This is an archive of the 2021-2022 University Catalog.
To access the most recent version, please visit catalog.csun.edu.

This is an archive of the 2021-2022 University Catalog.
To access the most recent version, please visit catalog.csun.edu.

UNIVERSITY CATALOG: 2021-2022

Program: B.A., Psychology

Honors

Program Description

Notice: The Honors in Psychology program has been suspended as of Fall 2019.

The purpose of the Honors in Psychology program is to recognize and support the development of exceptional Psychology students. The Honors program allows students the opportunity to engage in advanced-level coursework to better prepare for graduate coursework and/or careers in the field of Psychology. Interested students should consult the Department of Psychology website for details and an application.

Admission to the Honors in Psychology program: granted by approval of the Department of Psychology Honors Committee.

Program Requirements

A. Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for the Honors in Psychology program, a student must:

  1. Be a declared Psychology major.
  2. Have completed or be currently enrolled in PSY 320/L.
  3. Have a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA at CSUN.
  4. Have a minimum 3.5 GPA across all upper division Psychology courses taken at CSUN (first-semester transfer students should report grades from their prior university/college).

B. Program Requirements

If admitted, students in the Honors in Psychology program must:

  1. Complete honors sections of the following courses with a “B+” or better:
    1. PSY 321H/L Research Methods in Psychology and Lab (3/1)
    2. One of the Psychology capstone courses (see list of capstone courses under “Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Degree”) (3/2)
  2. Successfully complete PSY 492H Honors Professional Development (1).
  3. Successfully complete PSY 487H Honors Psychology Proseminar (1).
  4. Present a project at the Department of Psychology’s Honors Forum. The project must be conducted under the supervision of a faculty member in Psychology and may be an empirical research project, a literature review project or a community project.
  5. Maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA across all of their upper division Psychology coursework.

If an honors student fails to meet or maintain any of the requirements of the program, the student will be immediately dropped from the program.

Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive an honors designation on their diploma and transcript.

More information

For more information about this program, please contact psychology@csun.edu.

Contact

Department of Psychology
Chair: Jill Razani
Sierra Hall (SH) 376
(818) 677-2827

Student Learning Outcomes
  1. Students will demonstrate sufficient communication skills by:
    1. Communicating thoughts, arguments and research work in writing using the tone, grammar and organization appropriate to professional work in psychology and
    2. Demonstrating effective oral communication skills in group discussions and class presentations.
  2. Students will demonstrate effective collaboration with team members in group activities, such as projects, recruiting research subjects, collecting data, presenting research findings and/or working in research labs.
  3. Students will demonstrate competence in electronic and information technologies by:
    1. Using computational and statistical software,
    2. Using computers to review abstracts appearing in relevant databases and obtaining full-text versions of the literature relevant to a research topic,
    3. Paraphrasing, quoting and citing appropriate sources to avoid plagiarism and
    4. Sufficient use of the American Psychological Association (APA) Style Manual.
  4. Students will demonstrate critical-thinking skills and skeptical inquiry by evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current research literature and/or their own research using psychological research methodology.
  5. Students will demonstrate sufficient use of statistical analysis, interpretation and presentation of psychological data.
  6. Students will demonstrate appropriate and ethical use of subjects by going through the process of subject recruitment and debriefing the human subjects involved in psychological research.
  7. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the theories, concepts and empirical approaches from diverse perspectives of psychology, including biological processes, developmental processes, individual and social processes, and learning and cognitive processes.
  8. Students will demonstrate personal, sociocultural and international awareness.
  9. Students will demonstrate and apply appropriate knowledge and skills in professional practice through community service and/or research practica.

Additional Student Learning Outcomes of the Honors Program

  1. Students will demonstrate understanding of the various career fields and graduate degrees related to Psychology.
  2. Students will demonstrate the ability to work independently on academic projects.
  3. Students will demonstrate effective and appropriate oral communication skills in professional settings.