Department of PsychologyMajor in PsychologyResearch Opportunities & Experiment Signups

Undergraduate Research Opportunities & Experiment Signups

Undergraduate Research

Students interested in conducting research under the direction of psychology faculty may enroll in Research Participation (Psych 498 or 499).

Check the bulletin board for listings. It is located on the 2nd floor of Johnson Tower or contact Psychology research faculty via email.
Contact the faculty member that you are interested in working with and ask them about the work. If you agree to work with them, the Mentor will send you a link to the 498/499 contract.
You may take (4) credits of Psych 499 per semester, and it may be repeated for an unlimited number of credits.
Remember, one credit is equivalent to 3 hours of work per week.
After the contract is completed by you and approved by the mentor, you will be registered by the Psych department within 10 business days from the contract approval.

Psychology Experiments

The login process has been updated to WSU Single Sign On (SSO). From the login page, select the green Network ID Log In button and log in using your WSU NID and password.

Psychology Human Subject Pool Information (pdf)

Access the Psychology Experiment Signup System

Undergraduate Research Grants

To develop and showcase outstanding undergraduate research in psychology, the Department of Psychology awards research grants each fall and spring semester to undergraduates conducting independent research projects under the direction of psychology faculty.

To be eligible for a research grant, the student project must fulfill the following criteria:

It must be developed in collaboration with a mentor on the psychology faculty.
It must have scientific merit.
It must include an original contribution by the student. That is to say, the scientific question and the written proposal should be as student-driven as possible.

In addition, applicants should have some previous research experience before they apply (e.g., Psych 498 credits) and they must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

Research grants of up to $750.00 will be awarded to defray costs associated with conducting the project. Applicants may request any amount of money up to, but not exceeding, $750.00. In their proposals, applicants should outline why the funds are needed to complete the project and provide a budget that specifies how the funds will be used. Grant recipients will be selected and announced annually in March and November. All recipients will present the results of their projects at the Department of Psychology’s Undergraduate Research Symposium, held each year in April. For this reason, projects funded in November must be completed by April of the following year. Those funded in March must be completed by April of the following year.

Applications for research grants are available in the Department of Psychology main office (Johnson Tower 233). Proposals are reviewed each fall and spring semester by the selection committee. Deadlines for submission vary from semester to semester, but typically occur in late Oct each fall semester and mid-March each spring semester. Students interested in applying for a research grant are encouraged to talk to their faculty research mentors about this opportunity.

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Initiated in 2002, the Undergraduate Research Initiative is designed to recognize and reward outstanding undergraduate research within the Department of Psychology. Each year, undergraduate students are invited to submit proposals for original research projects. Students design these projects with the assistance of psychology faculty. These projects reflect the diverse interests of our students and faculty, and include both basic and applied research. Each spring, the results of these projects are presented at Department of Psychology Undergraduate Research Symposium, an event open to the entire university and Pullman/Moscow community. Joining the grant recipients are other undergraduate presenters who are conducting psychological research under the direction of faculty mentors. This event has steady grown in size since 2002.

In conjunction with the symposium’s poster session, a guest speaker gives an invited presentation on his/her research within the field of psychology. Past guest speakers have included:

2016: Paul Fric
“The Causes of Youth Violence and Effective Ways to Prevent It”
2017: Kevin Douglas
“What do we know about the link between mental disorder and violence?”
2018: Chris Barry
“From Traditionalists to Generation Z: Generational Differences in Psychology”
2019: Matthew Johnson
“25 Empirical Findings on Intimate Relationships in 50 Minutes”
2020: Liliana Lengua (cancelled: COVID)
2021: Liliana Lengua
“Bioecological Model of the Effects of Economic Disadvantage and Adversity on Children’s Developmental Outcomes”
2022: Gordon Asmundson
“Understanding Pandemic Stress: Emergence of a Distinct Psychological Research Field and Related Training Opportunities”
2023: Ashley Knapp
“Designing Digital Mental Health Tools with Teens and Public Libraries”
2024: Leslie Leve
“An Intervention for Females Involved in the Juvenile Justice System: Mechanisms of Action and Intergenerational Transmission”
2025: David Hammond
“Understanding evolving cannabis markets: Products, policies, and implications for regulating legal markets”

The following are quotes from past grant recipients about their experience conducting research as an undergraduate:

“My experience in research goes onto my resume as well as my transcript. I feel that it gives me an edge over other applications and shows my responsibility and determination to potential employers and graduate programs.”
(Kristie-Lea Kelley, ’04 Zoology BS)-

“This experience strengthened my knowledge about psychology and I hope that the knowledge and experience gained will benefit my future goal of graduate school. I hope this experience, along with my previous experience with neuroscience research, makes me a first choice candidate.”
(Summer Sweet, ’04 Psych BS & Neuroscience BS)

“Being encouraged to produce and develop research proposals at the undergraduate level is very motivating and inspiring. It gives a student the chance to test out areas of interest in research and further helps to decide post-graduation plans.”
(Kelby L. Holtfreter, ’05 Psych BS & Neuroscience BS)

“My experiences involving research will aid me in my future goals of becoming a valued researcher in the field of behavior analysis. The opportunity to perform my own research will contribute to better performance and acclimation in any type of scientific environment. It promotes flexibility in problem-solving and critical analysis of theoretical concepts.”
(Shea Colleen Bower, ’04 Psych BS)

“I now feel that medicine without understanding the foundations of research is rather pointless. I hope to combine my knowledge of medicine and clinical psychology.”
(James Bales, ’04 Psych BS & Neuroscience BS)

“[Research] helped me to improve many skills such as time management, verbal and written communication and collaborative skills. Although my current research is not directly related to the field [I eventually hope to enter], it taught me many skills that will enable me to pursue my goals. Graduate school and Ph.D. programs require a lot of research and with this background, completing such projects should be a lot easier.”
(Emily Verbon, ’04 Psych BS)

“The best part about doing research is the extended interactions I have had with people I work with, both professors and graduate students.”
(Jeremiah Brown, ’03 Psych BS)

“The best part about undergraduate research is the chance to gain practical experience in your chosen field (or a related one) that can help you determine if you actually enjoy doing that type of work. It is also a great opportunity to make contact with researchers in the field and expand your knowledge of career possibilities.”
(Victoria Cussen, ’03 Psych BS)