The Psychology Department’s senior capstone (PSYC 610 and 620) is a two-term sequence in which small groups of students meet in independent course sections supervised by a faculty mentor. Sections meet to discuss common readings, provide constructive criticism of each others’ work, and to allow students to present work in progress. Discussions, papers, and presentations enhance students’ abilities to conceptualize important questions within the context of the discipline, formulate ways to answer those questions, and present ideas clearly and cogently in both written and oral form.

The centerpiece of the capstone experience is an original and ambitious senior project, allowing students to pursue their own interests in depth, encouraging autonomy and creativity. In consultation with the faculty mentor, students will choose one of the following types of project: a critical review of past theory and research, an original empirical study report, a theory development paper, or a paper that integrates a student’s applied work (e.g., in an internship) with its wider scholarly context. In all cases, students define their own area of interest and develop their own questions and/or hypotheses.  Students pursue their project over two academic terms, culminating in a substantial paper and a public senior oral presentation.  

Click Here For an Application to Take This Course in 2007-2008
(For Psychology Majors Scheduled to Graduate in 2007-2008)