Community Catalyst Grantee HICCUP Helps Students Navigate Psychology’s Hidden Curriculum

The Group for Navigating the Hidden Curriculum in Psychology (HICCUP) was created to help graduate students, especially those from underrepresented groups (e.g., first-generation, LGBTQ+, people of color, and disabled folx), support each other in navigating the challenges of graduate school. To work toward this goal, HICCUP held an in-person meetup at the 2023 SPSP Annual Convention and created a website where students could share resources with one another (both online and in a blog).

SPSP 2023 Annual Convention

The first-ever HICCUP meetup took place in person during the 2023 SPSP Annual Convention, with the goals of introducing students to the Hidden Curriculum and providing opportunities for socializing among its members. At the event, HICCUP highlighted their first blog posts and showed students how to navigate the resources on the HICCUP website. HICCUP organizers also led an open discussion about the Hidden Curriculum (e.g., what challenges students need help navigating) in preparation for future blog posts. Thanks to the support of the SPSP Community Catalyst Grant, attendees were able to attend a dinner after the event.

Looking Ahead

HICCUP will continue to publish blog posts and resources for tackling different aspects of the Hidden Curriculum. They have already covered topics ranging from the graduate school application process to navigating imposter syndrome and have many more topics lined up! Encouraged by the full support of SPSP and the attendees at their event, HICCUP will continue to grow. Any graduate student interested in joining the Group for Navigating the Hidden Curriculum in Psychology (HICCUP) can follow @HICCUPPsych on Twitter or email [email protected] for more information. Students in need of resources can visit the HICCUP website.