PSI CHI HONOR SOCIETY

What is Psi Chi?

Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology, founded in 1929 for the purpose 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 main interests and who meet the minimum qualifications.* 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. Psi Chi functions as a federation of chapters located at more than 700 senior colleges and universities in the USA. A National Council, composed of psychologists who are Psi Chi members and who are elected by the chapters, guides the affairs of the organization and sets policy with the approval of the chapters.

Our Psi Chi Chapter provides you with the opportunity to join Psi Chi if you meet certain standards required by Psi Chi and the Association of College Honor Societies (the governing body for college honor societies).

Membership in Psi Chi is an earned honor which is for life. A permanent record of your membership is preserved at the Psi Chi National Office and may be used for reference purposes such as applications for graduate school and jobs. The Psi Chi national membership fee is $35. This one-time fee is for lifetime membership, a certificate suitable for framing, and a membership card. There are also $10 semester chapter fees.

When you are inducted into Psi Chi, you become eligible to wear a Psi Chi honor cord, medal, keypins, charms, lapel pins, tie tacs, cloth emblems for blazers or sweaters, etc. A quarterly Psi Chi Newsletter is sent to each chapter for distribution to the members. Psi Chi members are eligible to present research papers/posters at the national, regional, state, international, and local conventions. Members may participate in undergraduate and graduate research award competitions. The names of new members and activities of chapters are published in the Newsletter and preserved for historical purposes.

If you are interested in joining Psi Chi, please contact the faculty advisor, Dr. Lauren Scharff at lscharff@sfasu.edu , or a Psi Chi officer (see Contacts page).   Based on national requirements, the chapter will determine if you are eligible for membership. We look forward to hearing from you.

Objective

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

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