The Honors Program

Students can participate in the Honors Program in two ways: by undertaking all of the requirements listed below for Commonwealth Honors or by undertaking the requirements listed only for Departmental Honors. Commonwealth Honors runs throughout a student's undergraduate career, whereas Departmental Honors takes place only in the student's last two years. Commonwealth Honors includes the requirements for Departmental Honors; a student might undertake only Departmental Honors if he or she transferred to Bridgewater or developed an interest in pursuing honors work after the freshman year.

Commonwealth Honors

Students seeking Commonwealth Honors must accumulate a total of 12 credits of Honors level work at the 100-200 level during their first two years. Honors credit at this level can be earned in two ways: by taking four three-credit Honors courses or by taking a mix of three-credit Honors courses and one-credit Honors colloquia totaling 12 credits. Both Honors courses and colloquia are described in the Course Schedule issued shortly before registration.

Students must have and maintain an overall cumulative GPA of 3.3 to join and remain in the Honors Program. For incoming freshmen, combined math and verbal SATs must be 1100 or higher to join.

Students must complete Departmental Honors in order to graduate with Commonwealth Honors.

Departmental Honors

Honors work at this level emphasizes independent study and research in the major. The student researches and writes an Honors thesis over two semesters under the direction of a faculty member on a one-on-one basis. Whether the thesis qualifies the student to graduate with Honors will be determined by the Departmental Honors Committee. For many students the Honors thesis is the intellectual high point of the undergraduate experience - fascinating and exciting in its own right, and valuable as a preparation for graduate school or professional employment.

To join departmental honors in psychology:

(1) Complete the following two Psychology courses before applying for Departmental Honors: PSYC-201: Statistics for Psychology and PSYC-320: Research Methods in Psychology. Students must receive a B or better in both courses in order to apply for Departmental Honors.

(2) Students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or a Psychology GPA of 3.3.

(3) Students must complete an application form for Departmental Honors available in the Psychology Department Office.

(4) During their junior year students need to take the Pre-Honors Psychology Colloquium PSYC-399. This colloquium must be completed prior to starting the Honors thesis. Please note that the Pre-Honors Psychology Colloquium PSYC-399 will be offered in the Spring 2008 semester. This colloquium is designed to prepare students for completing an Honors thesis. Outcomes for the course include choosing a research topic, choosing a mentor, and developing a research proposal.

(5) Students must complete a two-semester Honors thesis (PSYC-485) and complete the other colloquium (Honors Psychology Colloquium PSYC-400) which will be taken twice concurrent with the Honors thesis. PSYC-400 is a one hour weekly meeting that students would enroll in concurrent with PSYC-485 Honors Thesis for a total of two credits over two semesters. This course is designed to support and monitor students with their thesis progress with the objective of completing an Honors thesis. This course will be available starting Fall 2008.

For information about Commonwealth Honors, please contact the Director of the Honors Program, Dr. Sandra Neargarder at sneargarder@bridgew.edu. For information about completing Departmental Honors in Psychology, please contact the Chair of the Psychology Honors Committee, Dr. Teresa King, at tking1@bridgew.edu. For more information on the Honors Program please visit our website at http://www.bridgew.edu/HonorsProgram/.

Last Modified: March 28, 2012