Psychology Independent Research and Study

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SYE Senior Project Guidelines and Policies

PSYC 498/499 

Eligibility, Expectations, and Sufficient Progress

Eligibility for SYE

• PSYC 205 required (can be taken concurrently with petition)
• Recommended minimum 3.0 GPA (or suitable explanation for low grades)
• Academic preparation review by the faculty mentor and/or department chair (should normally include relevant coursework/expertise and evidence of suitable preparation)
• Commitment – Students are expected to work for 9 hours per week per unit. This work should include regular one-on-one meetings with the faculty mentor.

Eligibility for Departmental Honors
A minimum GPA of 3.5 in all courses in the major is required.

Expectations
The SYE Project committee and the members of Individual Projects’ Committees expect the following to be demonstrated throughout the SYE.

  • Higher-level Academic and Critical Thinking

    • SYE projects must challenge students in ways qualitatively beyond the challenges of typical classes, requiring them to think critically and grow intellectually in more substantive ways than traditional course work.

  • Academic Integration
    • SYEs serve as capstone experiences for students, integrating knowledge and skills from across the student’s curricular (psychology + other major(s), minor(s), etc.) and co-curricular experiences (e.g., internships, study abroad experiences). This integration should be evident in the project itself and/or the culminating products.
  • Independent work
    • For group projects or projects where the student does not play a primary role in deciding the project's design/direction, it is crucial that each student contributes something unique and independent. This contribution should demonstrate higher-level critical thinking, integration of coursework, and intellectual engagement and leadership.

Sufficient Progress
Students who have not made sufficient progress during the first semester may not be able to continue the project or may be re-registered for PSYC 403/404 Independent Project and may not be eligible to receive departmental honors.

Committees

Psychology Department’s Committee (“SYE Project Committee”)

This Psychology department committee will be comprised of 3 members of the Psychology department, counting toward their department service responsibilities. They are charged with the following responsibilities:

  • Application Review: Reviews all SYE Project Applications (Parts I and II)
  • Petition Review: Evaluates petitions related to SYE Projects (see Petitions section)
  • Mentor Matching: Assists with matching students with mentors, if needed
  • Information Distribution: Distributes information about SYE project requirements to students and faculty
  • Proposal Tracking: Tracks proposal presentations towards the end of the first semester and disseminates schedule for interested faculty members
  • Junior Engagement: Meet with a group of juniors who are interested in research to describe options for different types of projects

Individual Project Committees

A committee must be established for each honors-eligible SYE project.

  • Committee Composition
    • In addition to the SYE project’s faculty mentor, this committee should be comprised of at least one additional Psychology faculty member whose expertise aligns with the topic and/or nature of the project.
    • The third faculty member can be from Psychology or another department.
  • Committee Responsibilities
    • Committee members must attend the oral proposal and the final presentation.
      • In the case of non-empirical projects, committee members should be consulted if the final written product is not going to be a traditional paper.
    • Committee members must provide feedback on the oral proposal presentation
      • Feedback on the proposal should be submitted to the student’s mentor and the SYE Projects Committee.
      • The feedback should improve the quality of the project, including but not limited to the project’s design and execution, the final product(s), and the learning experience of the student.
      • The feedback needs to include an evaluation of the ways in which the criteria for Higher-order Academic and Critical Thinking, Academic Integration, and Independent Work are demonstrated (same criteria used to approve SYE applications).
    • Committee members must provide feedback on the final presentation and projects.
      • Feedback on the proposal should be submitted to the student’s mentor and the SYE Projects Committee
      • The feedback should improve the quality of the project, including but not limited to the project’s design and execution, the final product(s), and the learning experience of the student.
      • The feedback needs to include an evaluation of the ways in which the criteria for Higher-order Academic and Critical Thinking, Academic Integration, and Independent Work are demonstrated (same criteria used to approve SYE applications).
    • Committee members must be given at least one week to provide feedback on the products
    • Committee members and other outside experts may also be utilized in stages of the project as needed.

Mentor Responsibilities

The characteristics of any mentor’s SYE philosophy and pedagogy is their own. The policies established by this document are intended to unify the Psychology department’s expectations and standards for a students’ earning of an SYE/Honors in Psychology. Accordingly, the expectations for mentors are more limited than those for students.

  • Mentors should discuss with their student which faculty would be ideal for the student’s individual project committee.
  • Mentors are the conveners of their students’ individual project committees, scheduling oral proposal presentations, etc.
  • Mentors are responsible for attending their student’s oral proposal and final presentations.
  • Mentors are responsible for collecting proposal presentation feedback from committee members, submitting this feedback to the SYE Projects Committee, and discussing it with their student.
  • Mentors are responsible for collecting final product feedback from committee members and discussing it (including if or how it will be incorporated into the products) with their student.

Student Requirements and Responsibilities

Students are responsible for submitting preliminary (Part I) and detailed (Part II) SYE applications. They must establish a committee of faculty for their project, propose their project orally to their committee, and culminate the project with products (described below).

Application Process

  • Preliminary applications (Part I) are due by the last day of finals week in the semester prior to beginning the SYE (typically spring).
    • This includes a brief project description and acknowledgement of the SYE requirements.
  • Detailed applications (Part II) are due by the end of the fourth full week of the first semester of the SYE (typically fall).
    • This includes a more detailed proposal that addresses independent work, higher-level academic and critical thinking, and academic integration.
    • Students are encouraged to have made progress in establishing their project committee by the Part 2 deadline (i.e., identified individuals to be asked to be on the committee).

Individual Project Committee

  • Students must establish their individual project committee.
    • Students and mentors should discuss who would be ideal for the individual committee.
    • Students are responsible for asking faculty to join their committee, with the understanding that faculty may decline invitations.
  • Students are responsible for giving the names of their committee members to the SYE Project Committee.
  • Students will establish final product deadlines in their committee.
    • Committee members must be given at least one week to provide feedback on the products.

Oral Proposal Presentation

Students must orally propose their project to their Individual Project Committee by the end of the first semester of the project. It must be approved by the Individual Project’s Committee to continue into the second semester SYE/Honors eligibility (PSYC 498/499).

Sufficient Progress
Students are required to make sufficient progress with their projects, as previously defined in the eligibility requirements for SYEs. Other milestones for sufficient progress are at the discretion of mentors.

Culminating Products

  • Final Visual and Oral Products
    • All students must prepare a final visual product that requires them to interact verbally with an audience. This could be a presentation at the Festival of Science, Scholarship, and Creativity or it could be an oral presentation to the individual’s committee, with an open invitation to the Psychology faculty.
  • Final Written Products
    • Final Written Project Composition
      • The final paper for empirical projects must include an APA-formatted report of the introduction/literature review, method, results, and discussion of the project.
      • Final products for non-empirical projects may be a paper summarizing the design and execution of the project, or they may take another form (e.g., report, portfolio) as deemed suitable by their mentor and individual committee.
    • Students are required to consider, and when appropriate, incorporate the feedback they receive from their Individual Project Committee, in consultation with their mentor.
    • All projects must incorporate a reflection on integration, independence, and learning. For some projects, this reflective element may be a natural component, visible within the final written product. For others, a separate written reflection could be written separately from the final paper.
      • Regardless of how the reflection is prepared, it should address the following questions.
        • Higher-level Academic and Critical Thinking
          • What did you set out to do with this SYE? Why and how did you design and execute this project?
          • How did this experience enhance your knowledge of a specific reading, theory, or concept? Does it challenge or reinforce your prior understanding?
          • What is the value of this project (1) to the field and beyond and (2) to you as an individual (as a person and as a future professional)?
        • Academic Integration
          • Describe how you were able to integrate ideas and content from different disciplines, experiences, etc. in this project. Be specific.
        • Independent work
          • Describe your role as an independent student-scholar.
          • What was your role in the design and execution of this project? In what ways did others (e.g., mentor, other lab members, other students) help this project succeed?
          • When challenges arose with this project, in what ways did you manage the project’s challenges independently? When and how did others provide you with support?

Petitions Process

If a student wishes to enroll in an SYE project but cannot meet one of the listed requirements, they may petition for an exception. This process is like the university’s general petitions process and ensures that all students have the opportunity to participate in an SYE project despite unforeseen challenges. Petitions should be sent to members of the SYE Projects Committee for review.

  • Like the university’s petitions process, the student must write a rationale explaining the extenuating circumstances that necessitate the waiver of a specific requirement. This should focus on why the requirement needs to be waived, not on why they want to complete an SYE.
  •  In addition, the student should describe how they expect their unusual circumstance(s) to influence their completion of the project.
  • Petitions could include, but are not limited to, taking PSYC 205 concurrently with the SYE, having a GPA below 3.0 at the time of application, submitting a late application, etc.