Psychology

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, this 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. Also, the Society publishes a Psi Chi newsletter, which helps to unite and inform the members and to recognize their contributions and accomplishments.

The intrinsic value of membership is rewarding to the achiever in that recognition of excellence leads to self-fulfillment and thus to self-realization. By recognizing that what you do does make a difference, you are stimulated to higher productivity. Accomplishments are enjoyed more when shared with others. Furthermore, the contacts made through Psi Chi will be valuable throughout your educational and professional careers.

Concrete advantages of membership include:

1. A membership certificate which gives tangible evidence of membership.
2. The references provided throughout one's lifetime (this service alone is worth the investment).
3. The experience gained by working with Psi Chi is excellent for building up a resume; it is difficult to attain that first managerial and creative experience.
4. Psi Chi is a springboard for professional growth. Opportunities are made available to the members for promoting their research, receiving national and international recognition, meeting and interacting with leaders in their field, and meeting Psi Chi members of other chapters who also will be future leaders.
5. The United States government recognizes membership in Psi Chi as meeting one of the requirements for entrance at the GS-7 level in the Federal Service.

In addition to the benefits mentioned above is knowing that many individuals, by their caring, dedication, perseverance, and hard work, have made it possible to encourage young persons interested in psychology to strive for excellence - to reach toward that attainable star.

The ultimate test of the value of any membership organization lies in the accomplishments of its members. In each year of Psi Chi's history, more and more members have undertaken graduate studies. Now in its 67th year, Psi Chi is well represented in the professional ranks of all the behavioral sciences. The membership directories of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society are studded with the names of Psi Chi members, both active and alumni. This is only one example demonstrating that the Society's purposes are being fulfilled.

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. Because the officers and faculty advisors are volunteers and their time is limited, anyone interested in joining Psi Chi should take the initiative and contact the psychology department, the faculty advisor, and / or the local officers.

All chapters register their inductees at the Psi Chi International Office, where the membership records are preserved for reference purposes. The total number of members recorded at the International Office during the first 66 years is 287,000; many of these members have gone on to distinguished careers in psychology.

The Psi Chi Society membership fee is $75. This one-time fee pays for a lifetime Psi Chi membership and a certificate of membership. Fill out the online Membership Form and join us TODAY to become a part of the largest student psychological organization in the world!

Membership is open to undergraduate and graduate students who are making the study of psychology and/or Behavioral Neuroscience one of their major interests and who meet the following minimum qualifications:

• must have established a GPA at GVSU;
• must be at least a second-semester sophomore;
• must be enrolled as a major or minor in a psychology program or a program psychological in nature that is equivalent to a psychology major;
• must have completed at least 9 semester hours or 14 quarter hours of psychology courses;
• must have an overall GPA that is in the top 35% of your class based on rankings within sophomore, within junior, and within senior classes (if the cut-off for the top 35% is below 3.00, the applicant must have an overall GPA of at least 3.00 on a 4-point scale;
• Must have a psychology GPA that is at least 3.00 on a 4-point scale.

Psi Chi is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) and is an affiliate of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Psychological Society (APS).