About Psi Chi

The Kansas State University chapter of Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology, was established in 1970 by Dr. Jerome Frieman. The purpose of Psi Chi is to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship and to advance the science of psychology. Membership is by invitation. The national organization established the guideline that membership be limited to those students in the upper 35 percent of their class in general scholarship. Students must have completed at least 10 hours or four classes in psychology. Our chapter requires students to earn a 3.2 overall GPA and a 3.2 GPA in their psychology classes. Once inducted into Psi Chi, a person is a lifetime member; therefore, while we are predominantly an undergraduate organization, our chapter includes a few graduate students who were inducted as undergraduates. Currently we have approximately 70 members.

One of our chapter's goals is to provide members with experiences that might otherwise not be available to them in their classes. For example, some semesters we organize a trip to Ellsworth Correctional Facility in Ellsworth, Kansas. During this trip students visit with a panel of prisoners and get a complete tour of the facility. This trip gives an in-depth look at what prison life is like. Other times we have visited the Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph, MO and see some amazing equipment that used to be used to treat mental illness.

Our chapter has also sponsored service projects and several panels on topics such as applying to graduate school, finding jobs in psychology, and studying abroad. We also manage the Psychology Department's display at the K-State Open House. The KSU chapter of Psi Chi also sponsors several social occasions for members each semester, including an annual spring banquet.

For information on becoming a Psi Chi member, please contact Psi Chi Faculty Advisor Dr. Heather Bailey, Department of Psychology, 414 Bluemont Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-5302; e-mail: hbailey@ksu.edu.

For more information on Psi Chi on a national level, please visit the Psi Chi national website.