Get inside other people’s heads
As an Honours Arts Psychology and Social Development Studies major, Abby isn't afraid to say "yes" to opportunities that can help her grow as a person. When the opportunity to work in Calgary, Alberta at a community home for adults with developmental disabilities arose, she took it. Learn more about Abby's experience helping others.
Explore the frontiers of the mind. Examine human behaviour from a variety of perspectives, including neuroscience, cognition, clinical, developmental, industrial/organizational, and social psychology.
Then deepen your understanding with complementary courses in other subject areas, such as legal studies, sociology, biology, and health studies.
Want to customize your program even further? Work with one of our award-winning professors to design a directed studies course around your specific interest. Or get some work experience by enrolling in the co-op stream.
Graduate ready to make an impact. Waterloo Psychology is ranked in the top 100 in the world (Academic Rankings of World Universities 2022), and its alumni are treating mental illnesses, improving approaches to education, and creating more satisfying workplaces everyday.
Program highlights
- Learn from the best. Waterloo’s internationally renowned Psychology program consistently rates among the best in Canada, ranking ninth in 2020 Maclean's survey of Canadian universities.
- Serious experience. At Waterloo, you’ll get to conduct hands-on research in our state-of-the-art labs. Take advantage of EEG machines, eye-tracking equipment, virtual reality rigs, and more.
- Available as a regular or co-op program
- Available as a major and minor
- Graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
- Offered by the Faculty of Arts
What will you learn?
First-year courses
During your first year, you'll take two introductory Psychology courses. Plus, you'll have electives to explore an additional major of your choosing. In upper years, 40% of the classes you'll take will be Psychology courses.
Learn about courses you'll take for your Psychology degree.
Customize your degree
The optional Research Intensive specialization provides in-depth training in experimental design. You'll learn to address problems of human motivation, memory, social relations, communication, and many other human capacities by translating them into solvable problems.
You can also include one or more of the minors available to all Waterloo students. Popular choices for Psychology majors include Human Resource Management; Cognitive Science; Legal Studies; Economics; and Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies.
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Ask a Faculty of Arts student about their program, classes, getting involved on campus, and more!
What can you do with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree?
Graduates find a wide variety of career opportunities in areas such as counselling, various branches of therapy, mental health services, human relations, public education, speech pathology, research, education, and more.
Recent graduates
- Teacher, Autism Spectrum Disorders Team - Kerry's Place Autism Services
- Protection Support Worker - Children's Aid Society
- Psychologist – Community Health Centre
- Human Performance Manager – Bruce Power
- Customer Implementation Specialist – MappedIn
- Human Resource Generalist – ATS Automation Tooling Systems
- Therapist – Surrey Place Centre
Learn about the future of careers in arts, humanities, social sciences, languages, and creative arts.
Hear from some recent graduates
Rahim Thawer (BA '08) talks about different courses in the Psychology program and how it lead to a career path. Hear more about what you can learn from a Psychology degree.
"Psychology is extremely flexible which allows me to customize my degree. The ability to take classes that I am passionate about keeps me motivated. Co-op allows me to learn new skills and provides well-deserved breaks from school terms to recharge."Stephanie, third-year Psychology studentAdmissions
Ontario students: six Grade 12 U and/or M courses including
- Any Grade 12 U English (minimum final grade of at least 70%)
Mathematics of Data Management is recommended.
Admission average: Low 80s (co-op and regular)
Not studying in Ontario? Search our admission requirements.
How to apply
Apply to Honours Arts or Honours Arts and Business and choose Psychology as your major at the end of first year.
Connect with us
Questions about courses, programs, requirements, careers?
Please contact our Faculty of Arts recruitment team who can answer any questions you have.
After applying you may choose to co-register through Renison University College or St. Jerome's University, both located on Waterloo's campus. You'll earn a Waterloo degree but have a smaller community as your home base.
