Arts Academic Plans

Students may combine the Honours Psychology BA academic plan with Arts and Business. 

Those enrolled in Honours Arts and Business Co-op or Regular in Year One may be considered for admission to the Honours Psychology Major at the end of Year One. Please refer to the Applying for a Psychology Major section. For those in co-op, please also refer to the Psychology Undergraduate Handbook for details regarding the requirements for writing work term reports, the Professional Development (PD) course requirements, and a listing of potential co-op positions. 

Arts and Business Majors who are admitted to Honours Psychology will pursue the degree in the regular system of study or the co-op system of study as described below:

1. Those admitted to co-op by the beginning of the 2A term (fall) will have the first of five four-month work terms at the end of the 2A school term.
2. Those admitted to co-op at the beginning of the 2B term (winter) will have the first of four four-month work terms at the end of the 2B school term.

Continuation in this academic plan requires a cumulative overall average of at least 60%, a cumulative Psychology average of at least 75%, and a cumulative Arts and Business average of at least 70%. Conditional standing may be granted for one academic term to students whose averages fall below these criteria.

Eligibility for graduation in the Honours Psychology (Arts and Business Co-op and Regular) academic plan includes successful fulfillment of the following requirements:

1. Appropriate Program-level requirements. See Bachelor of Arts.
2. Psychology Plan-level requirements:
   • at least nine academic course units (18 courses) in Psychology with a minimum cumulative Psychology average of 75%, including:
     • PSYCH 101
     • Methodology Core – All of PSYCH 291, 292, 391
       Notes:
       i) All students complete PSYCH 291 in the 2A term.
       ii) Those admitted to the co-op system of study by 2A (fall) complete PSYCH 292 in 3A (winter) and 391 in 3B (fall). Those admitted to co-op in 2B (winter) complete PSYCH 292 in 2B (winter) and 391 in 3A (fall).
       iii) Those in the regular system of study complete PSYCH 292 in 2B (winter) and 391 in 3A (fall).
     • Discipline Core – All of PSYCH 207, 211, 253, 257, 261
       (Note: At least 4 of the 5 courses should be completed before taking PSYCH 391)
     • two Third- or Fourth-Year Research Methods Courses including:
       1. one Natural Science Research Methods Course from PSYCH 392, 394, 396, 398, 483
       2. one Social Science Research Methods Course from PSYCH 393, 395, 397, 399, 484
       Notes:
       i) Students take one Research Methods Course concurrently with PSYCH 391 and one in the following school term.
       ii) Those who are not doing the honours thesis (PSYCH 499A/B/C) may substitute PSYCH 465 (Applied Apprenticeship) or PSYCH 467 (Human Resources Apprenticeship) for one of the two required Research Methods Courses.
       iii) Typically only one Research Methods Course is offered in the Spring term (e.g., PSYCH 394 or PSYCH 398).
     • one Psychology Seminar in third or fourth year from PSYCH 420, 453, 454, 455, 457, 458, 461, 462, 463, 485
     • two PSYCH courses from the following: PSYCH 304 through 380 (excluding PSYCH 323R), 439, 481, 482 
     • four additional PSYCH courses to be taken at the 300- and/or 400-level (excluding PSYCH 323R)
       Note: For those who choose to do an honours thesis (optional), PSYCH 499A/B/C (worth 1.5 units) will count for three of these four PSYCH courses (see Notes below for further details regarding PSYCH 499)
3. Arts and Business requirements.

Refer to the Human Resources Management Specialization section for more information.

Notes:

1. Please refer to the Psychology undergraduate website for course sequence information and class enrolment instructions.
2. Students who have not successfully completed an OAC Math course, 4U Math, Grade 12 Math in a province other than Ontario, or an approved equivalent will be required to take MATH 103 as a corequisite to PSYCH 291. For those required to take MATH 103, MATH 103 counts as an "unspecified elective" towards the degree requirements.
3. Regarding the "Social Science" courses for the Faculty of Arts Breadth requirements, Psychology Majors only require 1.0 academic course unit from this area in a discipline(s) other than Psychology.
4. Honours Thesis (PSYCH 499A/B/C):
   The honours thesis is recommended for Honours Psychology Majors who are a) considering graduate or professional programs that may require a completed honours thesis for admission, or b) who have a strong interest in, and commitment to, conducting original research. Please consult the Honours Thesis Handbook for further details regarding PSYCH 499.
   Students who are doing the honours thesis may not substitute PSYCH 465 (Applied Apprenticeship) or PSYCH 467 (Human Resources Apprenticeship) for one of the Third-Year Research Methods requirements.
5. Residency Requirements:
   Students enrolled in academic plans in Psychology must successfully complete at least half of the total number of academic course units required in Psychology for their academic plan from University of Waterloo with numerical grades. Please refer to the Residency Requirement section for the Faculty of Arts as well as the Psychology Undergraduate Student Handbook for further details regarding the residency requirements.
6. Double Counting Rules: No more than three of the PSYCH courses for the Psychology Major can be used to satisfy course requirements in another individual academic plan (e.g., Major, Minor, or Option). Under no circumstances can an individual PSYCH course satisfy course requirements in more than two academic plans.