To provide a supportive and enriching training experience, we invest significant time and resources to our honors students. As such, we usually have the capacity to advise 0-2 honors students each academic year. Requests to complete an honors thesis with our lab are reviewed every February for the following academic year. Based on the requests that we receive and our current staffing and project needs, we will determine how many honors students (if any) we can advise for the following academic year. Priority is given to our current research assistants, and we rarely accept honors students who are not currently involved in our research. If you are interested in completing an honors thesis with our lab, please submit the following materials in a single PDF document HERE no later than January 31. Please include your first name and last name in the file name.

1. A description (250-500 words) of the research that you would like to conduct for your honors thesis. Our lab is currently well-equipped to support research ideas related to public knowledge of mental illness and effective treatments, stigma regarding mental illness and help-seeking, satisfaction with previous mental health treatment, and the quality and effectiveness of community mental health services for youths and families. Honors students are encouraged to lead a study that involves secondary analysis of archival data. Given the scope of our work, it is typically not possible for honors students to complete a project that involves original data collection in one year. Please note that proposed ideas are often revised in consultation with a graduate student mentor and Dr. Park before starting the actual honors thesis. This proposal is intended to give us a sense of your research interests and assess whether we have relevant knowledge, skills, and data for supporting your honors thesis.

2. A literature review of at least five journal articles related to your proposed idea. For each journal article, include: (a) the reference; (b) a brief summary of the journal article (100-250 words); and (c) a brief explanation of how this journal article is related to your idea (50-100 words). Students who are new(er) to writing a literature review may find this guide to be helpful.

3. Your CV. Please make sure that your first name, last name, and email address are listed on your CV. The following resources may be helpful when preparing your CV:

   • How to Write a Strong CV, provided by the Association for Psychological Science.

   • Example CV, provided by the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

   • CV Template, provided by Dr. Alayna Park (download to view additional tips).

   • Build Your Bullet Points, provided by the University of California, Los Angeles Career Center.

4. A copy of your unofficial transcript.

What our lab expects from honors students:

• Complete requirements for your respective honors program(s). Undergraduate students may complete an honors thesis through Clark Honor College and/or the Psychology Department honors program.

• Work on an ongoing lab project for at least 6 hours per week for the full academic year. Honors students are expected to strengthen their research knowledge and skills by working on a research project led by a graduate student or Dr. Park, in addition to completing work on their honors thesis.

• Read at least 30 journal articles related to your honors thesis by the end of the Summer term.

• Write a 5-10 page, double-spaced literature review by the end of the Fall term.

• Write your method section, and analyze your data by the end of the Winter term.

• Present your results at the UO Undergraduate Research Symposium in May.

• Write your results and discussion sections by the end of the Spring term.

• Submit your thesis for publication in the Oregon Undergraduate Research Journal or another peer-reviewed scientific journal.

What honors students can expect from our lab:

• All of the benefits afforded to our research assistants, including foundational research skills, knowledge of mental health care, professional development, and a letter of recommendation from Dr. Park.

• Weekly 30-minute meetings with a graduate student mentor to support your work on your honors thesis and provide additional professional development.

• Monthly 1-hour meetings with Dr. Park.

• At least one conference presentation and peer-reviewed publication to add to your CV.