csalmonatuoregon [dot] edu or 346-4952) in the department’s front office. 
  2. Contact Jennifer Freyd, Honors Program Director (jjfatuoregon [dot] edu) and tell her of your interest.  The Honors Program Director can offer you application advice and eventually will determine whether you are admitted into the program.
  3. Find a psychology faculty member who agrees to serve as your advisor. Most honors students recruit a faculty member as their primary advisor.  However, it is also possible to have a graduate student in the psychology doctoral program or another psychologist affiliated with the department as primary advisor. In this case, you still need a psychology faculty member to sponsor you.  The psychology faculty member must email Jennifer Freyd to confirm their willingness to advise you on the project.  If you are interested in applying but do not know how to find an advisor, we recommend you meet with Jennifer Freyd, Honors Program Director (jjfatuoregon [dot] edu).

How to Complete the Honors Program
If you are admitted into the honors program the next steps for completion are:

  1. Meet with Jennifer Freyd, Honors Program Director (jjfatuoregon [dot] edu).
  2. Register for PSY 412 (Intermediate Data Analysis) which is offered Fall term only.
  3. Register for three consecutive terms in the 1-credit honors seminar (PSY 490-492). Typically you would begin this seminar cycle in the fall term before you graduate.
  4. You will need an advisor and a second reader for the honor’s program. As noted above, one of your  advisors must be a psychology faculty member. You need to have a second reader recruited at least two terms prior to completion of your project. 
  5. Design and complete your honors project. (See our list of prior honors project abstracts). The final version of your paper needs to be approved by your adviser, your second reader, and the honors program director.  There is also a required poster presentation for honors projects each Spring term and a required oral presentation.  These requirements are discussed in detail in the honors program seminar sequence PSY 490-492.

Note for Clark Honor's College (CHC) Students

Some of our psychology honors project students are also in the UO's Clark Honor's College (CHC). The psychology honors project can also double as the CHC senior thesis, so long as both sets of criteria are met.