Arts Academic Plans

Students may combine the Honours Psychology (Bachelor of Arts) academic plan with Arts and Business. 

Those in Honours Arts and Business (regular or co-op system of study) must have an Honours major by the beginning of the 2A (year/level) fall school term. Refer to the Applying for a Psychology Major section for details regarding admission to the Psychology Major.

Honours Psychology provides opportunities for in-depth study of psychological theory and research. Courses are available in the following areas: clinical psychology, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, and social psychology. Third- and fourth-year students have opportunities to study in small groups, to obtain hands-on laboratory training, 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.

For those interested in the co-op system of study, direct inquiries regarding admission to Honours Arts and Business Co-op to the Arts and Business advisor. Admission to co-op must be no later than the 2A (year/level) fall school term. Those accepted will have five work terms. The first work term (winter) will follow the 2A term. The school/work sequence typically ends with a double school term. Refer to the Psychology Co-op section on the Psychology undergraduate website for information regarding co-op positions, the requirements for writing work term reports, the Professional Development (PD) course requirements, etc. 

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/PSYCH 101R
     • Methodology Core: PSYCH 291, PSYCH 292, PSYCH 391
     • Discipline Core: PSYCH 207, PSYCH 211, PSYCH 253/PSYCH 253R, PSYCH 257/PSYCH 257R, PSYCH 261
     • Natural Science Advanced Research Methods: one of PSYCH 392, PSYCH 394, PSYCH 396, PSYCH 398, PSYCH 483
     • Social Science Advanced Research Methods: one of PSYCH 393, PSYCH 395, PSYCH 397, PSYCH 399, PSYCH 484
     • Honours Seminar: one of PSYCH 420, PSYCH 453, PSYCH 454, PSYCH 455, PSYCH 457, PSYCH 458, PSYCH 461, PSYCH 462, PSYCH 463, PSYCH 485
     • two PSYCH courses from the following: PSYCH 306 through PSYCH 380, PSYCH 439, PSYCH 481, PSYCH 482 
     • four additional PSYCH courses to be taken at the 300-level or above 
3. Arts and Business requirements.

Notes

1. Students who have not successfully completed Math 4U (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 (year/level) fall 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 PSYCH 391 in 3A (fall). 
5. Those admitted to the co-op system of study complete PSYCH 292 in 3A winter term and PSYCH 391 in the 3B fall term.
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/PSYCH 499B/PSYCH 499C): 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/PSYCH 499B/PSYCH 499C 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/PSYCH 499B/PSYCH 499C.
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 Department of Psychology policies 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 programs section of the Psychology undergraduate website for further course sequence information and class enrolment instructions.