Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology, founded in 1929 for the
purposes of encouraging, stimulating, and maintaining excellence in
scholarship, and advancing the science of psychology. Membership is open to
graduate and undergraduate men and women who are making the study of psychology
one of their major interests, and who meet the minimum qualifications. Psi Chi
is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and is an affiliate
of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Psychological
Society (APS). Psi Chi's sister honor society is Psi Beta, the national honor
society in psychology for community and junior colleges.
Psi Chi functions as a federation of chapters located at 1,000 senior colleges
and universities in the
Psi Chi serves two major goals--one immediate and visibly rewarding to the individual
member, the other slower and more difficult to accomplish, but offering greater
rewards in the long run. The first of these is the Society's obligation to
provide academic recognition to its inductees by the mere fact of membership.
The second goal is the obligation of each of the Society's local chapters to
nurture the spark of that accomplishment by offering a climate congenial to its
creative development. For example, the chapters make active attempts to nourish
and stimulate professional growth through programs designed to augment and
enhance the regular curriculum and to provide practical experience and
fellowship through affiliation with the chapter. In addition, the national
organization provides programs to help achieve these goals, including national
and regional conventions held annually in conjunction with the psychological
associations, research award competitions, and certificate recognition
programs.
The Society publishes a quarterly magazine, Eye on Psi Chi, which helps to
unite the members, inform them and recognize their contributions and
accomplishments. The quarterly Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research,
fosters and rewards the scholarly efforts of undergraduate psychology students
and provides a valuable learning experience by introducing them to the
publishing and review process.
Students become members by joining the chapter at the school where they are
enrolled. Psi Chi chapters are operated by student officers and faculty
advisors. Together they select and induct the members and carry out the goals
of the Society. All chapters register their inductees at the National Office,
where the membership records are preserved for reference purposes. The total
number of memberships preserved at the national office during the first 73
years is over 422,000. Many of these members have gone on to distinguished
careers in psychology.
(from http://www.psichi.org/about/what_is_psichi.asp)