What is PSY 395?

PSY 395 is independent work in Psychology. Most often it consists of working on the research project under faculty supervision. This pass-fail only course may be taken for 1 to 3 credits at a time, up to a maximum of 12 credits over your undergraduate career.

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What are the prerequisites for enrolling in PSY 395?

PSY 395 is open to Psychology majors with at least a 3.0 GPA in psychology coursework, although exceptions are sometimes made to these prerequisites. In addition, you need to be sponsored by a faculty member (even if you are working primarily with a graduate student).

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What do I do in PSY 395?

The duties associated with doing PSY 395 vary widely depending on the person with whom you work. When you are looking for a sponsor, you need to learn exactly what you will do for a 395 with that person. When you find a sponsor, you and the sponsor will write a contract detailing your responsibilities and how you will be graded. So, the "requirements" of 395 are specific to the project you work on and sponsor you work with. Although it is not a prerequisite, it is useful to complete PSY 215 and PSY 216 before taking PSY 395.

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What is the contract for PSY 395?

Because the requirements for PSY 395 vary widely for different individuals, it is important that both the student and the faculty sponsor be very clear about their respective responsibilities. Therefore, each student and faculty sponsor state their responsibilities and the basis for determining a grade for the course in the form of a contract. Both the faculty member and the student sign the contract and copies are held by the student, the faculty member, and the department. If there is some dispute about the expectations of either the student or faculty member at a later point, the contract may be consulted.

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Who should take PSY 395?

Anyone interested in learning about psychological research first-hand is welcome and encouraged to take PSY 395. Any student with thoughts of applying to graduate school in psychology is STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to do PSY 395.

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I'm interested in going to graduate school in Psychology, but why is it so important that I take PSY 395?

There are several good reasons to do PSY 395 if you plan to go to graduate school. One is that a good PSY 395 experience will challenge you and expose you to ways of thinking that you do not often encounter in a classroom. Another is that you will be required to do research in graduate school, so you need to be involved in research as an undergraduate. This will allow you both to evaluate whether you really want to pursue graduate school and gain some important skills that will serve you well in graduate school. Yet a third reason is a very practical one: You will need good letters of recommendation when you apply to graduate school. Faculty cannot write informative letters if they don't know you well. PSY 395 is a great opportunity for a faculty member to become well acquainted with you and your abilities.

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If I'm considering graduate school, when should I do PSY 395?

If you think you might be interested in pursuing a career in psychology, you should plan to do PSY 395 as early as possible. At a minimum, you should plan to enroll in PSY 395 in both semesters of your junior year, and then both semesters of your senior year, with different sponsors each year. Doing 395 with a couple of different faculty sponsors will expose you to a wider range of research experiences and will get you acquainted with two potential letter-writers. If you qualify, you should consider taking PSY 495/496 (senior honors seminar/senior thesis research) in your senior year. In order to be eligible to do 495/496 you must have a sponsor by the end of your junior year, which means that you will have had to have spent at least one semester doing 395 with the potential sponsor.

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How do I find a sponsor for PSY 395?

Sometimes you will find announcements posted in Kastle Hall by faculty and graduate students seeking 395 students. You can answer any announcement. However, not all faculty post such announcements, so you may want to approach individual faculty about the possibility of working with them on a 395 experience. Before contacting faculty members, you should visit http://www.uky.edu/AS/Psychology/faculty.html, where you can learn about each faculty member's research interests. Look for faculty members doing research you find interesting and/or relevant to your future plans, and contact them. In general, you want to find a sponsor by the preregistration period or you will find many of your options closed. All the faculty are engaged in research and most of them sponsor 395 students. It is your responsibility, however, to find a sponsor; YOU SHOULD NOT SIMPLY SIGN UP TO DO PSY 395 AND EXPECT SOMEBODY TO CONTACT YOU (IT WON'T HAPPEN) OR TO FIND A SPONSOR AT A LATER POINT IN TIME.

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If I am considering graduate school, what should I look for in a PSY 395 experience?

First, make certain that you have a reasonable amount of contact with a faculty member. Of course, if you will be working directly with a faculty member, that should not be a problem. However, if you will be working directly with a graduate student, make certain that the faculty sponsor will have adequate opportunities to evaluate your work and get to know you. Remember that one of the practical benefits of doing a 395 is that it is an opportunity to get a solid letter of recommendation. Unfortunately, graduate students don't have enough status in the profession to provide you with a letter of reference that will carry much weight with an admissions committee. It is critical that you get solid letters from faculty members, so you need to have as much contact with them as possible.

Second, get a lot of information about what your responsibilities will be. In general, you do not want to do a project where you perform only one tedious function. You can expect that any 395 will involve its share of tedious tasks because that is a large part of doing research, and there is a lot to be learned about research from doing those tasks. However, there are many components to a research project and you should seek to be exposed to as much of the research process as possible. This includes reading relevant articles, running subjects, coding data, entering data on the computer, discussing how to design experiments, and discussing results. For some projects, it is possible to gain many of these experiences within one semester; for other projects, participating for two semesters will make it possible for you to gain such breadth of experience. The more aspects of a project you get involved in, the more you will get out of the experience and the more your potential letter-writer will learn about your abilities.

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What is PSY 399/EXP 396?

PSY 399/EXP 396 is field based/community based education. You will be an intern at a field setting (e.g., Eastern State Hospital), working toward your pre-set learning goals. You can enroll in this P/F based only course for 1 to 3 credits at a time, up to a maximum of 12 credits over your undergraduate career. To enroll in this course, you must have (1) an internship site, (2) the completed learning contract, and (3) a faculty sponsor.

For more detailed information, visit Office of Experiential Education or its Web site, http://www.uky.edu/UExt/ee/

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What are the differences between PSY 399 and EXP 396?

They are essentially identical in terms of your learning experience. However, if you do your internship by taking EXP 396, then you can use EXP 396 as part of your allied area courses with your faculty advisor’s approval.

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What are the prerequisites for enrolling in PSY 495/PSY 496?

You must be a senior majoring in psychology. Also, you must have: (1) at minimum a 3.60 GPA in psychology; (2) at least a B in PSY 215 and PSY 216; and (3) a faculty sponsor. You must obtain an application form from Dr. Rich Milich (257-4396, milich@uky.edu) and submit the completed form to him.

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Can I take PSY 496 first and then PSY 495?

No. You must take PSY 495 (Fall) first and then PSY 496 (Spring).

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What is PSY 499?

This senior capstone course offers you an opportunity to integrate classroom learning, theory, and practice in the context of a research or field-based experience in psychology. You will spend at least nine hours weekly in the placement site and meet weekly as a group with the course instructor to discuss your progress toward your learning objectives.

To enroll in the course, you must meet the following criteria: (1) declared major in psychology; (2) senior status; (3) consent of instructor; and (4) learning contract with Psychology Department.

Can I take PSY 499 more than once?

No. You can take it only once.

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Is it possible for me to do an internship during summer and sign up for PSY 499 in the following semester?

No. You must do an internship and attend weekly meetings in the same semester.

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Where can I obtain information on the GRE?

The best place is http://www.gre.org/splash.html

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What is a Major Requirements Plan?

The A & S Advising website has a good explanation on this form. Visit http://www.uky.edu/AS/Students/current/advising/faqs.html

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How should I go about joining Psi Chi?

Contact Dr. Ron Taylor (257-4132, psyront@uky.edu) who is the Psi Chi faculty sponsor.

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When should I take PSY 195?

PSY 195 covers various topics such as different fields in psychology, career opportunities for psychology majors, research/internship opportunities, steps involved in getting into graduate school, and so on. Given this coverage of the course, the best time to take it is your freshman year. If you have just changed your major to psychology or been transferred from other school, you should take it as soon as possible. DO NOT PUTT OFF TAKING IT UNTIL YOUR SENIOR YEAR.

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Should I take the four core courses (PSY 311, 312, 313, 314) in a particular order?

No.

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Can I take more advanced lecture/lab or capstone courses than required?

Absolutely! You can use these “extra” courses as part of your psychology elective courses on your major requirements plan.

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Are there different fields in psychology? If so, what are they?

Psychology comprises many different fields such as clinical, cognitive, counseling, cultural, developmental, educational, engineering/human factors/ergonomics, forensic, health, industrial/organizational, neuro, peace, personality, quantitative, school, social, and sports psychology. You can learn more about these fields by visiting such Web sites as:

http://www.apa.org/
http://www.psychologicalscience.org
http://socialpsychology.org/

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