Arts Academic Plans

Students may combine the Honours Psychology Bachelor of Arts 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 Degree Requirements.
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: PSYCH 291, 292, 391
     • Discipline Core: PSYCH 207, 211, 253, 257, 261
     • Natural Science Advanced Research Methods: one of PSYCH 392, 394, 396, 398, 483
     • Social Science Advanced Research Methods: one of PSYCH 393, 395, 397, 399, 484
     • Honours Seminar: one of 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-level or above (excluding PSYCH 323R) 
3. Arts and Business requirements.

1. Students who have not successfully completed an Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) Math 4 U (grade 12 university level), or 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, it counts as an "unspecified elective" towards the degree requirements.
2. All students complete PSYCH 291 in the 2A term.
3. At least four of the five Discipline Core courses should be completed before taking PSYCH 391.
4. Those in the regular system of study complete PSYCH 292 in 2B (winter) and 391 in 3A (fall). 
5. 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).
6. Advanced Research Methods Courses:
   • Students take one Advanced Research Methods course concurrently with PSYCH 391 and one in the following school term.
   • Typically only one Advanced Research Methods course is offered in the spring term (e.g., PSYCH 394 or PSYCH 398) and priority enrolment that term is given to those in the co-op system of study.
   • Only students who are not doing the honours thesis may substitute one of PSYCH 465 or PSYCH 467 for one of the two Advanced Research Methods course requirements.
7. Regarding the "Social Science" courses for the Bachelor of Arts Breadth Requirements, Psychology majors only require 1.0 academic course unit (two courses) from this area in a discipline(s) other than Psychology.
8. Honours Thesis (PSYCH 499A/B/C): The honours thesis (optional, worth 1.5 units) 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. For those who choose to do an honours thesis, PSYCH 499A/B/C will count for three of the "four additional PSYCH courses at the 300-level or above". Please consult the Honours Thesis Handbook for further details regarding PSYCH 499A/B/C.
9. 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 the 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.
10. If Psychology courses are required for another academic plan(s), please refer to the Faculty of Arts' double-counting regulations for further details.
11. Please refer to the Psychology undergraduate website for further course sequence information and class enrolment instructions.