The Psychology Club has the purpose of promoting social and academic interaction among students interested in our discipline. The only requirement to become a member of Psychology Club is to have an interest in psychology. As well as psychology majors, students from all academic disciplines are welcome to join the club. Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology, founded for the purpose of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining scholarship and advancing the science of psychology. There are currently more that 700 Psi Chi chapters at colleges and universities across the nation. Missouri Western State University was granted a Psi Chi chapter in 1989.
To be eligible to join Psi Chi, a student must have completed at least eight credit hours of psychology courses with a minimum psychology grade average of "B." The student must also have an overall cumulative grade average that ranks in the upper 35% of the student's class (minimum of 3.0). The membership criteria for Psi Chi are posted on department bulletin boards in the first month of each semester. Students meeting those criteria who wish to join Psi Chi must complete an application form. The national office charges a one-time $25.00 application fee to complete the registration process.
Psi Chi is affiliated with the American Psychological Association. Psi Chi has programs at the APA national and regional conventions, and Psi Chi students may submit papers for presentation at those programs.
In addition, for a small fee, any individual student can also become an APA student affiliate. For this fee, one receives the monthly APA Monitor. For further information, and an application, write to the APA.
One of the major activities of Psi Chi and Psychology Club students is to participate in undergraduate psychology conferences. Typically, each spring the students attend the Great Plains Students' Psychology Convention and the Missouri Academy of Sciences. Many students present papers in the undergraduate paper competitions at these conventions. Either literature reviews (nonresearch papers) or empirical research papers may be entered in the competitions. Participation in the conventions is not only a valuable educational experience, and an opportunity to meet students and faculty from other schools, but it also is great addition to one's resume or graduate school application. Employers and graduate school selection committees look quite favorably on research experience and extracurricular activities; in some cases, this can be the deciding factor in whether one in offered a position or admitted into a graduate program.