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Psychology (Applied Emphasis) — 4-year 2025/2026

6. Psychology (Applied Emphasis)

Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behaviour—thinking, feeling, acting. Students of psychology study the human experience and explore the phenomena of learning, development, personality, language, emotions, memory, and social interactions. Our 4-year Applied Emphasis degree program provides broad foundational knowledge, enabling student/graduates to be more authoritative thinkers, and more qualified users of psychological theory and research, while deepening their insights into their own and other's behaviour. Our 4-year Applied Emphasis degree provides greater opportunities to more widely and deeply explore certain aspects of psychology, than our 3-year program, including enhanced learning in statistics and research methodology. Individualized independent studies in research, and specialized courses in psychological assessment, along with capstone courses, are all more feasible in a 4-year Psychology degree program.

Students considering graduate studies in clinical or counseling psychology, or in other mental-health fields, will benefit from the full-year field placement (8 hours per week, September to April) which is part of the Applied Emphasis program. This practicum givesstudents the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and field knowledge while working at a community agency. Working directly with people experiencing diverse challenges, such as major mental illness or homelessness, students learn to apply their course-based knowledge in diverse programs, such as recreation, preschool intervention, or corrections. Full-year research practicums are also available.

Our 4-year Applied Emphasis degree provides students with the knowledge and skills to be "market- ready" for work in the human services field. Graduates have continued to careers as addictions educators, youth workers, and preschool behavioural specialists. Our 4-year Applied Emphasis degree program well-positions students to apply for graduate studies in Masters, PhD, and PsyD programs. Note that students apply to the Applied Emphasis program at the end of their 2nd or 3rd year and should plan their courses accordingly.

Students must apply for admission to this program. Specific admission requirements are published in section 3.3.

For continuation in the program, students must pass PSY 486 (Field Placement I), maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the credits applicable to the degree, and a minimum GPA of 2.3 in applicable PSY credits.

A. General Academic Requirements

42–60 credits required, to include:
Foundation Courses:
  1. PSY 104 (Basic Psychological Processes) and PSY 105 (Individual and Social Behaviour)
Statistics and Methods:
  1. PSY 211 (Statistical Methods for Psychological Research) or equivalent with a minimum grade of C- (MAT 151 (Introduction to Statistical Methods) and SOC 210 (Introduction to Social Statistics) are acceptable equivalents). The Psychology Department strongly recommends PSY 211 (Statistical Methods for Psychological Research).
  2. PSY 311 (Intermediate Statistics) and PSY 319 (Research Designs and Intermediate Statistical Methods in Psychology)
Theory and Breadth:
  1. PSY 275 (Brain and Behaviour)
  2. PSY 338 (Personality) and PSY 339 (Abnormal Psychology)
Practice Foundations:
  1. PSY 305 (Ethical Issues in Professional Psychology) and PSY 332 (Communication and Counselling Skills)
  2. PSY 431 (Theory and Practice of Psychometrics)
Field Placement:
  1. PSY 486 (Field Placement I)
Unspecified:
  1. 3–21 credits of unspecified senior-level PSY courses
In addition to the above, students must complete:
  1. 6 credits of ENG courses.
  2. 6 credits of courses in the Faculty of Science.
In addition to the above, students must present:
  1. AIT 100 (Undergraduate Academic Integrity Training)
Permissible minors:
All minors listed in section 10.6 other than Psychology.
PSY 433 (Personality Assessment), PSY 434 (Intellectual Assessment), PSY 435 (Clinical and Counselling Psychology: Theories and Applications), and WRI 300 (Essay Writing (Non-fiction)) are strongly recommended.

General Academic Requirements ↩