National Psychology Honor Society
East Carolina University Chapter
Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology, founded in 1929 for the purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in in scholarship, and advancing the science of Psychology. Psi Chi is one of the largest honor societies in the United States with more than 890 chapters. Our chapter programs are designed to help our members become aware of opportunities in the field of psychology and to interact with other members, faculty, and psychologists. Psi Chi is a member of The Association of College Honor Societies, and is an affiliate of the American Psychological Association (APA).
There are unique advantages to joining Psi Chi that cannot be found elsewhere. Membership is not only rewarding to the achiever, but membership also leads to self-fulfillment by recognizing what you do does actually make a difference. This self-fulfillment will in turn motivate you to become a highly productive individual. Psi Chi is valuable to you as a student for many reasons: You come in contact with many professionals whom you may get to know on a personal level that may be valuable resources for future references. Becoming involved in Psi Chi is great experience and looks excellent on a resume; it is difficult to gain leadership and creative experience that many professional occupations and graduate schools look for. Through Psi Chi, members gain a sense of community with others in psychology and an identification with the discipline. Members may develop one-on-one relationships with professors who can involve them in research projects, and write meaningful letters of recommendation for them.
Other benefits include:
Psi Chi provides national recognition for academic excellence in psychology
Psi Chi provides over $250,000 every year in awards and grants to its members
Members receive a membership certificate, card and lapel pin and copies of the Psi Chi publication: Eye on Psi Chi
Membership is for life; National registration fee is only $35 and is the only payment ever made to the national organization.
Psi Chi began at ECU in 1966 under the leadership of Dr. William Grossnickle. Throughout the years Psi Chi has endeavored to serve the Department and all students in psychology. Most notably, the Psi Chi Library (Rawl 302) continues to provide a quiet place to study, handy reference books, and an alternative "conference room" for student research projects and commitee work. Because of the hard work of Psi Chi members in the past, we also have an endowed scholarship for an undergraduate student each year. Four years ago ECU Psi Chi members, dissatisfied by the impersonal nature of the University graduation ceremony, began coordinating a departmental graduation ceremony. The ceremony is well attended, anxiously anticipated by graduates and their families, and includes a nice reception afterward. For two years we have sponsored a Faculty-Student Pot Luck Luncheon each semester to encourage student-faculty interaction outside of the classroom.
While departmental service projects are important, the emphasis of programming is on students. Psi Chi helps psychology students better understand the field of psychology, the career options available in psychology, and ways to become more involved in your education at ECU. We have speakers each semester who discuss getting into graduate school, research opportunities at ECU, and careers in psychology. There is always a speaker who is currently working in the field and will share with us what their job is like and how they got there.
Community service, while not the primary aim of Psi Chi, receives its emphasis through our participation in local volunteer activities (which lately have included cooking a meal at the Ronald McDonald House or providing assistance at other local community agencies such as the Greenville Community Shelter.
Psi Chi also offers students the opportunity for leadership. In December of each year we elect officers to lead the chapter for the following calendar year. We also have a number of committees that operate to implement the projects of the organization. We invite everyone to learn organizational skills, influence skills, and to improve your public speaking skills by becoming an officer or committee chair for Psi Chi.
Membership is open to graduate and undergraduate men and women who are majoring or minoring in Psychology and who meet the minimum qualifications:
For Undergraduates:
Completion of at least 3 semesters of college coursework
Completion of at least 3 Psychology classes (9 credit hours)
Must have at least a 3.0 GPA in Psychology courses
For Graduate Students:
An average grade of "B" or better in all graduate courses including Psychology
Site Last Updated: January 11, 2006