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Honors Program
Eligibility
Students with a 3.5 grade point average overall in their University work and in the major may apply for admission to the honors program in the spring semester of their junior year; however, preparation should begin in the fall of the junior year. The award of departmental honors is contingent upon submission of a thesis of high quality, based upon independent study with a member of the Psychology Department's faculty and marked by satisfactory completion of Psychology H195A-B. Evaluation of the thesis is the primary responsibility of the faculty sponsor, as well as second reader as assigned by the Chair. It is the responsibility of the sponsor and the second reader to decide whether the thesis is of honors quality and if so, which level of honors is to be assigned: Honors or Highest Honors.
Courses
To complete the honors thesis students enroll in Psychology 199 in the spring semester of their junior year and Psychology H195A-B in the senior year. Psychology H195A-B is offered for 1-3 units per semester. The course is sequential with a grade of In Progress for the “A” portion and the final grade assigned for both semesters at the end of the “B” portion. We strongly suggest that honors students also concurrently enroll in Psychology H194A-B (2-2), the Honors Seminar, in their senior year, as this course provides excellent supplemental background for preparing the thesis. However, enrollment in H194 is not mandatory in order to obtain honors. In the fall semester, the seminar will concentrate on issues of research design, ethics, and data analysis using statistical packages. The spring semester will focus on oral and written presentations of the thesis projects and feedback on thesis drafts. Students must complete an application to enroll in both the seminar and the Psych H195ABunits. Applications may be obtained in the Student Services Office.
Human Subjects Approval
Students who are planning to use human subjects for the honors thesis must apply for approval from the Committee for Protection of Human Subjects at the end of the junior year. This process can take up to six months. Faculty should be consulted for help in making the request.
Sponsor
The student should obtain an application for Psychology H195A-B each semester in the Student Services Office. On the application the student will outline the thesis proposal and submit it to one of the faculty of the Department who will serve as sponsor. The signed application is to be returned to the Student Services Office where the course control number will be given to the student to enroll in the seminar through TeleBears. Applications should be submitted by the Friday of the third week of the semester.
Students should maintain close contact with the sponsor to insure clear communication on direction of the thesis project and expectations of the professor. It would be wise for the student to submit a draft of the honors thesis to the instructor mid-semester of enrollment in H195B for criticism and comments before the final copy is produced. The Student Services Office maintains a file of completed honors theses, which are available for review.
Research Funding
The Department has established an undergraduate research fund based on donations from the faculty. Students who need small sums (no more than $200) to undertake and complete research projects, such as honors thesis research, may apply.
Thesis Content
The honors thesis may be an original, empirical study of a topic in psychology or, a critical analysis of the work of other researchers on a topic in psychology chosen by the student.
Thesis Style
The thesis should be organized and written according to APA style, found in the APA Publication Manual. The thesis must include an abstract of approximately 200 words or less. The title page should take the following form:
Title:
Author:
Submitted in Satisfaction of the Requirements for the
Honors Program in Psychology
University of California at Berkeley
Date:
Approved:
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Thesis Deadline
The thesis must be submitted to the sponsor no later than two weeks prior to the end of the semester in which the student files to graduate. A bound copy of the thesis must be submitted simultaneously to the Student Services Office for assignment of the second reader. If the student is not able to meet the above noted deadline date for submission of the thesis, s/he should confer with the Student Services Office.
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This Page Last Updated 6/25/08
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