Thesis Information

Overview     (requirements)

Doing a thesis with a member of the Psychology Department is a privilege, not a right.  The process is an arduous one, but it can bring a great sense of satisfaction when it is done well.  Please consider the following tips if you plan to do a thesis within the Psychology Department:

• It is the student's responsibility to identify a professor who is willing to oversee the thesis.  Typically this will be a professor whose research interests are similar to the students. 
  • When approached by a student about the possibility of the student's involvement in the professor's lab, the professor is under no obligation to say "yes."
  • In some cases a professor might invite a student to consider doing a thesis in his/her lab.  This is of course an honor, but the student is under no obligation to say "yes."
• Professors can oversee only a limited number of thesis projects.  Discuss your plans with your professor of choice early to ensure that s/he is aware of your interest.
• It is advisable to give the professor a brief document that contains the following information:
  • Your name.
  • Psych classes you have taken.
  • Psych and overall GPAs.
  • A statement of the question that you want to address in your thesis.
  • A description of any preliminary work you may have done to prepare for this project.
• A professor will consider the information that you provide, take into account the number of students who have approached him or her about theses, and make a decision about your proposal.
• Individual professors follow different time tables for making these decisions.  
  • Some professors expect a student to begin data collection for the thesis over the summer preceding the senior year; in this case arrangements should be made for the student to apply to take part in the Summer Research Program with FURSCA support.
  • Others will expect you to do an extensive literature review over the summer, so arrangements will have to be made prior to the end of your junior year.
  • In virtually all cases, the student is expected to have the methodology ironed out early in the senior year (at the lastest) so that the bulk of data collection can be completed by the end of the fall semester.

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Requirements for a thesis

• The psychology department suggests that a student have an overall GPA of 3.5 before undertaking a thesis.
• All thesis students will form a committee of professors who will meet with the student prior to the beginning of the data collection to review the proposed study.
• All thesis students working with psychology professors will enroll in PSYC 416 - Senior Seminar during the spring semester of their senior year.
• All thesis students working with psychology professors will defend their theses orally before their committee prior to final approval of the thesis by their committee.
• It is expected that students doing theses with a psychology professor will present their work at an appropriate venue (e.g., Elkin Isaac Research Symposium, Michigan Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference, Midwestern Psychological Association, Pavlovian Society, American Psychological Society, American Psychological Association, Society for Neuroscience)