Departmental Honors

Program Requirements - PSYCHOLOGY

The minimum requirements for honors work in Psychology are:

  1. An overall grade point average of 3.5 with a minimum grade point average in Psychology of 3.5 when applying to departmental honors.
  2. Passing Psychology 401, Psychology 402, and Psychology 502 with a grade of B or better.
  3. Submitting an application to the Department Coordinator of the Psychology Department.

To be awarded "Honors in Psychology" each student must complete 20 credit hours of honors courses (including 8 credits of Senior Honors Thesis) within the Department. In addition, each student must attain an overall GPA of 3.5 and a Psychology GPA of 3.5. The student must earn at least a B on the Senior Honors Thesis, and a B- in each honors seminar.

In order to fulfill these requirements:

  1. Students must designate three (of the four) 700 level PSYC courses as honors (PSYC 793 and 795 cannot be designated as honors).
    • A graduate seminar may be taken with the permission of the instructor, the department, and the Graduate School (seniors only).
  2. Each student must complete Psychology 797, the Senior Honors Tutorial, and Psychology 799, Senior Honors Thesis. The Senior Honors Thesis will culminate in a public presentation called The Haslerud Undergraduate Research Conference.

Click here to view the departmental Honors application

You do not have to be enrolled in the University Honors Program (a 32-credit program) to undertake the departmental honors program (a 20-credit program). However, all University Honors Program participants must complete the 20 credit departmental honors program as part of their overall University Honors requirements. You must complete an application for the Psychology departmental honors program even if you are already enrolled in the University Honors Program.

Students enrolled in the honors in major program must still complete all psychology major requirements.

Program Requirements - Neuroscience and Behavior

To earn honors-in-major in Neuroscience and Behavior, a student must:

  • Submit the NSB Honors-in-Major APPLICATION form to the NSB Honors Liaison (should be completed before taking NSB electives for honors credit).
  • Maintain a grade point average of at least 3.5 in major coursework.
  • Take at least three courses for honors credit and achieve at least a B in all of them. These three courses must meet the following criteria:
    • They must be 600- or 700-level.
    • They must fulfill a requirement for the NSB major.
    • At least two must come from the list of NSB electives (not foundation courses).
    • They may not include independent studies, thesis, or other research experience.
    • For each course taken for honors credit, the student will complete separate assignments, such as additional projects, papers, or discussion sections, at the discretion of the instructor.
  • Successfully complete NSB 799H Senior Thesis. The student will enroll in 2-4 NSB 799H credits for two consecutive semesters (for a total of 4-8 credits), with an IA grade given for the first semester.
    • No later than the beginning of the first semester, senior year, each student participating in Senior Thesis will meet with his/her faculty advisor to select a research project. The student will present a written proposal for evaluation.
    • During the year, the student will carry out the experimental portion of his/her research under the tutelage of the advisor. The advisor must be either NSB core or affiliated faculty.
  • Earn a total of at least 16 honors credits. These credits may include both the three courses and the thesis.
  • Email a digital copy of the completed thesis (as one single PDF document) to one of the NSB Honors Liaison by May 10 for May graduates and December 10 for December graduates.
  • Submit the NSB Honors-in-Major VERIFICATION form to the NSB Honors Liaison (should be completed during the beginning of the final semester).

With additional Honors credits and Discovery courses, students can also graduate with Honors in Discovery and/or Interdisciplinary Honors.

If you have questions about your particular honors course of study, please contact the NSB Honors Liaison.

Departmental Honors and Liaisons

University Honors Program