Master of Arts (MA) in Psychology

The program information below was valid for the winter 2022 term (January 1, 2022 - April 30, 2022). This is the archived version; the most up-to-date program information is available through the current Graduate Studies Academic Calendar.

The Graduate Studies Academic Calendar is updated 3 times per year, at the start of each academic term (January 1, May 1, September 1). Graduate Studies Academic Calendars from previous terms can be found in the archives.

Students are responsible for reviewing the general information and regulations section of the Graduate Studies Academic Calendar.

Graduate research fields

  • Clinical Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Social Psychology

Program information

  • Admit term(s) 
    • Fall
  • Delivery mode 
    • On-campus
  • Length of program 
    • Two years
  • Program type 
    • Master's
    • Research
  • Registration option(s) 
    • Full-time
  • Study option(s) 
  • Additional program information 
    • Students admitted to the Clinical Psychology field (area of research) of the MA program must supply a Criminal Record Check (Vulnerable Sector) to the Department of Psychology prior to being matriculated.

Admission requirements

  • Minimum requirements 
    • Normally an Honours Bachelor's degree or its equivalent in Psychology with at least a 80% overall standing, in the last two years, or equivalent.
    • Completion of the Department of Psychology Application.
    • Submit results from the Graduate Record Examination (Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytic scores).
    • Candidates with an Honours Bachelor's degree or equivalent preparation may be admitted to a Master's program or directly to a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program.
    • Qualified candidates are admitted to either a MA or a PhD program (in which a Master’s degree may be obtained along the way). The program to which candidates are admitted to varies by program Area (e.g., Clinical and Social applicants are typically accepted into an MA program, while Cognition, Cognitive Neuroscience, Developmental, and Industrial Organizational students are typically accepted to a PhD program). Candidates accepted to the MA program are expected to continue to a PhD program.
  • Application materials 
    • Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
    • Personal statement
    • Supplementary information form
    • Transcript(s)
      • From all other post-secondary institutions.
  • References 
    • Number of references:  3
    • Type of references: 

      academic
  • English language proficiency (ELP) (if applicable)

Degree requirements

    Thesis option:

  • Graduate Academic Integrity Module (Graduate AIM)
  • Courses 
    • Students must complete 2 two-term or 4 one-term courses accepted for graduate credit by the Department. Specific course offerings in each Area will differ from year to year. The statistics requirement may be met by satisfactory performance in at least 1 of 2 core statistics courses: PSYCH 630 Advanced Analysis of Variance and PSYCH 632 Multiple Regression.
  • Link(s) to courses
  • Master’s Thesis

    • Master's Research Paper option:

    Note: students must receive special permission from the Department to enter the Master’s Research Paper option.

  • Graduate Academic Integrity Module (Graduate AIM)
  • Courses 
    • Students must complete 4 two-term or 8 one-term courses, accepted for graduate credit by the Department. The statistics requirement may be met by satisfactory performance in at least 1 of 2 core statistics courses: PSYCH 630 Advanced Analysis of Variance and PSYCH 632 Multiple Regression.
  • Link(s) to courses
  • Master’s Research Paper
Department of Psychology website
Master of Arts (MA) in Psychology future students program page