Psi Chi - Behind Psych Day 2011

Psych Day 2011
Photo taken by Brittany Hays

On Wednesday, April 27th the Psychology Department held its annual Psych Day, an event intended to foster and generate student enthusiasm for psychology. Activities for the day included poster contests, guest lectures, workshops, graduate school fairs and games.

The event is held every year during spring semester through Psi Chi, an international honor's society within the psychology department. Membership in Psi Chi offers students the opportunity to network with other peers in the field and helps to promote member research in psychology. It is an earned honor to be a member of Psi Chi, and requires selection based upon criteria determined by the National organization. These include:

• 12 semester units in Psychology
• Status as a Psychology major or minor
• An overall GPA of at least 3.0 for all college-level courses
• Psychology GPA of at least 3.4 (in the Psych major)
• One time processing fee of $60 (Dues are spent according: $45 for lifetime national membership, $5 for Long Beach Chapter, $10 for the chapter activity fund)

Psi Chi welcomes psychology students
Photo taken by Brittany Hays

Psi Chi is also recognized by the United States government as meeting one of the requirements for entrance at the G5-7 level in the Federal Service. (G5-7 stands for a grade level along the Federal Government pay system.)

Christina Siu, Psi Chi President at CSULB, says that Psych Day is the biggest even that Psi Chi holds each year. She has been an active member in the society for four years, and president for a year. Responsible for club management, scheduling and directing activities, Siu says that she has surprised herself in gaining this title. "I've always been the more quiet and timid type, and would have never thought I would be a president of a society," she says. "Although there are a lot of responsibilities and have definitely been challenges, I feel that the challenges that I have faced have really helped me grow."

"Being part of a society helps you to meet and network with other people in your field and gain experience that can really make a difference," Siu says.

Psi Chi accepts applications for membership online once every Fall and Spring semester. To find out more please visit https://sites.google.com/site/psapsichi/join-psichi. The deadline for accepting applications is Oct 15th, and should be turned into PSY 100.