Undergraduate Research
Research Opportunities
Undergraduate students have many opportunities to become involved in conducting psychological research in our department. While you’ll get experience in research in a number of courses, PSYC 395 and PYSC 491 allow students to do research for course credit. Some students have course credit positions in a psychology lab. Marietta College also provides funding to support student research conducted under the guidance of members of our faculty. These include both academic-year and summer fellowships, both awarded on a competitive basis through the Investigative Studies Program. Students can also apply for funding to present their work at professional conferences. Eligible students may also complete a research thesis for credit through the Marietta College Honors Program.
Research for Course Credit
A great way to learn more about psychological research is to become actively involved through PSYC 395-Directed Research or through PSYC 491-Psychology Research. Participating in PSYC 395 or 491 lets you learn more about the methods used by psychologists and about the topics they study. This is especially valuable for students considering graduate study in psychology, and it can be an educational and enjoyable experience for others as well.
Undergraduate students working with Marietta College faculty members have been authors and co-authors of research papers and presented their work at professional psychology conferences, including the annual meetings of the Eastern Psychological Association and the Midwestern Psychological Association.
PSYCH 395 is designed to provide research training that is comparable to an upper-level research course. You may be working on a faculty member’s project, as part of a lab, or on something a bit more independent. In contrast, PSYCH 491 is designed to provide students with an opportunity to conduct a novel and empirical research project of their own choosing with a faculty mentor.
Research Labs
A great way to get involved in research as an undergraduate is to become part of a research lab. Below are our current active faculty research labs in the Department of Psychology:
Social-Cognition Lab: The Social-Cognition Lab (or So-Cog Lab) is a group of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students interested in research in the domain of social-cognition. Questions about how our beliefs affect us, about unconscious cognition, and more are researched by groups within the lab, The Social-Cognition Lab is headed up by Dr. Mark Sibicky.
Investigative Studies Grants
The mission of the Investigative Studies Program at Marietta College is to provide students with an opportunity to pursue their research and creative interests in a manner not found in a typical class setting, promote intellectual curiosity and stimulate creativity in students in an academic discipline or between disciplines, and foster a sense of learning, sharing and commitment with a community of scholars. The Investigative Studies Program provides students with research fellowships, travel fellowships, and supplies grants for undergraduate student research projects at Marietta College. To learn more, please visit the Investigative Studies Program Webpage.
Honors Research
Another way to be involved in research for credit is to pursue an Honors Research Thesis at Marietta College. Juniors and seniors specialize in their chosen field by working with faculty members on a senior thesis. This kind of independent learning enables students to progress through a research experience under the guidance of an expert in the field. The Honors Research Thesis is a way to distinguish yourself from other graduating seniors; it is a first step in work you will do either in your professional life or in graduate school. To learn more, please visit the Honors Program Webpage.
All Scholars Day
All Scholars Day is an annual on-campus conference for student research and creative work. The goals of All Scholars Day are to enhance the culture of undergraduate research and creative work at MC, celebrate undergraduate researchers and artists and the work they have done, and provide a venue for students to gain experience presenting research and discussing their creative work with their peers and faculty. Students completing any independent or group research or creative project, senior capstone students, students completing directed research projects, and students completing Investigative Studies and Honors Research Theses are welcome and encouraged to attend and present. Attendance at the conference is open to all members of campus.
Graduate Research
Graduate students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the many opportunities to become involved in conducting psychological research in our department. While you’ll get experience in research in a number of courses, PSYC 672 and PYSC 691/692 allow students to do research for course credit. Some students have non-credit positions in a psychology lab, sometimes associated with a graduate assistantship.
Marietta College also provides funding to support student research conducted under the guidance of members of our faculty. These include both research and travel grants through the Graduate Council. While every student is required to complete a research thesis (PSYC 691/692), additional research is typically very helpful in finding the student’s niche in psychology, and helps with getting material to present at conferences or publish, which is very important when applying to doctoral programs.
Research for Course Credit
A great way to hone your research skills is to become actively involved through PSYC 672-Practicum in Directed Research. Typically, a student enrolling in this course will choose a faculty member to work with for the project, which can be a student-driven or faculty-driven project. The student taking the course should be significantly involved in the research project, which can be related to the student’s main research thesis project, but should be separate from it.
A requirement of all graduate students in the program is to complete a research thesis. During this research project, students enroll in PSYC 691 and PSYC 692, typically during the first and second semesters of the second year in the program. The project topic should be of the student’s choosing, and is conducted under the mentorship of a thesis committee and thesis chair. The result of the project is a scientific paper with conclusions drawn about original hypotheses, and defended in front of the thesis committee.
Graduate students working with Marietta College faculty members have been authors and co-authors of research papers presented their work at professional psychology conferences, including the annual meetings of the Eastern Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science Annual Meeting, and the Midwestern Psychological Association.
Research Labs
A great way to get involved in research as a grad student is to become part of a research lab. Below are our current active faculty research labs in the Department of Psychology:
Social-Cognition Lab
The Social-Cognition Lab (or So-Cog Lab) is a group of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students interested in research in the domain of social-cognition. Questions about how our beliefs affect us, about unconscious cognition, and more are researched by groups within the lab, The Social-Cognition Lab is headed up by Dr. Mark Sibicky.
Graduate Council Grants
The graduate student grant program is designed to foster a sense of learning and commitment between students and a community of scholars. Grants (typically $500 maximum per student per project) enable students to attend, present or display their projects at state, regional or national conference (s) in an academic field or to defray costs for research.
The Graduate Council reviews all applications. Students presenting at conferences will be prioritized for funding over those simply attending conferences. All interested students are encouraged to apply for funding; however, because funding is limited, some qualified students may receive only partial funding, or no funding at all.
For approved requests, expenses will be reimbursed after the costs are incurred. Students are reminded of the need to retain receipts for reimbursement. Receipts should be submitted to Tina Perdue, Registrar.
Student Application Criteria
- In good standing within the graduate program.
- Sponsorship by the graduate program.
- Open to all graduate Marietta College students wishing to make a presentation or attend a conference in an academic, professional, or interdisciplinary program or requesting support for out-of-pocket research expenses. The presentation should be identical to what a professional in the particular field would give, and should be based on the student’s own work.
- The committee will consider grant applications three times during the academic year. Students should submit an electronic copy of the grant application to the Chair of the Graduate Council by one of the three published deadlines (see below) during the academic year.
- A group of students co-presenting, or wishing to travel together to attend the same conference should apply individually; all students with whom you are sharing travel costs should be listed below as indicated and all should submit grant requests for the same deadline. Please make an effort to share expenses (transportation, hotel rooms, etc. as appropriate).