Honours Psychology provides opportunities for in-depth study of psychological theory and research. Students obtain a broad background in the diverse sub-areas of psychology, namely behavioural neuroscience, clinical, cognitive, developmental, and social, as well as a variety of specialized fields. Third- and fourth-year students have opportunities to study in small groups, to obtain hands-on laboratory training in specific content areas within psychology, to enrol in courses where they work one-on-one with faculty members, and to enrol in apprenticeship courses that provide practical field experience in applied settings.
Please refer to the Applying for a Psychology Major section.
Continuation in this academic plan requires a cumulative overall average of 60% and a cumulative Psychology average of 75%. Conditional standing may be granted for one academic term to students whose averages fall below these criteria.
Eligibility for graduation in the Honours Psychology (Bachelor of Arts) academic plan includes successful fulfillment of the following requirements:
- Appropriate Program-level requirements. See Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements.
- Psychology Plan-level requirements:
- at least nine academic course units (18 courses) in Psychology with a minimum cumulative Psychology average of 75%, including:
- PSYCH 101/101R
- Methodology Core: PSYCH 291, 292, 391
- Discipline Core: PSYCH 207, 211, 253/253R, 257/257R, 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)
See the respective section for information regarding Honours Psychology Co-op.
Notes:
- Students who have not successfully completed Math 4U (grade 12 university level), or Grade 12 Math course 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.
- PSYCH 291 and 292 must be completed in Year Two, and PSYCH 391 in Year Three.
- At least four of the five Discipline Core courses must be completed by the end of Year Two.
- Advanced Research Methods Courses:
- Normally, both of the Advanced Research Methods courses will be completed in Year Three and students will take no more than one per 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 in Psychology (PSYCH 499A/B/C) may substitute one of PSYCH 465 or PSYCH 467 for one of the two Advanced Research Methods course requirements.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Department policies for further details regarding the residency requirements.
- If Psychology courses are required for another academic plan(s), please refer to the Faculty of Arts' double-counting regulations for further details.
- Please refer to the Psychology undergraduate website for further course sequence information and class enrolment instructions.
- PSYCH 323R is no longer offered.