Special PhD programs in psychology are designed for students who have completed a Master's program and find their PhD research interests extend beyond, or overlap two or more of the existing program areas in the Psychology Department. In such a case, a student may apply to the Special PhD program division where a course of study is individually tailored.
To apply for a Special PhD program, the student must have a Department of Psychology faculty member who is willing to supervise the PhD thesis. Together, they devise a plan of study that identifies a set of core courses that represent the areas of expertise relevant to the thesis research, and the courses that satisfy the departmental Breadth and statistics requirements. The application for admission to a Special PhD program requires the submission of a proposed thesis topic, and plan of study.
To find more program information and faculty research areas visit the Department of Psychology Graduate website at: http://www.psychology.uwaterloo.ca/gradprog/programs/phd/joint.html