The graduate program of the Department of Psychology is organized around program areas. Six programs offer specializations at the PhD level in Behavioural Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and Social Psychology . In addition, the Department offers a Master of Applied Science degree in the areas of industrial/organizational psychology, developmental and health psychology. Finally, students whose research interests are not encompassed within one of the program areas may be accepted into the Special Programs division where a faculty committee oversees the students' individualized courses of study and thesis research. Academically, these program areas are semi-autonomous; they are linked via the Graduate Affairs Committee, which consists of the Associate Chair, Graduate Affairs, the Chair of each program area, and two elected student representatives.
All programs of the Department have a strong emphasis on research. Students are expected to become involved in research as soon as possible after beginning their studies, either through participation in ongoing faculty research or through developing their own research projects. The programs are based on the concept of research apprenticeship in which each student's training, through consultation with his/her supervisor, is adapted to the specific interests and objectives of the student. Formal coursework provides the student with (1) a general knowledge of the major areas of Psychology and (2) intensive preparation in their area of concentration. Considering both of these objectives, a student enrolled in a given program will be encouraged to take courses from other program areas, and, in some cases, courses in disciplines other than Psychology.