Research Participation Requirement

Empirical research is the cornerstone of psychology. As such, you will be required to earn research participation credits during each semester that you are enrolled in PSYC 101 or a 200-level PSYC class. (Note: Psych 101 courses and 200-level elective courses require different numbers of credits. Your course instructor will inform you of this number as the semester progresses.) Below are the credit requirements for the Spring 2023 semester:

  • Students enrolled in PSYC 101 (or PSYC 101 + a 200-level elective) - 6 credits
  • Students enrolled in a 200-level PSYC elective - 3 credits

To earn credit, you must participate in research studies that occur outside of your regular class time. Around the middle of the semester, research groups in PSYC 201 and PSYC 301 will post sign-up sheets for their studies on the bulletin board outside of WEY 318. Any additional opportunities to earn research credits will be announced via email and will be posted for students to see. Typically, experimental participation begins mid-semester.

You will receive your research participation credit after completing a study; typically 30 minutes of time is required for one participation credit. You must complete and submit evidence of having completed your research participation requirement one week before the last day of classes.

  • Submission date for Spring 2023: Wednesday, April 26, 2023

If you do not wish to participate in research or do not earn enough research credits from the experimental participation, you can complete alternative writing assignments. The number of research participation credits each writing assignment is worth will be communicated to you by your professor. Writing assignment prompts/instructions will be posted on your course's Canvas page, and will be made available on the same day that research studies begin. Writing assignments are also due one week before the last day of classes (same day as participation credits are due) and will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Only passing writing assignments will earn research participation credit. Failure to meet the research participation requirement will result in your final course grade being reduced by one level on the grading scale (e.g., B to B-).

If you have any questions regarding this process, please reach out to your professor or reach out to Andee Rorabaugh (arorabaugh@pugetsound.edu) in the Psychology Administrative Office (WEY 307A).