Becoming a Member
Membership in Psi Chi is open to those who are making the study of psychology one of their major interests and who are students or faculty members in an institution where a chapter is located. If your school does not have a Psi Chi chapter, have you considered starting a chapter? Undergraduate and graduate students and faculty members who meet the criteria below are eligible for membership. Students and faculty are elected to membership by the chapter at the institution, according to the provisions in the Psi Chi Constitution. Membership in Psi Chi is open to qualified candidates of any age, sex, sexual orientation, race, handicap or disability, color, religion, and national and ethnic origin.
The Psi Chi Constitution requires that undergraduate student applicants to Psi Chi:
- Must be enrolled as a student at your school
- Must have established a GPA at your school
- Must be at least a second-semester sophomore
- Must be enrolled as a major or minor in a psychology program or a program psychological in nature that is equivalent to a psychology major
- Must have completed at least 9 semester hours or 14 quarter hours of psychology courses
- Must have an overall GPA that is in the top 35% of their class based on rankings within sophomore, within junior, and within senior classes across the entire university, or across the college that houses the department of psychology. The chapter must use the larger of the two groups (university or college) for which the three cutoffs can be determined. (if a cut-off for the top 35% is below 3.00, the applicant must have an overall GPA of at least 3.00 on a 4-point scale)
- Must have a psychology GPA that is at least 3.00 on a 4-point scale
* Undergraduate transfer students who wish to join an established chapter must complete at least 12 semester hours (or the quarter equivalent) at the new institution unless the Psi Chi chapter has a transfer student policy that articulates clear alternative criteria, yet still conforms to the Society standards regarding hours. The Society standards regarding hours are that the student must have completed 36 semester hours of college credit (or the quarter equivalent) and 9 semester hours of psychology (or the quarter equivalent).
This means that if chapters adopt an alternative transfer student policy, that policy must be clearly stated in the chapter's bylaws. Chapters may write bylaws which allow transfer students to take fewer than 12 hours of college credit at the new institution; however, chapter bylaws may not lower the minimum required college credit below 36 hours total. Chapter bylaws also may not lower the Society standards for cumulative GPA (students' cumulative GPA must be in the top 35% of their class at the university).
In addition, chapter bylaws may specify how many transfer hours may be counted toward the minimum 9 hours of psychology. Chapter bylaws may not lower the minimum required psychology credit below 9 hours total. Chapter bylaws also may not lower the Society standards for psychology GPA (3.0 minimum).
Chapters should check with their registrar's office before writing any new bylaws
pertaining to transfer student requirements in order to determine how their
campus calculates GPA for transfer students. Some campuses include the
transferred course credits and grades, meaning that the cumulative GPA in the
first semester is based only on the transferred courses. Other campuses only
include the credits, meaning that transfer students have no GPA until they
complete their first semester. If the campus does not include transferred
grades, the chapter bylaws pertaining to transfer students will need to specify
how cumulative and psychology GPAs will be determined by the Faculty Advisor.
The Psi Chi Constitution requires that graduate student applicants to Psi Chi:
- Must be enrolled as a graduate student at your school in a psychology graduate program
- Must have established a GPA at your school
- Must have an overall GPA of at least 3.00 on a 4-point scale in all graduate courses, including psychology courses
** Graduate students who have transferred to a new institution and are interested in becoming a Psi Chi member must complete one semester at the new institution to establish a GPA in addition to the above requirements.
Regarding faculty who are chapter advisors or who want to join Psi Chi:
- The Psi Chi Constitution (see Article XII, Section 7) requires that all Psi Chi faculty chapter advisors be members of Psi Chi. If you are not a Psi Chi member, please send your membership registration form and fee as soon as possible.
- Psi Chi Board of Directors' policy requires that faculty chapter advisors be full-time faculty members and hold a doctoral degree in psychology.
- Psi Chi Board of Directors' policy requires that faculty members who want to join Psi Chi must be full-time faculty members at your school and have a doctoral degree in psychology or a psychology related field.
Undergraduate or graduate students transferring to a new institution who are already a Psi Chi member may transfer their membership to the new institution's Psi Chi chapter by making contact with the Psi Chi faculty advisor, completing a Transfer of Membership form**, and having the advisor sign and forward the transfer form to the Psi Chi Central Office.
Psi Chi chapters may not impose any type of service activity as a condition for membership in Psi Chi—membership eligibility is based on academic performance.
Psi Chi chapters may use more stringent academic criteria for membership than those required in the Psi Chi Constitution, but they cannot use lower academic standards than those required in the Constitution.
The Psi Chi Central Office Membership fee is $45. This one-time fee pays for
lifetime Psi Chi membership, a certificate of membership, and a membership card.
Although there are no annual Central Office dues, there may be chapter dues. Please contact the faculty advisor at your chapter for more information.
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