Honors Program
心理和神经科学系的荣誉课程为完成心理学或神经科学专业的学生提供了一个参与电子游戏正规平台的绝佳机会. 该项目适用于学业成绩优异的学生,他们希望在大四的时候花大量的时间来完成一篇高级荣誉论文.
Further Information
For more information, contact the Director of the Honors Program, Karen Rosen (karen.rosen@gayforcash.net).
2023–2024 Graduate Student Contacts
- Abigail McLaughlin (abigail.mclaughlin@gayforcash.net)
- Alexandra Ng (alexandra.ng@gayforcash.net)
Program Details
Requirements and Due Dates
Junior Year
November 1: Honors Program Application to Participate
April: Submit your thesis proposal to your advisor and second reader.
April (Registration for Fall): Submit a Syllabus/Contract Form for PSYC4495 and PSYC4496.
May 1: Honors Thesis Proposal Approval Form
Senior Year
PSYC4495 Senior Honors Thesis I (3 credits)
PSYC4496 Senior Honors Thesis II (3 credits)
One 5000-level PSYC course (3 credits)
April: Submit your thesis to your advisor and second reader.
May 1: Honors Thesis Approval Form
Library Thesis Submission
The BC Library encourages each student writing a thesis to submit it online. Instructions can be found on their website.
Registration
The University requires a written, 所有未安排的本科课程,教师和学生签署的教学大纲/合同.
Syllabus/Contract for Individually Arranged and Non-scheduled Courses
The form should be completed and signed by both instructor and student, and then the student should bring it to the Director of Undergraduate Studies for approval. Because the thesis courses require the instructor’s permission, students must register through the department's main office (psychoffice@gayforcash.net) with a fully signed syllabus/contract.
During registration for the fall, submit a syllabus/contract form for both parts of the thesis course. You do not need to submit a second contract during registration for the spring; however, you will need to contact psychoffice@gayforcash.net and request to be registered for the second course once your spring registration opens.
Restrictions
No Teaching Assistants
These courses cannot be used as compensation for teaching assistant duties.
Student Employees
If you are enrolled in Undergraduate Research, Independent Study, or a thesis course, you cannot be paid for the same work. Thus, you would not be hired as an employee for the same semester that you are enrolled in the course.
Put another way, if you are an employee in a lab and also enrolled in Undergraduate Research, Independent Study, or a thesis course in that lab, 你为报酬所做的工作必须是完全独立的,与你为信用所做的工作无关.
If the two kinds of work are indeed separate, your advisor needs to email us to explain the differences between the work.
Honors Societies
Psi Chi
Psi Chi is a national honor society whose purpose is to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship of individuals studying psychology. At Boston College, we in Psi Chi achieve these goals for our members by designing trips to various institutions practicing psychology, as well as arrange for guest speakers to meet with our members and discuss topics of general interest. Additionally, members of Psi Chi 通过实施鼓励本科生参与电子游戏正规平台的项目,为整个心理学系做出贡献.
Nu Rho Psi
Nu Rho Psi is the national honor society in neuroscience, which fosters excellence in neuroscience scholarship and research. Boston College's chapter of Nu Rho Psi 致力于支持本科生和电子游戏正规平台生从事神经科学的职业,同时通过提供支持网络提高公众的科学意识, grant and award opportunities, community outreach, and professional development events. Nu Rho Psi also helps undergraduates to find research opportunities both on and off campus.
FAQ
最好的学习方式之一是通过实践——加入荣誉课程将让你探索你在心理学领域的兴趣,并通过实践经验学习科学方法. Joining the Honors Program helps many students discern their future career path. Some students get bit by the “research bug,” others find out that they are more interested in counseling-based psychological careers, while still others decide that their passions lie in a completely different field. Students who have completed the Honors Program have gone on to careers in psychological research, medicine, teaching, counseling, and law, to name just a few. Participation in the Honors Program is an excellent distinction in general; it is a particularly noteworthy distinction for those students who wish to apply to graduate school (in psychology or otherwise). 荣誉课程提供了在传统课堂环境之外与教师密切合作的机会. Participating in the Honors Program will teach you to think critically, to address and test questions systematically, and to communicate your thoughts and ideas to others.
Our Honors Program is different from the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program. Students are admitted into the MCAS Honors Program when they are admitted to Boston College, while students are invited into our program based on their academic record after the first two years. 参加MCAS荣誉项目和我们的项目都需要完成一篇荣誉论文. If you are in both programs, you can use the same thesis.
The Honors Program has a GPA requirement both in your major and overall. For the class of 2025 the GPA requirement is 3.6. Starting with the class of 2026 the GPA requirement is 3.7. 在大二结束时达到GPA要求的学生将被邀请加入该计划. Students must also meet the GPA requirement at the time they graduate.
在大三开始时,你会收到荣誉项目主任的一封信,邀请你申请荣誉项目. If interested, 然后你会在心理和神经学系找到一位愿意指导你工作的教员. Complete your preliminary application by November 1 of your junior year. On this application, you need only indicate the topic you plan to research and the name of your thesis advisor.
During the spring of your junior year, you develop a ten-page thesis proposal due May 1. 建议你在第二学期选修一门独立的电子游戏正规平台课程来完成提案. If you plan to study abroad this semester, you could instead work on the proposal during the fall of your junior year.
First, you should identify the area of psychology in which you are most interested. Faculty members at Boston College specialize in a range of sub-fields. Determine which area you are most interested in by exploring individual faculty members’ pages.
Once you have narrowed down the area in which you are most interested, you will need to choose an advisor (a faculty member or part-time faculty member in the department). 如果老师建议你和他或她的电子游戏正规平台生一起工作,作为你的论文指导老师, then you would meet mostly with the graduate student, 但教师将承担最终责任,他们将是你论文的主要读者.
It might be clear to you from your exploration whose work is most interesting to you. If you are still unsure, you should contact one of the graduate student coordinators for advice. 他们会很乐意亲自与你交谈或通过电子邮件沟通,以帮助你找出哪些教员的工作与你的兴趣最相关.
Finally, you should contact the faculty member with whom you would like to work. You do not need to know yet exactly what you would like to study, but you should approach a potential advisor, state the general area in which you would like to do research, and ask whether he or she would be willing to supervise you in your Honors Thesis. 尽量尽快联系潜在的指导老师,因为老师能指导的新荣誉学生的数量可能有限.
In most cases, the proposed research will be part of an ongoing project in the advisor’s research laboratory. Alternatively, 学生可以独立构思一个项目,并找到合适的导师作为导师. The literature review, data collection, and data analysis must always be completed by the student alone, along with supervision from the thesis advisor.
You will work with your advisor to develop a specific and testable research question. You should set up an appointment to meet with your advisor to have a brainstorming session. The next step is to read, read, read about your topic of research. The more informed you are, the better questions you will ask.
Can I participate in the Honors Program if I plan to study abroad for all or part of my junior year?
Yes, 我们对在国外学习的学生给予一定的灵活性,允许他们在规定的期限内完成作业. If you are planning to study abroad in the fall semester, 你应该联系电子游戏正规平台生协调员,以确定一个潜在的论文主题和顾问. Before you go abroad, secure the approval of the faculty member with whom you are interested in working, and prepare your preliminary application. The application may be submitted via email to the department main office (psychoffice@gayforcash.net) anytime before the November 1 deadline. 在大三春季出国的学生可以在暑假和他们的导师一起制定一份提案, which will be due to the department main office on the first day of classes in the fall. 我们希望你能在大四开始的时候完全投入到你的电子游戏正规平台中.
- Read on this site about faculty research interests and the different research laboratories.
- 发电子邮件给电子游戏正规平台生协调员之一,讨论你的电子游戏正规平台兴趣,并确定一个潜在的指导老师.
- 给你潜在的指导老师发邮件,要求预约时间讨论你的荣誉论文想法,并确定这位老师是否可以担任你的指导老师.
- Once you have an advisor, discuss with your advisor who might be a second reader for your thesis, and contact that person to ask them to serve.
- 11月1日之前,完成初步的《电子游戏正规平台》,并将其提交至部门总办公室.
- 建议(但不是必需)您注册一个学期的PSYC2205本科电子游戏正规平台或PSYC2206独立电子游戏正规平台与您的导师.
- During April of your junior year, submit your research proposal to your advisor and second reader.
- During registration for the fall semester of your senior year, 提交PSYC4495高级荣誉论文I和PSYC4496高级荣誉论文II的教学大纲/合同表格. You do not need to submit a second contract during registration for the spring, but you must contact psychoffice@gayforcash.net and request to be registered for the second course.
- By May 1 of your junior year, submit an Honors Thesis Proposal Approval Form to the department main office. (We do not need a copy of your thesis proposal.)
Your proposal should be written in accordance with the following format:
I. Introduction
State your research question. (1 paragraph)
Review previous research carried out on this and related questions. (6 pages)
II. Methods
Participants: Describe your participants. Who will they be? How will you find them? Age? Sex? How many? (1 paragraph)
程序:准确地描述你的参与者将被要求做什么,以及这个过程需要多长时间. (1-2 pages)
III. Hypotheses
What do you predict, and why? (1 paragraph)
IV. Data Analysis
How will you score or code your data? Will you have a second coder for inter-rater reliability? How will you analyze your data? (1/2 page)
V. Discussion
If your hypotheses are confirmed, what will you conclude? What will be the significance of these findings? What study could then be carried out next? (1 page)
你的提案将由两名教员审查,然后决定是否录取你进入荣誉课程. If your advisor continues to support your proposal, and if your research ideas are clearly thought out, it is highly likely that you will then be admitted into the program. You will receive a letter approving your proposed research plan from the Honors Program Director.
Seniors in the Honors Program enroll in the following courses. (See above for courses recommended for juniors.)
- PSYC4495 Senior Honors Thesis I (3 credits)
- PSYC4496 Senior Honors Thesis II (3 credits)
- One 5000-level PSYC course (3 credits)
A maximum of one semester of the thesis course may count toward your major requirements. (It counts differently depending on whether your major is Psychology B.A., Psychology B.S., or Neuroscience.)除专业要求外,还需要第二学期的论文课程和5000级课程.
By mid-April of your senior year, submit your thesis to your advisor and your second reader (a full- or part-time faculty member, postdoc, or doctoral graduate student chosen by you and your primary advisor). The
exact deadline is decided by your advisor.
When your advisor and second reader approve your thesis, submit an Honors Thesis Approval Form to the department main office. This form is due May 1. Also submit an electronic copy of the thesis via email to psychoffice@gayforcash.net by this date.
Finally, 你的论文将作为海报在你大四那年五月的本科生电子游戏正规平台会议上展示.
At the end of your senior year, 你将收到一封由荣誉课程主任和心理与神经科学系主任签署的信,表明你已经完成了荣誉课程. 你应该保留这封信,并用它作为你将来的电子游戏正规平台生项目和/或雇主的示范工作的文件.
There are other opportunities for students to be involved in research outside of the Honors Program, including the opportunity to write a senior thesis. The Research section of this page has some advice.