What does obtaining honors in psychology involve?
- Completion of all university honors requirements
- HON 301 (1 credit pass/fail)
- HON 401 (4 credits)
- HON 402 (2 credits)
- minimum GPA of 3.3 (3.5 in the field of honors)
- Development of a novel research hypothesis (i.e., not previously conducted) that would make a contribution to the psychological literature
- A written project proposal outlining the study rationale, proposed method, and hypothesized results
- Completion of an oral defense of the proposed research (attended by the honors committee – thesis advisor and two secondary faculty readers)
- Submission and acceptance of the research by the Oglethorpe Internal Review Board (IRB)
- Data collection
- Data analysis using SPSS
- A final thesis paper outlining the background literature, study rationale, method, results, and discussion
- Completion of an oral defense of the completed research (attended by the honors committee – thesis advisor and two secondary faculty readers)
See this information in a printable PDF.
Complete an Application for Honors in Psychology
Timeline for Honors in Psychology
Junior Year
Fall:
-
Secure a thesis supervisor
-
Complete a Psychology Department Application for Honors
- Take HON 301 (can be taken in the Fall or Spring of Junior year)
-
Begin reading literature and refining ideas
Spring:
- Take HON 301 (can be taken in the Fall or Spring of Junior year)
- Write project proposal
- Submit to IRB
- Complete oral defense of proposal
Senior Year
Fall:
- Take HON 401
-
Collect data
Spring:
- Take HON 402
- Finish data collection
- Analyze data
- Write final thesis paper
- Complete oral defense of research
PLEASE NOTE: The psychology department will attempt to accommodate as many honors students as possible, but there is no guarantee that all requests for honors supervision will be accommodated. There is a limit to how many honors projects a professor can supervise while still maintaining a high level of integrity and quality.