Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology, founded in 1929 for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in scholarship, and advancing the science of psychology. Membership is open to graduate and undergraduate men and women 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 serves two major goals--one immediate and visibly rewarding to the individual member, the other slower and more difficult to accomplish, but offering greater rewards in the long run. The first of these 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 national 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.


Membership requirements for Psi Chi
The Psi Chi Constitution requires that undergraduate student applicants to Psi Chi:

Newsletter: This Committee puts out one newsletter every month with information helpful to all Psychology Students.  Sample articles include current research, interviews with new staff/faculty, upcoming events, relevant volunteer opportunities and other useful information.   The newsletter is available in both electronic and paper formats. The latest newsletter can be found here.

 

Brown Bags: This committee organizes presentations on different issues relevant to Psychology students. Presentations can be categorized into two areas: Graduate School and Research. During the spring semester, a graduate student panel is held for current undergraduates to get a first-hand perspective regarding graduate studies in psychology and the application process. Throughout the year UW-Madison faculty are also invited to give a presentation on their current research for Psychology Undergraduates. Students are invited, and encouraged, to ask questions at both talks. We also will be holding an Undergraduate Thesis Symposium for undergraduate members to present their theses and lab tours for psychology students to learn more information about available positions in research labs on campus.

Fundraising: This committee works with all of the committees to help raise money for their activities.  This is an important piece of a successful year for this organization.  In the future, charity fundraising events will also occur.  Past fundraising activities include Pizza Sales, and we expect to expand fundraising activities to include merchandise and restaurant events in which we receive a percentage of their income for a given time period.

Initiation: This committee is assigned to evaluate applications from prospective members.  This also includes advertising for the organization and evaluating the application process.  The initiation committee is also assigned the responsibility of organizing the Initiation Ceremony during the spring semester.

Community Service: This committee evaluates community service opportunities and makes them available for member participation. Past events have included participating in the Suicide Prevention Walk and helping with Psychology 225 IPs. In the future, we hope to gear community service opportunities towards Psychology relevant events, especially if they are available within the department.

 

Psi Chi Applications

Applications for Psi-Chi are accepted in the fall and spring semesters. Deadlines are October 15th and February 15th, respectively. if the deadline falls on a weekend, applications will be due the following Monday. Applications should be submitted to Valerie Johnson, either in her office (Room 430) or in her mailbox on the second floor.

Applications are available here.

Psi Chi Officer Positions

President: Samantha Anderson
Vice President/Social Chair: John Idlas
Treasurer/Secretary: Rachel Wang 
Brown Bag: Nate Kohlenberg 
Newsletter: Sally Slipher 
Community Service: Sara Austin 
Fundraising: Lisa Repshas 
Initiation: Samantha Prust