Student Organizations

The Department of Psychology encourages its majors and minors to participate in extra-curricular activities related to their field of study. Participation in co-curricular activities such as the Psychology Club and Psi Chi (the International Psychology Honor Society) is a good way of demonstrating to prospective employers and graduate schools that one has been an active and inquiring student and that one has the motivation to succeed in one’s area of interest. Students will find the rewards of participation in such organizations well worth the time that they invest in such activities. Contact the Department of Psychology main office for more information.

Psychology Peer Mentoring Program

The UWSP Psychology Peer Mentoring Program is a recognized UWSP student organization designed to help psychology students and those who are thinking about becoming psychology majors or minors learn important and useful information about psychology at UWSP from student mentors. Mentors are typically juniors or seniors who have been highly successful in psychology and have completed mentor training sessions. Mentees consist of any UWSP student who wants more information and guidance about being successful as a psychology student. Mentees who sign up for the program are paired with a mentor who will work closely with them throughout the semester on issues such as:

• Assistance with planning course schedules & preparing for advising sessions with faculty advisors
• Getting information on Career Options and/or Graduate School
• Getting information on Psychology Internships
• Getting information on Research Assistantships
• Getting information on the Human Services Concentration
• Getting information on Psychology Club
• Getting information on Psi Chi Psychology National Honor Society
• Assistance with Academics (info & help with how to obtain academic success)
• Getting information on Campus & Community Resources
• Getting Tips on Study Skills
• Participating in a variety of on & off-campus social groups/events/activities
• Being introduced to other psychology majors
• Being introduced to psychology professors
• Getting information on volunteer activities related to psychology

Psychology Club

The Psychology Club is a recognized student organization with membership open to any interested individual. The club meets at least monthly, and organizes speakers, programs, field trips and other activities of interest to psychology students, in addition to serving as a social activity. The number of programs sponsored by the Psychology Club is entirely dependent upon the activity level and interest of its student officers and members.

Typical club activities include: Sponsorship of the annual Department of Psychology picnic in early May; fundraising for students to attend the annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association (held each year on the first weekend of May); and, the sponsorship on campus of nationally known speakers from a wide range of viewpoints and areas. Examples of such speakers have included Thomas Szasz, M.D., (well known for his ideas on the reality of mental illness); Albert Ellis, Ph.D. (author of numerous books, the developer of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, and also noted as a sex therapist); Sol Gordon, Ph.D. (a widely published expert in the field of human sexuality); Bibb Latane, Ph.D. (prominent social psychologist and past president of the Midwestern Psychological Association); and Frank Farrelly, MSW (the social worker who originated Provocative Therapy). The club also sponsors psychologists from the local community and from our own faculty and staff who make presentations on their areas of interest.

Psi Chi - International Honor Society in Psychology

Outstanding psychology students are eligible for membership in the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Chapter of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. Psi Chi is a recognized student organization whose membership is open to psychology majors and minors who have completed at least 13 hours of psychology, have reached at least junior status, have at least a 3.2 overall Grade Point Average (GPA) and a 3.3 GPA in psychology courses. The local chapter periodically sends letters to eligible students informing them of the opportunity to join Psi Chi, but membership is open at any time to students who meet the membership criteria.

Our chapter of Psi Chi, one of approximately 600 across the nation, was founded in May of 1977. Since that time approximately 30 students from UWSP have joined this nationally recognized group of scholars each year. The benefit of membership is primarily the recognition of scholarly attainment through membership in a national honor society, which can be shown on your resume.

Members are eligible for free copies of the quarterly Psi Chi newsletter while on campus, may attend meetings of the group which occur periodically, and may submit research papers to the Psi Chi Paper Conferences held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the annual meetings of all regional psychological associations. Furthermore, the University of Wisconsin-Madison chapter of Psi Chi sponsors an annual Psi Chi Paper Symposium in the spring to which students from Midwestern undergraduate institutions may submit papers.

Our chapter of Psi Chi also sponsors occasional programs of interest to psychology majors, including a “Graduate School Night” usually held during the spring semester, at which department faculty discuss their graduate school experiences. One-time membership fees for the national and local organizations currently are approximately $50.