Department Information
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PSYSC Graduate Student Guidebook (PDF) Information about course requirements, thesis procedures, policies, and facilities.
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Internships for Clinical Students Get information about choosing and completing an internship, as well as the forms you'll need.
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Study plan for study abroad/field experience courses (DOC) If you want to take a course offered by any department that includes a field experience or study abroad, get this form, complete it, and submit it to the Director of Graduate Studies (either electronically or as a paper copy) as early as possible and before you pay any fees associated with the course.
Completing a Thesis or Independent Research Project
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Recommended timeline Follow this timeline to graduate in May, or push everything back two months if you plan to graduate in July.
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Time management You have to stick to a schedule to get your project done. Read Kuther's advice with commentary by Dr. Pickel.
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Bracken Library provides numerous resources to help you with your research. From the main page, you can access databases (e.g., PsycINFO), view a calendar showing workshops on various topics such as tecnhiques for searching databases, reserve a study room, and order articles that are not held by Bracken through Interlibrary Loan. Reference librarians are available to meet with you to provide individualized support.
- Starting to organize your literature review can seem overwhelming. Read some tips here.
- Writing well isn't easy, but it's a skill you can learn. Get some great expert advice from Wagenmakers (2009) and Roediger (2007).
- The Purdue Online Writing Lab has a section on APA style.
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Ball State grants There are several funding sources for graduate student research and for graduate student travel to conferences. Note that the Hollis Fund is specifically for psychology students.
- Bring the Thesis Proposal Form [choose “Masters Topic Approval (6 hr)”] to your proposal meeting. Your thesis committee signs this form when they approve your proposal.
- You must submit two forms to the Graduate School to finalize your thesis. One is the Thesis Final Approval Form [choose "Signature Page (Master's 6 hr - Sample)"], which you create from a template and have your committee sign when they approve your thesis. The second form is the ETD Signature Form [choose "Research Paper, Thesis, Creative Project, or Dissertation (ETD) Signature Form"]. Bring both forms to your defense meeting.
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Guidelines for thesis submission The Graduate School requires you to submit the final version of your thesis electronically. Find out how. Deadlines can be found here also.
- What does a finished thesis look like? Here are some previous PSYSC students' theses, recommended by faculty as good examples.
Kevin Blankenship
Chris Childs
Tayla Lee
Kim Miller Kim received the BSU Distinguished Thesis Award for her research.
Josh Staller
Wesley Stoller
Ball State Graduate School Information
Professional Associations
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Association for Psychological Science This national organization promotes "scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of human welfare." At this site you can get information about membership, the annual conference, resources for graduate students, teaching tips, links to psychology resources, and more.
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American Psychological Association The mission of this national organization is to "advance psychology as a science and a profession." Visit this site for information about membership, the annual convention, student resources, publications, and more.
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American Psychological Association Insurance Trust Students on a clinical internship can get malpractice insurance through APA.
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Midwestern Psychological Association This site for this regional psychology organization offers information about membership and the annual spring meeting in Chicago.
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American Psychology-Law Society The Division 41 organization of the APA is "devoted to scholarship, practice, and public service in psychology and law." This site provides information about conferences, grants, careers, psychology and law doc programs, references and more.
Financial Support