Department of Psychology

Undergraduate Program: Honors Academy

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Robert J. McLaughlin Undergraduate Honors Academy:

Purpose of the Honors Academy:
The Honors Academy provides experiences for the highly motivated student that will broaden and enrich the student's perspective of psychology.

Selection of Participants:
During the fall and spring semesters, eligible students may apply to the Academy. To be eligible to apply to the Academy the following are required:

1. A declared major in psychology.
2. At least a 3.50 GPA overall and in Psychology.
3. Completed at least 6 credit hours in Psychology at SIUE.
4. Grades of A in both PSYC 220 and PSYC 221.

Interested and eligible students should contact Dr. Dan Segrist (AH-0124, Ph. 5391), coordinator of the Academy. Here's an application form (PDF) (MS Word).

In order to graduate with honors, members of the Academy must:

1. Complete the Honors' section of PSYC 494 (Capstone in Psychology). This involves developing, completing, and presenting an independent research project supervised by a faculty member.

2. Develop and complete the requirements of an Honors' contract in either a 300 or 400 level course, in consultation with the course professor and the Academy coordinator.

3. Maintain a 3.5 GPA overall, and in Psychology.

4. Participate in research under faculty supervision for at least one semester (this must be done for at least 3 hours course credit under Psyc. 491 - Research in Psychology).

5. Complete at least one semester of field study (must be done for at least 3 hours course credit under Psyc. 493 - Field Study in Psychology).

Evaluation of Academy Members:

Members of the academy who successfully complete the above six steps, as well as all other requirements for graduation, will be recommended for graduation with honors in psychology. Students granted these honors will have the distinction permanently registered on their transcripts.

Recent Honors Theses:

Shannon Dyson. The Effect of Active and Passive Videos for College Students in Parent Management Training

Allison Gillings. The Effect of Interview Technique on Eyewitness Accuracy

• Presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago IL, 5/4/06

Carlee Beth Hawkins. The Role of Religiosity and Need for Cognition in the Acceptance of Evolution

• Presented at the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences Colloquium, Thinking about Religion, 3/31/06
  
• Presented at the 38th Annual SIUE Psi Chi Paper Presentation, 4/11/06 -- Awarded Third Place, Undergraduate Division

April Hosto. Modality and Proximity: The Effect on Working Memory Load

Phil Ruppert. The Effects of Interlist and Extralist Interference on Recall of Auditorally Presented Words

• Presented at the 78th Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago IL, 5/4/06

Erin Solomon. Convservatism and Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help: An Exploratory Study

• Presented at the 38th Annual SIUE Psi Chi Paper Presentation, 4/11/06

Bryan Cummiskey. Gender and selective attention in relation to change blindness.

• Presented at the 81st Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, 5/1/09