Psychology Honors Program
Katrina Bytschkow, 2009 graduate of the Psychology Honors Program, being recognized at graduation by Program Director Dr. Wendy Quinton.
Program Description
The Psychology Honors Program is a year-long program designed to enable students to complete an individual research project (i.e., Honors Thesis) under the supervision of a faculty advisor. The Honors Program consists of two parts. The first part is the Honors Seminar, which meets only during the Fall semester (click here for a sample syllabus). The topics covered during the Honors Seminar are intended to help students design, execute, write, and defend their Honors Thesis. In addition, there will be discussion of issues relevant to choosing a career path in psychology or other areas. The second part of the Honors Program is completion of the Honors Thesis, which students work on throughout both the Fall and Spring semesters, and defend at the end of Spring semester.
The Honors Program is particularly valuable for students who plan to pursue graduate study in psychology or related disciplines. After successful completion of the program, students' transcripts indicate graduation with honors, high honors, or highest honors in psychology.
The program is completely independent of the University Honors College at UB.
Who is eligible?
Seniors with a GPA of 3.0 both overall and in psychology.
Prior or concurrent completion of PSY 450 Advanced Research Methods is a requirement for participation.
Prior research experience (PSY 498) and prior or concurrent completion of PSY 405 Data Analysis Techniques are recommended.
How to apply?
Students interested in the honors program should obtain a detailed program description from Christa Greenberg, Coordinator of the Department of Psychology’s Undergraduate Studies Program, in Park Hall 283 during their junior year. Students may also contact Dr. Wendy Quinton (wquinton@buffalo.edu, 645-0230), Director of the Psychology Honors Program, with any questions about the program.
To participate in the program, students must seek out and secure a faculty member willing to supervise their project.
Check faculty interests and contact information to determine who to approach as a potential faculty advisor.
Download a description and notification form for the Honors Program (pdf)
Download a partial list of past Honors thesis topics (pdf)
Other Perks
The Honors Program is a wonderful way to get hands on experience with research. Working on a project with a faculty advisor will help build your record and skill set, and will allow you to see if a career in research seems like a good possibility for you. In addition, the Honors Program usually has a small enrollment of about 7-15 students each year. By being a member of the program, you will get individualized attention and will get to know a small peer group of other students like you. Finally, the student with the most outstanding honors thesis in a given year is recognized with the department's Feldman-Cohen Award for Distinguished Honors Achievement.