Psychology (BA)

General information

An education in Psychology will provide students with knowledge and skills with direct relevance to a diverse array of real-world careers. Students not only gain a foundational education in psychological principles, but also develop critical thinking, reasoning, and communication skills, formalized training in research methods and statistics, and an appreciation for the ethical and judicial treatment of persons. In total, these skills will put our graduates in a competitive space for additional educational and direct-to-work opportunities.

The BA degree will be of particular relevance to students who are interested in the social, personality or developmental characteristics of human behaviour. These students will have the opportunity to obtain a specialization within one of two subject areas: Developmental Psychological Science and Affective Science and Mental Health. In addition to Psychology students will take a variety of social science courses in the first year. The second year will focus primarily on foundational Psychology courses. In the third and fourth years, students will develop unique knowledge bases and skills through carefully selected coursework in Psychology and related disciplines, and applied learning experiences.  

Admissions requirements

Admission is competitive. The specific average or standing required for admission varies from year to year. Students are selected by taking into consideration a wide range of criteria including school marks, distribution of subjects taken, and performance in subjects relevant to the academic degree. Possession of the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance. Preference will be given to applicants with the best qualifications. Current Ontario secondary school students must complete the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with six 4U or 4M credits, including English (ENG4U). It is recommended that Biology (SBI4U) and one of Advanced Functions (MHF4U), Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U) or Mathematics of Data Management (MDM4U) is taken. All other applicants should refer to Admissions  for the requirements for their specific category of admission.

Double majors

Students registered in a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) program within the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at the university have the opportunity, in most cases, to combine two majors within the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities concurrently as a double major (note - some restrictions apply). Double major program maps have been approved by the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities and are available through the Academic Advising Office. Students undertaking a double major within the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities will, in most cases, be required to complete more than 120 credit hours. Students wishing to declare a double major must consult with the Academic Advising office.

Degree requirements

To be eligible for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in General Psychology, students must meet both the degree requirements  and the requirements outlined below for a total of 120 credits. Although reasonable efforts will be made to provide the courses in the indicated semesters in the following degree maps, course requirements and term offerings may change. Each year prior to course registration the order and timing of course offerings will be released by the faculty and communicated to students.

Year 1 [30 credit hours]

• BIOL 1841U – Essentials of Biology
• COMM 1100U – Introduction to Communication Studies
• CRMN 1000U – Introduction to Criminal Justice
• LGLS 1000U – Foundations of Legal Studies
• POSC 1000U – Introduction to Political Science
• PSYC 1000U – Introductory Psychology
• SOCI 1000U – Introductory Sociology
• SSCI 1910U – Writing for the Social Sciences
• Two general electives (recommended elective: ALSU 1101U Foundations for Academic Learning and Success  )

Year 2 [30 credit hours]

• Two general electives
• PSYC 2010U – Developmental Psychology
• PSYC 2020U – Social Psychology
• PSYC 2030U – Abnormal Psychology
• PSYC 2050U – Brain and Behaviour
• PSYC 2060U – Cognitive Psychology
• SSCI 2900U – Research Methods
• SSCI 2910U – Data Analysis
• PSYC 3060U – Personality Psychology

Year 3 [30 credit hours]

• SSCI 3910U – Advanced Data Analysis
• Four Psychology electives^*
• Two FSSH electives^**
• Three general electives^***

Year 4 [30 credit hours]

• PSYC 4110U – Honours Thesis in Psychology I or
• Psychology elective*
• PSYC 4120U – Honours Thesis in Psychology II or
• Psychology elective*
• SSCI 4098U – Practicum or
• SSCI 4103U – Internship or
• Psychology elective*
• Three Psychology electives*
• Four general electives***

Psychology electives*

 Any non‐required course with a PSYC 3XXX or 4XXX designation can count towards students’ necessary Psychology electives.

FSSH electives**

Any non‐required course run within the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities that does not have a PSYC designation can count towards students’ necessary FSSH electives.

General electives***

General electives can be taken at/or adjoining their year level, where permission has been granted and prerequisites have been fulfilled. Any non‐required course in any faculty can count towards students’ necessary general electives.

Specializations

Students will have the opportunity to obtain additional specializations within one of two subject areas: Developmental Psychological Science and Affective Science and Mental Health. To achieve a specialization, students will be required to take a minimum of 5 course credits, as described in more detail below.

Specialization in Developmental Psychological Science

• The specialization in Developmental Psychological Science requires that students complete the following three Developmental Psychology courses:
   

• PSYC 3035U – Adolescence
• PSYC 3045U – Child Maltreatment
• PSYC 3075U – Biopsychology of Sex

• 
  and at least two additional courses from the following list:
   

• HLSC 2810U – Child and Adolescent Health
• HLSC 4807U – Perspectives in Aging
• HLSC 4808U – Exploring Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
• FPSY 3039U – Children, Psychology and the Law
• EDST 1110U – Foundations of Adult Learning
• EDST 1120U – Foundations of Digital Teaching and Learning Technologies
• EDST 1170U – Psychological Foundations and Digital Technologies
• EDST 3160U – Developing Literacy
• EDST 4150U – Holistic Learning in Early Childhood

Specialization in Affective Science and Mental Health

• The specialization in Affective Science and Mental Health requires that students complete the following three Clinical/Affective Psychology courses:
   

• PSYC 3065U – Emotion
• PSYC 3090U – Social Affective Neuroscience
• PSYC 3085U – Drugs and Behaviour

• 
  and at least two additional courses from the following list:
   

• FPSY 3055U – Treatment in Forensic Settings
• FPSY 4820U – Selected Topics in Antisociality
• HLSC 1811U – Social Determinants of Health
• HLSC 3463U – Human Genetics in Society
• HLSC 4821U – Exploring the Mind Body Connection: Wellness Promotion Strategies for Life
• BIOL 3060U – Fundamentals of Neuroscience
• BIOL 4820U – Neuropharmacology

Practicum

A limited number of fourth-year students are granted an opportunity to participate in a learning experience with a community organization. The Practicum course consists of 100 hours of fieldwork, in-class seminars, a set of academic assignments and a major research paper and poster. As part of the pre-practicum process, students will be required to acquire a Vulnerable Sector check. For additional information, please refer to the course description for SSCI 4098U .

Internship

This program offers students who have successfully completed three years of study with a cumulative 3.0 GPA (B average on a 4.3 scale) an opportunity to engage in a work-integrated learning partnership with organizations locally and globally. The internship program not only gives students an opportunity to apply classroom concepts to the challenges of organizational life, but also helps them to gain valuable and relevant work experience to promote networking and life-long career success.

The internship program placement equates to a minimum of 280 hours of paid or unpaid field experience. The intern’s wages, where applicable, are paid by the sponsoring organization over a contracted period. The faculty may provide links to various internship placement opportunities or a student may secure an internship opportunity that meets the criteria as prescribed by the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities. Successful work placement completion and both a verbal and written final project will result in the intern receiving a mark and three credits toward the Honours Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.

Admission to the internship program is competitive. While students are participating in an internship program, they may enrol in up to two additional courses (six credits) per semester. These courses must not interfere with the internship schedule outlined by the employer. For additional information, please refer to the course description for SSCI 4103U .