Psi Chi Honor Society

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ashley Howell

What is Psi Chi?

"Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, was founded in 1929 with a mission to encourage excellence in scholarship and advance the science of psychology." Membership is open to both graduates and undergraduates who are making the study of psychology one of their major interests and who meet the minimum qualifications.

Psi Chi is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and is an affiliate of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Psychological Society (APS). Psi Chi's sister honor society is Psi Beta, the national honor society in psychology for community and junior colleges. Psi Chi functions as a federation of chapters located at over 1,000 senior colleges and universities in the USA and Canada. The National Office is located here in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

An international council, composed of psychologists who are Psi Chi members and who are elected by the chapters, guides the affairs of the organization and sets policy with the approval of the chapters. The first major goal of Psi Chi is the Society's obligation to provide academic recognition to its inductees by the mere fact of membership. The second goal is the obligation of each of the Society's local chapters to nurture the spark of that accomplishment by offering a climate congenial to its creative development. For example, the chapters make active attempts to nourish and stimulate professional growth through programs designed to augment and enhance the regular curriculum and to provide practical experience and fellowship through affiliation with the chapter. In addition, the international organization provides programs to help achieve these goals, including national and regional conventions held annually in conjunction with the psychological associations, research award competitions, and certificate recognition programs.

The Society publishes a quarterly magazine, Eye on Psi Chi, which helps to unite the members, inform them and recognize their contributions and accomplishments. The quarterly Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research fosters and rewards the scholarly efforts of undergraduate psychology students by introducing them to the publishing and review process. Students become members by joining the chapter at the school where they are enrolled. Psi Chi chapters are operated by student officers and faculty advisors. Together they select and induct the members and carry out the goals of the Society. All chapters register their inductees at the National Office, where the membership records are preserved for reference purposes.

Purpose Statement

Psi Chi is an international honor society whose purpose shall be to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship of the individual members in all fields, particularly in psychology, and to advance the science of psychology.

Mission Statement

The mission of Psi Chi is to recognize and promote excellence in the science and application of psychology. Subsequent results for accomplishing above mission:

  • Advance science and the profession of psychology
  • Promote an educational experience consistent with the mission
  • Promote ethical and socially responsible members and leaders
  • Define and establish an organizational structure that promotes our mission
  • Recognize and foster the contributions that diversity makes to the science and practice of psychology            

Benefits of Psi Chi

  • Membership is for life
  • International recognition for academic excellence in psychology
  • More than $400,000 are available in annual awards, grants, and scholarships
  • Chapter networking opportunities with members and faculty
  • Opportunity to become a published author in a Psi Chi publication
  • Access to online Psi Chi resources (e.g., Career Center)

Requirements to Join

For the most up to date eligibility criteria, please see the Psi Chi website

 

Current Undergraduate Students

  1. Must be majoring or minoring in psychology
  2. Must have completed 3 semesters or equivalent (e.g., 36 credit hours or more) of full-time college coursework
  3. Must have taken at least 9 credit hours of college-level psychology courses
  4. Must have a minimum psychology major GPA of 3.00 (for psychology minors, must have at least a 3.00 average for all completed psychology courses)
  5. Must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.30. For UTC students: This equates to the "Overall GPA" on your transcript, which includes grades from both UTC and other institutions through which you have earned college credit (if applicable)
  6. If you are already a Psi Chi member and you have transferred to UTC, you are welcome to email Dr. Ashley Howell with your Psi Chi member ID number and your stated intention to transfer your chapter affiliation to UTC.

Current Graduate Students

  1. Be accepted into and enrolled in a psychology or closely related graduate program
  2. Have completed at least 9 semester credit hours of graduate psychology courses in that program
  3. Have an overall GPA of at least 3.00 in all graduate courses, including psychology courses
  4. Meet their graduate program's requirements (e.g., if specific courses require an A or B to count as “passing”, students must meet those requirements even if their cumulative GPA is above 3.0)

Alumni & Faculty

  • Non-Faculty Graduates
    • Have graduated before UTC had a chapter of Psi Chi approved and installed
    • Have met the current membership standards based on their final transcript
  • Full-time and part-time faculty members (tenure track, nontenure track, adjunct, instructor, etc.)
    • Hold a completed masters or doctoral degree in psychology or a closely related field
    • Hold a university position in teaching, administration, or both
    • Teach at least one course at the university of the Psi Chi chapter where they join and during the same term as when they join

How to Apply

  1. Go to psichi.org
  2. Click “JOIN” at the top of the page
  3. Follow the links to apply
  4. After you have applied, please allow some time for your application to be reviewed. Applications are reviewed by the faculty advisor prior to fall and spring induction ceremonies. You will be notified when a decision has been made.

A one-time fee of $70 will need to be paid to cover enrollment fees at both the national and chapter level. This is for a lifetime membership. A total of $55 will be paid directly to the national Psi Chi office online and $15 will be paid directly to the UTC Psi Chi Chapter.

Current Psi Chi Leadership Team

For a list of current UTC Chapter officers, please click here to access the Psi Chi national organization website, search for "University of Tennessee at Chattanooga", and click on “Staff” in the result window.

 

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Psychology

Psychology