UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Program Overview
GET INVOLVED in Undergraduate Research
Getting involved in research as an undergraduate in psychology is critical, whether your trajectory is toward graduate school or the workforce. Undergraduate research experience can provide you with unique opportunities to become a more creative, analytical, problem-solving, critical thinker.
In addition, the experiences and skills you gain from involvement in research look great on a resume or a graduate school application. Furthermore, working with a faculty member would allow them to write you a great letter of recommendation.
The Psychology Department provides a variety of formal opporutnites for students to get involved in research.
- PSY4950: Undergraduate Apprenticeship
- Psychology Department Honors Program
- PSI CHI -- The National Honor Society in Psychology
- Psychology Club
- Psychology Department Colloquium
There are, of course, other opportunities--looking for a research mentor? Take a look at the Psychology Department's Research Page to find somebody whose work sparks your interest.
GET FUNDING for Undergraduate Research
Research projects take time, talent, and money. Luckily, there are ample opportunities to fund your undergraduate research project.
GET TRAINING for Undergraduate Research
Research skills are fundamental to the success of field. Consequently, the department's training strategy includes both course-work and hands-on opportunities.
PRESENT your Undergraduate Research
Our students present their work every year at a variety of professional venues, including:
GET RECOGNIZED for your Undergraduate Research
The faculty in the department has an outstanding record of working with undergraduate researchers. In fact, undergraduate students are consistently co-authors on publications and presentations.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEACHER OF THE YEAR
The annual Department of Psychology Awards ceremony is held every spring; students are considered for awards across several categories. The Department of Psychology at Utah State University honors one undergraduate student as its “Researcher of the Year.” In 2009, Jessica Feigleson was selected as the Undergraduate Researcher of the Year.
Jessica is a Psychology Major focusing on infant attention to social categories in Dr. Kerry Jordan's laboratory. In her studies, Jessica found that six-month-old infants, when viewing a series of photographs, are equally attentive to changes in gender as they are to changes in race. Jessica presented these research findings at the USU Undergraduate Research Showcase, where she was awarded second place in the poster session, and also presented a poster at the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters conference. She also received an Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities grant for this research. In the future, Jessica intends to determine if salience of these social dimensions changes over infant development.
Rocky Mountain Psychological Association Conference
We encourage all of our Psychology Undergrads conducting their own research projects to submit their project to the annual Rocky Mountain Psychological Association (RMPA) Conference. In 2011, the RMPA conference will take place at the Radisson Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah
Deadline for Submitting Your Work
January 14, 2011