Ashoka Scholars Programme in Psychology

An honours thesis is a capstone course where students will complete a piece of original scholarly work that contributes substantially to the knowledge and/or application of the discipline. Doing a thesis requires a substantial amount of commitment and time management skills. The workload is spread over two semesters, comprising two 8-credit courses, PSY 4998 Honours Research Seminar in the monsoon and PSY 4999 Honours Thesis in the spring. You should expect to spend no less than 20 hours per week per semester. PSY 4998 and PSY 4999 are taken as a package, although registrations begin formally in Jul/Aug for PSY 4998 and Dec/Jan for PSY 4999. It is not possible to do PSY 4999 without completing PSY 4998. It is, however, possible to exit the thesis “halfway”. That is, students have the option to not continue with PSY 4999 after they have completed PSY 4998 at the end of the Monsoon. In some cases, they may be advised not to continue with PSY 4999. In either case, students who do not continue with PSY 4999 have the option to do an (advanced) independent study module (PSY3099 or PSY4087).

Composition of the thesis committee

Your thesis committee consists of two faculty members. One of them is your advisor; you should choose the second member (second reader) in consultation with your advisor. The role your second reader plays should ideally be discussed with them, as well as with your primary advisor, before confirming your second reader.

Grading

PSY 4998:

• Advisors’ assessment of your peer review = 10%
• Advisors’s assessment of student’s research progress = 30%
• Advisor’s assessment of student’s research proposal = 30%
• Second reader’s assessment of student’s research proposal = 30%

PSY 4999*:

• Advisor’s assessment = 30%
• Advisor’s assessment of student’s research proposal = 35%
• Second reader’s assessment of student’s research proposal = 35%

*Note: Grades are not dependent on the statistical significance of your findings.

The honors program is typically in the same field as the major subject of the student, hence the student must fulfil the OAA’s requirements of the advanced major. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required. Exceptions may be considered by writing to the Programme Coordinator.

The Psychology Department offers the Internship in Psychology Instruction course (PSY 4070) to students in their ASP/4th year at Ashoka. Students can only take PSY 4070 once in their time at Ashoka, with rare exceptions during years with a small UGTA cohort.

In order to enroll for the same, students must either fill in the form that is circulated by the TA/ TF coordinator Dr. Majumdar, or write to faculty that they wish to TA for and express their interest. Selection for the role is the prerogative of the faculty member and the Department does not have a set criteria for the selection of UGTAs.

This course prepares senior undergraduate students for college teaching. By now you should have a decent mastery of psychological concepts. How did you attain this mastery? Chances are your mastery was a result of the effort you put in as a student and the didactics used by your instructor. How does one become a good psychology instructor? And how does one learn? In this course, students will be trained in basic pedagogy, familiarize themselves with education and pedagogical issues surrounding higher education, culminating in giving two classes (Basic or Core Domain courses) as an instructor.