Resources

Both the Psychology Club and Psi Chi meet at least twice monthly. The organizations are independent, but frequently work together on projects and many students are members in both organizations.

For current information on these organizations, please click the VLink/CampusLabs links below.

Psychology Club

Psychology Club - V Link

The Psychology Club is a student organization open to all students with an interest in psychology, regardless of major. Activities vary from year to year but often include organized trips to regional and national psychology conferences, invited speakers, community service projects, and research activities. 

Psi Chi

Psi Chi Honor Society - V Link

Psi Chi is an international psychology honor society. As an honors society, membership in Psi Chi is based on demonstrated academic excellence. The membership requirements include: an overall GPA of at least 3.0, completion of 3 semesters, completion of 9 semester hours of psychology courses, a minimum GPA of 3.0 in psychology classes. For more information about Psi Chi, including membership application forms and a full list of membership requirements, visit www.psichi.org. 

Psi Chi Grants and Awards

Members of the international honors society in psychology, Psi Chi, can submit applications for a number of grants and awards. There are various grants/awards available to both faculty and students. Visit this site for specific information about grants/awards and their deadlines.

Required Research Participation for Introductory Psychology Students
All students enrolled in General Psychology PSYC 2301 are required to obtain experience with the methodology of psychological research through participation in psychology studies or through the completion of available equivalent options. A summary of the research requirement is provided below and you will be provided with additional details early in the semester.

The Research Participation Pool (RPP) Manager:
The Research Participation Pool (RPP) Manager is the individual assigned to oversee required research participation of Introductory Psychology students. The RPP Manager provides additional guidance about the process, oversees alternative assignments, and keeps a database of student participation.

Requirements for Introductory Psychology Research Participation:

1. All students enrolled in General Psychology (PSYC 2301) must complete 4.0 hours of research (or equivalent non-research alternatives) by the deadline provided in the course syllabus. Overall, the required research component of the course will be worth 10% of the possible points in the course. These points will be awarded to students on a prorated basis. For example, students who complete 4 hours of research will be awarded all of the possible research points; those who complete 2 hours of research will be awarded half of the possible research points; etc.
2. Information about available research studies will be posted on SONA, a cloud-based software system. More details regarding SONA will be given in class.
3. If you complete 3.5 hours of research without showing up late (or failing to show up at all) for studies, you will be rewarded (credited) with the remaining .5 hours.
4. You can only use TWO hours of ONLINE research participation toward the required 4.0 hours. You are welcome to participate in more than two hours of online research, but you will only get credit for a maximum of 2 hours.

Alternative methods for obtaining research participation credit:

1. If you would rather not participate in a research study, you can earn credit through equitable alternative research-related activities.
2. Details about these alternatives will be provided by the RPP Manager throughout the semester.
3. Many research studies are limited to adults (age 18 or older). If you are younger than 18, you will still need to earn research credits, but should do so by completing 4 hours of alternative activities.
4. Participation in research studies is always voluntary. You always have the option of choosing alternative assignments.

Psychology students at UTRGV can work with faculty in a variety of research areas including clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, animal behavior, health psychology, neuropsychology, evolutionary psychology, social psychology, and forensic psychology.

Engaging in research can help students to:

• Apply their knowledge and get hands on experience,
• Better understand the research process,
• Develop a closer mentoring relationship with a faculty member,
• Learn whether or not graduate work in psychology, including the research process, would be interesting to them,
• Improve their chances of being admitted to graduate school (where research skills are valued), and
• Get a letter of recommendation for work or graduate school applications.

Undergraduate students sometimes participate in research as volunteer student assistants, for upper-division course credit (PSYC 4380), or (rarely) for pay. You must make individual arrangements with a faculty research mentor in order to enroll in PSYC 4380.

Students who are interested in conducting research should approach a faculty member that has research interests that are appealing to the student. That faculty member can help guide the student in developing a project or joining an ongoing project. Students sometimes also become involved in research through Psychology Club or Psi Chi activities.

Graduate students in psychology are particularly encouraged to become involved in research, such as through a thesis project. It is particularly important for students who plan to later pursue a Ph.D., where research skills are more strongly emphasized and previous research experience is more important.

Internships are a vital part of your education and professional experience before you graduate with your bachelor's degree. Upon graduation you will be competing for jobs that require an internship or professional work experience and a simple bachelor's degree will not be enough!

Here are some tips for you to consider:

1. Start looking for an internship early. Search online databases and find application and interview tips from professional organizations like the American Psychology Association and the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers. UTRGV’s Career Center is a great place to start!
2. Talk to UTRGV psychology professors who often hear about opportunities that you might not know about. Many keep bulletin boards or notebooks with current internship information for students. You will need a psychology professor's approval in advance if you wish to receive upper-division course credit.
3. Visit UTRGV's Career Center. They can help you with job and internship placement. The center should also help you build your resume and application packet to give you a strong competitive chance at finding the best job in the psychology field.
4. Join UTRGV's undergraduate or graduate psychology associations (PSI-CHI, etc) as well as state (Texas Psych Association) and national (American Psych Association) as they have an abundance of resources for students. The more involved you are, the more often you can hear about opportunities.
5. Look into the various types of internships for which you may want to apply. Consider counseling at a women's shelter or Planned Parenthood, working with mental or emotional victims of post-traumatic stress disorder at the local VA hospital or local, state, and federal law enforcement agency.
6. Get your resume ready, along with any psychology research studies you have participated in or prior volunteer work information, to prepare for interviews.
7. Send in application packets to the companies for which you'd like to intern. Call the businesses if they haven't gotten back to you within a week of the internship closing date. Ask politely about the status of your application and if the committee needs anything else from you.

Undergraduate Psychology Internship Sites

• Tropical Texas Behavioral Health
• U.S. Department of State Health Services
• Child Protective Services
• Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Parole Division
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Darrell B. Hester Juvenile Justice Center (TYC)
• Communities in Schools of Hidalgo County
• Hidalgo County Community Supervision and Corrections Department
• Mujeres Unidas
• McAllen Police Department
• Hope Community Counseling Center
• New Beginnings

Although some students choose to go on to graduate school, many choose to enter the workforce. The basic requirement for a wide variety of jobs in the world of business, government, and many other public and private work domains is a college degree.

Although there are few jobs that advertise specifically for a person with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, students graduating with a Psychology degree generally get jobs in the business world (employee development and training, customer service, office work, management, sales…), education (if they also pursue a teaching certificate), health care and social services (specific counseling tasks, administration, research…), and in government (law enforcement, probation, administrative work…). However, in order to be truly competitive in the workforce, you should prepare yourself throughout your college years for a career that you would find rewarding by taking classes, both within and outside of psychology, related to your career goal and by developing your job-related skills in out-of-class experiences, such as internships.

Registering early, long before your anticipated graduation, with the UTRGV Career Center can also be helpful. The Career Center can assist with your career development and provide the guidance to better prepare you for that career.

There are many resources available that can help you along the way:

• For further details on careers available to Psychology graduates, visit the APA website’s Psychology as a Career page.

There are two main national psychology organizations in America: The American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. Both organizations include resources for students and offer student membership at a discounted rate. 

The South Western Psychological Association is a regional psychology organization. Its annual conference is a favorite venue for UTRGV psychology students. 

APA

"The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA is the world's largest association of psychologists, with more than 137,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students as its members. Our mission is to advance the creation, communication, and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives."

APA Student Resources

APS

"The Association for Psychological Science (previously the American Psychological Society) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of scientific psychology and its representation at the national and international level."

APS Student Resources

SWPA

The South Western Psychological Association (SWPA) works to promote and strengthen psychology's scientific, professional, and educational facets. At its annual meeting, SWPA offers paper, poster, continuing education sessions, workshops, symposia, and invited talks. SWPA prides itself on serving the psychological community by providing access to scientific advances and professional development within a collegial atmosphere. Students are welcomed and treated as active and valued participants in the discipline." 

There are also many specialized psychology organizations that focus on specific topics in psychology. For a listing of some of these organizations, along with listings of psychology organizations based outside of the USA, visit this site. 

The Honors College provides academically talented and ambitious students an enriched and challenging liberal arts curriculum. The program strives to serve the needs of students who value intellectual growth and want to make the most of their undergraduate education.

The Honors College also offers students the extraordinary opportunity to conduct research at the undergraduate level. The Honors experience fosters the long-term intellectual, ethical and personal growth of each student.

For more information about the program, visit the Honors College website.

All undergraduate students who intend to receive a degree from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley must complete a graduation application available online on ASSIST through myUTRGV by the published deadline in the University Calendar.  That deadline is normally nine months prior to the intended date of graduation. Applications received after the deadline will be processed for the next available graduation date. These deadlines are necessary in order for prospective graduates to be notified of any deficiencies in time to register for the appropriate coursework. 

The Department of Psychological Science is now accepting applications for the Psychology Master’s Research Travel Fund, designed to assist graduate students in conducting research that aligns with the department’s focus areas, including clinical psychology, experimental psychology, and applied behavioral analysis. This funding opportunity aims to enhance student engagement in research, support professional development, and contribute to the advancement of psychological science. Funding is limited and will be disbursed on a first-come, first-serve basis, to those who meet requirements and qualifications.

Click link to see eligibility and application requirements.

Application link: https://utrgv.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cur4Aaez6aEI7aK