Honors & Awards

The Psychology Honors Thesis is a special program available to Psychology majors with a high GPA. It involves doing a year of intensive research in collaboration with a faculty member and completing a written thesis (usually about 20-25 pages) in APA style describing the background of the research topic, the methods, the results/findings, and the implications of work. All Honors Thesis students present their research projects in one of three conferences held over the course of the year. Awards are given to the best poster and best oral presentation each semester.

The Psychology Honors Thesis is designed to be a "capstone" experience for Psychology Majors, exposing them to the work of research psychologists, enabling them to receive mentorship from a faculty member, and providing them with support in the development of specific professional development products (called "portfolio items") designed to assist them in transitioning from college to their chosen post-graduate field.

Students who receive Departmental Honors also receive special mention in the Commencement Bulletin distributed at graduation. Many employers and graduate programs look favorably on students who take the initiative to pursue honors and conduct an independent research project.

Finally, completing an Honors Thesis gives students a feeling of satisfaction and pride at having completed a challenging research project as the culmination of their undergraduate career.

No. In order to be eligible to do an Honors Thesis, students need to:

1. be a Psychology major
2. have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0
3. have a minimum GPA of 3.5 in all Psychology courses taken at Hunter College.
4. have completed Psych 248 (Statistics) and Psych 249/250 (Experimental Psychology).

The Psychology Honors Thesis is a two-semester research project that culminates in a written thesis. Students register for 396 in the first semester of their thesis project and 398 in their second semester in order to get credit for their thesis research. In very rare circumstances, students may be able to complete the Honors Thesis in one semester, but a one-semester thesis must be approved in advance by their faculty mentor.

In order to register for 396 you need to:

1. Find a faculty member mentor
2. Complete the Psychology Independent Study form (available in the Psych office, HN 611). This form must filled out by both the student and the faculty mentor.
3. Bring the form to one of the advisors in the Psych office to receive a code to register for the course.

**It is important to note that given the large number of Psychology majors and the small number of Psychology faculty, it is often difficult for students to find faculty mentors. It is best to start your search as early as possible (at least a semester before you plan to register for 396).

There are five course requirements for Psych 396/398.

1. Students work a specific number of hours per week in the laboratory of their faculty mentor, working on their research project. Typically, students spend between 9 and 15 hours/week in the lab.
2. Students complete a written thesis describing their research project. The Honors Thesis must be in APA style, and is typically 20-25 pages, not including references.
3. Students attend Psych 396/398 class sessions. These class sessions are held on Mondays (11:10am - 12:25pm). Class sessions cover specific information designed to assist students in the writing of their theses (e.g., tips for working with your mentor, how to write an introduction, how to write a methods section, etc).
4. Students complete five professional development "portfolio" items over the course of the two semesters. These portfolio items are designed to assist them in activities that will be necessary after graduation (e.g., one of the portfolio items is a resume, another is a graduate school application essay). Portfolio items are also explained and work-shopped during class sessions.
5. All students in 398 must present their thesis research at the end of the semester in one of three conference settings: the Psychology Honors Conference (fall semester), the Undergraduate Research Conference (spring semester) or the Psychology Convention (spring semester).Thesis presentation can take the form of either a poster or an oral presentation.

To see the 396/398 syllabus, click here.

Honors Thesis students receive a letter grade each semester from their thesis advisor, based on the quality of their work on the thesis. However, students must also complete the portfolio items for their section (three items for 396, two items for 398) in order to receive a grade. Students who do not complete the portfolio items will receive an incomplete until they turn in the missing items.

Students are strongly encouraged to attend 396/398 class sessions, as these are designed to provide them with practical information regarding the completion of the thesis and the production of their professional development portfolio. However, students who have an unavoidable scheduling conflict with the 396/398 class sessions may apply through the Psych Department Advisors for a waiver of attendance.Students with attendance waivers must still complete all the course requirements (i.e., work with a mentor, produce a written thesis, complete the professional development portfolio items, and make a conference presentation of their thesis). Students with attendance waivers must come to a 396/398 orientation session during Deans Hours at the beginning of the semester. Information regarding completion of the portfolio items will be available on Blackboard.

• Refer to the course syllabus for specific meeting times.
• All students must attend an orientation session, which will take place in the first week of classes.
• Honors students are required to attend The Psychology Honors Research Conference, which is held during spring and fall terms.

In order to be eligible to do an Honors Thesis, students need to:

1. Be a Psychology Major
2. Have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0
3. Have a minimum GPA of 3.5 in all Psychology courses taken at Hunter College
4. Have completed PSYCH 248 and PSYCH 250

Click here to nominate your student for Departmental Honors

Livingston-Welch was Hunter's first Psychology Chair and was a "Renaissance man" of sorts. The award was set up shortly after he retired.

In order to be eligible for the Livingston-Welch award, students must have both a high GPA and high grades in Psychology courses. This award is separate from the Honors in Psychology Award. A high GPA has recently been translated into a 3.7. The award is divided into research, scholarship and service. Typically, the service award goes to students who have run the Psychology Convention or published in the Department's Newsletter.

Click here to nominate your student for the Livingston-Welch Award

Membership in Psi Chi is open to students who are majoring or minoring in psychology. Qualified candidates include those of any age, sex, sexual orientation, race, handicap or disability, religion, national and ethnic origin, and who meet the minimum qualifications.

Students who wish to join PSI CHI must:

1. Be enrolled as a major or minor.
2. Have at least 3 semesters or equivalent of full-time college coursework.
3. Have at least 9 semester credit hours or equivalent of psychology courses.
4. Have a minimum 3.0 GPA average in psychology courses.

Click here to nominate your student for the PSI CHI International Honors Society

Gerald Turkewitz was one of a band of pioneers in American comparative and developmental psychology/biology who ultimately became one of the progenitors of the new field of developmental psychobiology. His experimental work, theoretical writings, and teaching were heavily influenced by his mentor, and one of the giants of comparative psychology, T.C. Schneirla. His life-long goal was to understand the developmental process and its role in emerging behavioral functions. He eschewed simple dichotomies such as the nature-nurture dichotomy and, instead, insisted that we must understand the complexity and dynamics of the developmental process to truly understand how adaptive behaviors emerge. To achieve this goal, Turkewitz and his many students and collaborators investigated a wide variety of behaviors, including rat maternal behavior and its role in the development of sensory/perceptual responsiveness in infancy and beyond. Central to all of this work was a focus on the critical role that early experience plays in the development of adaptive functioning and one of his lasting theoretical contributions is the counterintuitive notion that limitations in early sensory development are actually adaptive, rather than detrimental, from a developmental perspective.

Award:

Students can either self-nominate or a member of the faculty should forward the name and e-mail of any student whom he/she believes should be considered for the Psychology Award Commitee. Nominees should be:

1. Exceptionally talented academically, with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.
2. Psychology majors committed to applying to a Ph.D. Program in Developmental Psychology.
3. At least an upper sophomore and at most a lower senior (completing no less than 36 and no more than 100 credits at the time of nomination).
4. Members of groups that have been historically under-represented in the sciences (e.g., first-generation college students, economically disadvantaged, or have a documented disability).

Other Information:

Click here to nominate your student for the Gerry Turkewitz Award

Corin Humphrey was a Hunter College student who was on a mission. She was a fulltime student, worked as an EMT, was a member of Hunter College's Fencing team, and was performing research in a lab at Mount Sinai Hospital, all the while obtaining a 4.0 GPA. She was on a mission to gather the knowledge needed to make a difference in the transgender community. Her goal was to improve the lives of transgender people by researching the use of hormone replacement therapy. She felt trangender people were underrepresented in science, and wanted to make her contribution in this area.

We lost Corin in October of 2020 and would like to honor her by giving a student an award in her name that also has a passion to help. We will award one student $500 upon completing a winning essay (single spaced - no more than two pages) on "How your work/research/contribution will make a different to an underrepresented community.

Please submit your document in PDF format.

The award will given at the end of every spring academic term.

This Robert Thompson Scholarship (RLT) recognizes research and academic excellence. Applications are evaluated by the following criteria, ranked in order of relative importance:

1. Research productivity as evidence by peer reviewed publications, presentations, and grants submitted and/or funded.
2. Research mentoring of junior graduate students and/or undergraduates.
3. Teaching evauations.

Students applying for the RLT scholarship must meet the following requirements:

Those applying to the RLT Scholarship should include the following as a single PDF file:

Click here to nominate your student for the Robert Thompson Scholarship (RLT)

Students may be nominated for excellency in research and doctoral studies.

Awards not specifically tied to commencement.

Click here to nominate your student for the Peter Moller Award