Research

The psychology major is grounded in the discipline of scientific inquiry as the basis for the development of knowledge.  

As such, our students have the opportunity to engage in close faculty-student collaboration on research. These experiences provide students with the opportunity to put into practice the statistical and methodological skills they have gained in the classroom as well as the experience of how knowledge is being generated in the discipline.

Students primarily participate in research by working in a research lab and completing a senior thesis. 

The research lab experience is intended to provide students with:

• work experience in the process of research such as data collection and data entry, for example
• academic experience in the theory and development of research projects such as participating in lab meetings and reading research articles, for example

In addition, these experiences are vital for students wishing to pursue graduate school options.

Expectations in terms of hourly commitments on the part of the students are as follows: 

• 3 credit hours: 10 hours per week
• 2 credit hours: 7.5 hours per week
• 1 credit hour: 3.5 hours per week 

Research lab credits are restricted to psychology and neuroscience and behavior majors, and students can begin registering for research lab credits as early as the fall semester of their sophomore year.

Research lab application process

1. Students should develop a shortlist of labs they are interested in by looking at the faculty research labs.  
2. Students then set up a meeting with the faculty member to discuss the research opportunities available in the particular lab.  
3. Once the application is accepted, the faculty member then forwards the student's name to the department for registration approval to be granted.  
4. When the approval has been entered into the system, the student will receive an email with instructions on how to go about registering for the credits.