Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Students enrolled in the Faculty of Science may also check the Science FAQ.

1. Admission Requirements

How to become a Psychology Major?

What are the admission requirements for a Psychology Major?

How do I choose between Honours Psychology in the Faculty of Arts (BA) and the Faculty of Science (BSc)?

The decision depends on whether or not you are admissible to both programs and which courses other than psychology you are interested in taking. If most courses other than psychology courses will be in the Faculty of Science, choose Honours BSc Psychology. If you want more flexibility, choose Honours BA Psychology.

See the program descriptions for Honours BA Psychology and Honours BSc Psychology for further details.

When my application for admission to the Psychology Major is reviewed, will my grades from previous post-secondary institutions (transfer student) be factored into the admission decision?

The Psychology Department reserves the right to require higher averages for admission for transfer students than current University of Waterloo students. See Psychology Department policies.

If you completed 5.0 units (i.e., 10 term courses) or more at the University of Waterloo, the admission decision will be based on your UWaterloo grades only. If you completed fewer than 5.0 units (i.e., 10 term courses) at UWaterloo, both your UWaterloo grades as well as grades from other secondary institutions will be considered.

2. Declaring your Major

How can I declare a Psychology Major?

See Steps to declare a Psych Major.

If you are a first year student enrolled in the Faculty of Arts, you should follow these steps to declare your Major. Arts students in second year or above should submit a plan modification form to the Psychology Administrative Coordinator and Advisor, Undergraduate Studies.

First year students enrolled in the Faculty of Science should submit this webform. Science students in second year or above should submit a plan modification form to the Science Undergraduate Office.

Students enrolled in other UWaterloo Faculties should check with their program advisor if they are allowed to have a Joint degree, then submit a plan modification form to the Psychology Administrative Coordinator and Advisor, Undergraduate Studies.

What happens if an Arts student is not accepted into the Psych Major due to a Psych average lower than 65%?

They cannot take courses that are restricted to psychology Majors (e.g., PSYCH 291 and 292) and may reapply once they have the required average.

What should an Arts student do when refused for Honours Psychology (Regular or Co-op) (including Arts Business Regular or Co-op) but eligible for Three-Year or Four-Year General Psychology?

  • Option 1: Enrol in General Psychology

You will be taking PSYCH 291 Fall and Psych 292 Winter.

You can contact the Psychology Undergraduate Advisor once your PSYCH major average has reached the 70% required to move into Honours Psychology Regular.

  • Option 2: Enrol in a different Honours Major if admissible

You cannot take courses that are restricted to Psychology Majors e.g., PSYCH 291, 292, 391, etc (unless you get an override). You could reapply for admission to Honours Psychology in a future term if your Psychology average improves.

If interested in the Psychology Minor, contact the Psychology Minor Advisor. A cumulative Psychology average of at least 65% is required for admission.

  • Co-op Admission

Admission to Honours Arts Co-op/Psych Major and Arts and Business Co-op/Psych Major beyond the 2A Fall term is not possible.

What should an Arts student do when they want a Double Major but do not have the required average for Honours Psychology and were offered admission to Three-Year or Four-Year General Psychology?

  • Option 1: Enrol in General Psychology

You will be taking PSYCH 291 Fall and PSYCH 292 Winter. Please note that a Double Major is not applicable between two General plans or an Honours and a General plan. Double Honours is only applicable between two Honours plans.

  • Option 2: Enrol in an Honours Major in a discipline other than Psychology

You cannot take courses that are restricted to Psychology Majors e.g., PSYCH 291, 292, 391, etc (unless you get an override). You could reapply for an Honours Psychology Double Major in a future term if your Psychology average improves.

If interested in the Psychology Minor, contact the Psychology Minor Advisor. A cumulative Psychology average of at least 65% is required for admission.

I am an Arts student enrolled in Four Year General Psychology but want to be in Honours Psychology. How do I know if I am eligible for admission to Honours and how do I make that change?

What should a Science student do if their averages are satisfactory for admission to Honours BSc Psychology but they haven't completed all of the year one Math and Science course requirements for admission (e.g., have not successfully completed Math 1

  • Option 1

You might be admissible to Joint Honours Science and Psychology. If so, you could enrol in Joint Honours Science and Psych (e.g., to take PSYCH 291 Fall and PSYCH 292 Winter) and then reapply for admission to Honours BSc Psychology in a later term after you have completed the necessary year one courses. Those who successfully complete the first year Math and Science requirements should be in Honours BSc Psychology rather than Joint Honours Science and Psychology.

Co-op is not an option for those in Joint Honours Science and Psychology.

  • Option 2

Remain in your current Science program until you have completed all of the necessary year one courses for admission to Honours BSc Psychology and speak to the Psychology Undergraduate Advisor about the possibility of an override to enrol in PSYCH 291 for the Fall term. Requests for PSYCH 292 enrolment will not be considered until the Fall term grades are available.

What should a Science student do if their Psych average is less than 75%, but they meet all of the year one course requirements for Honours BSc Psychology, and their overall and Science averages are satisfactory?

  • Option 1

If the Psychology average is at least 70%, speak to the Psychology Undergraduate Advisor about the possibility of admission to Joint Honours Science and Psychology so you have access to PSYCH 291 and 292. If later you bring your Psych average up to 75%, you can then switch in to Honours BSc Psychology.

  • Option 2

If your Psychology average is less than 70%, you cannot take courses that are restricted to Psychology Majors (e.g., PSYCH 291 and 292). Remain in your current program and reapply to the Psychology Major in the future if you raise your Psych average to 70% (for Joint Honours Science and Psych) or 75% (for Honours BSc Psych).

If interested in the Psychology Minor, contact the Psychology Minor Advisor. A cumulative Psychology average of at least 65% is required for admission.

When seeking employment, is it helpful to have more than one program on the Bachelor's degree (e.g., Joint Honours, Minor, or Arts and Business)?

If you are enrolled in a Major (e.g., General Psychology or Honours Psychology), enrolling in a second academic plan also (e.g., Joint Honours, Minor, or Arts and Business) is considered 'added value' to the Bachelor's degree.

Employers might be interested in the specific degree earned (e.g., General versus Honours; Bachelor of Arts versus Bachelor or Science) and the program(s) listed if relevant to the position you are applying for.

Many other factors also affect recruitment decisions. Employers collect and evaluate information about you from the resume and during the interview such as:

  • match between your knowledge, skills, and abilities and those required to perform the prospective job,
  • your awareness of your strengths and weaknesses,
  • your personality traits and attitudes,
  • examples of your behaviours in particular work related situations (e.g., volunteer or paid positions) particularly in recent years (e.g., using past behaviours as predictors of future behaviours),
  • your appearance and body language,
  • etc.

For further details about adding value to the degree and the skills you can offer employers, go to:

Can I specialize in any one area of psychology?

You cannot specialize in any of the Psychology areas at the undergraduate level. However, there is flexibility within the degree requirements to choose courses from the subareas of Psychology that interest you. The goal of our undergraduate program is to enable students to develop a comprehensive understanding of the discipline by exploring multiple research areas in Psychology.

3. Courses

How many Psychology courses can I take per term?

I am enrolled in the Faculty of Arts. Can I take more than 2.5 units in one term?

The maximum course load for full-time studies in the Faculty of Arts is 2.75 units per term. More than 2.75 units is considered to be an overload of units.

If you meet these conditions:

  • cumulative overall average is at least 75%,
  • you are not on conditional standing for your current academic program/plan,
  • you do not have any INC (incomplete) grades,

contact the Psychology Undergraduate Advisor about your request to enrol in more than 2.75 units.

Those who do not meet the above 3 conditions will need to submit a Petition for Exception to Academic Regulations to the Registrar's Office for consideration. Please discuss this petition with an advisor first as they may have helpful recommendations. Please include the reasons why you think you can handle an overload of courses.

You cannot self-enrol in more than 2.75 units until the request for the overload of courses has been approved and coded by the Registrar's Office.

Please do not request an overload of courses as a method of shopping for courses. That tactic is unfair to other students because it blocks legitimate enrolment requests and unnecessarily creates waiting lists for enrolment.

What are the class sizes of psychology courses?
  • PSYCH 101 (Introductory Psychology) - 250 to 450
  • 200 level content courses (e.g., PSYCH 253 Social Psychology), PSYCH 291 (Introductory Research Methods), and PSYCH 292 (Basic Data Analysis) - 200 to 350
  • 300 level advanced content courses (e.g., PSYCH 354 Interpersonal Relations) - most are in the 40 to 100 range
  • PSYCH 391 (Advanced Data Analysis) - 150 to 180
  • PSYCH 389, 390, 392 to 399 (Advanced Research Methods) - 20 to 25
  • 400 level senior research seminars - 25

Why do psychology Majors take research methods and statistics (data analysis) courses?

Training in the analytic skills of experimental design is a major component of the Honours Psychology Research Intensive Specialization and the Honours BSc Psych plans (PSYCH 291, 292, 389, 390, 391-399, 499A/B/C) and to a lesser degree of the Arts Honours and General Psychology (PSYCH 291 and 292).

Students are trained to address problems of human motivation, memory, social relations, communication, and many other human capacities and dispositions by translating them into solvable empirical problems. This also entails critical evaluation of the bases of claims about human abilities and inclinations.

How is my record affected by a course drop?

See the Important Dates webpage for the three different course drop deadlines. The three deadlines are classified as follows:

  1. course drop no penalty:
    Means that the course is removed from the record and tuition is refunded for the course.
  2. course drop penalty 1:
    A WD grade is assigned to a dropped course(s). WD means 'withdrawn without academic penalty'. WD grades have no numerical value and therefore, do not affect average calculations.
  3. course drop penalty 2:
    A WF grade is assigned to a dropped course(s). WF means 'withdrew/failure' which is calculated as a final grade of 32%. The 32% grade is included in the average calculations.

If you're dropping a course so that you can dedicate more time to your remaining courses, please do so early enough in the term that your decision will have a positive overall effect.

For retroactive course drops, see our Student Success page topic extenuating circumstances for details.

What to consider before dropping a course

See the Student Success page for:

Speak to the instructor and/or the teaching assistant (TA) about your difficulties. They might be able to provide helpful tips.

If dropping any of PSYCH 291, 292, 391, 389-399, 451-463, 465, 467 please consult with Psychology Undergraduate Advisor beforehand. Consider carefully course availability, degree requirements (see psychology programs page for the check lists), and sequencing of prerequisites when making the decision.

The Department of Psychology policy (and University of Waterloo policy) is that completed work stands. That is, we do not allow students to do extra work for a course in order to boost the final mark.

Some professional schools (e.g., medical school) might expect you to take prerequisites for admission during school terms where you are taking at least 2.5 units (full course load). It is your responsibility to research such requirements.

I am interested in studies beyond the Bachelor's degree. Does it matter how many WD grades I have on my record?

It is unlikely that a few WD grades (withdrawn without academic penalty) will hinder opportunities such as a future co-op position if enrolled in the co-op system of study, or for admission to studies beyond the Bachelor's degree (e.g., Psychology programs at the graduate level). That is, assuming that you otherwise meet the qualifications expected.

However, if you have several WD grades in consecutive terms, a reviewer of your transcript might wonder whether or not:

  • you have unresolved issues that might hinder your future performance,
  • you have learned from past mistakes,
  • you understand your limitations.

To avoid false impressions, be realistic about what you can cope with and plan accordingly. Refer to student success for suggestions. Provide explanations to reviewers if necessary and permitted to do so.

I am doing poorly in a course and it is past the course drop deadline for earning a WD grade. Is it better to stay enrolled or drop the course and accept a WF grade?

If experiencing personal difficulties in the current term and/or need information regarding retroactive course drops, see student success topic extenuating circumstances for details.

If you expect a failing final grade, consider the following:

  • Are you willing to accept a WF grade ('withdrawal fail' equals 32%) in your average calculations? Would dropping the course free up study time for other courses?
  • Should you stay in the course and hope to earn a grade higher than 32% regardless of whether or not you could pass the course? Keep in mind that any grade higher than 32% will have less impact on the cumulative average calculations.

Grades less than 50% are failing grades.

Are the final grades for courses that are cross-listed with psychology courses included in my cumulative psychology average?

Psychology courses offered under the rubric 'PSYCH' (e.g,. PSYCH 101) count towards the psychology course/average requirements for the Psychology Major (or Psychology Minor)

Courses named officially in the Undergraduate calendar (see course descriptions) as 'cross-listed' have equivalent content and will also be included in the psychology average.

The following cross-listed courses count towards the psychology course requirements and the cumulative psychology average requirement for the Psychology Major (or Psychology Minor) regardless of the rubric that you enrol in:

  • GERON/HLTH/PSYCH 218 - Psychology of Death and Dying
  • PSYCH 230/LS 272 - Psychology and Law
  • PHIL/PSYCH 256 - Introduction to Cognitive Science
  • PSYCH 330/LS 372 - Criminal Profiling
  • PHIL/PSYCH 447 - Seminar in Cognitive Science

If I take more than the minimum number of psychology courses required for the Psychology Major (or Psychology Minor), do the final grades all count in my cumulative psychology average?

Yes. The final grades for all psychology courses taken at the University of Waterloo will count in the cumulative psychology average as well as the cumulative overall average.

Exception: If you have a 'cleared average', only the courses after that point on your record will be included in the average calculations. A cleared average would typically only occur when a student is readmitted to UWaterloo following a 'failed required to withdraw' academic decision or in some cases, following a change from one Faculty of registration to another.

I plan to do an Honours Thesis in Psychology (Psych 499A/B/C). How many other courses do I take when enrolled in Psych 499?

If doing an Honours Thesis in Psychology (Psych 499A/B/C) the course will be spread over 2 or 3 terms and is worth 1.5 units (i.e., 3 academic term courses) in total.

Do you prefer to take 2.5 units per term (full course load) including the Psych 499 enrolment, or do you prefer to take a reduced course load during the terms of Psych 499 enrolment?

Whether or not you can handle a full course load in any term (including Psych 499 enrolment or not), will depend on your individual circumstances. For further details, go to our Student Success page regarding balancing school, work, and other responsibilities.

See the PSYCH 499 website regarding the course responsibilities and the enrolment restrictions.

What are the department policies for access to Psychology courses?

See prerequisites for Psychology courses, important information about Psychology courses and all the Psychology department policies.

PSYCH 470: priority to fourth year students over third year students. All students who have the prerequisites may course select PSYCH 470 and get it in their course selection results, but we reserve the right to remove third year students if there are fourth year students who need a spot. PSYCH 391 is an antirequisite for PSYCH 470, so students who have taken PSYCH 391 cannot take PSYCH 470.

PSYCH 391: Honours Psychology students in level 3A or above who have PSYCH 291 and 292 + a Psychology average of at least 74% can course select PSYCH 391, otherwise they will need to join the waiting list.

Advanced Research Methods Courses (PSYCH 389 and 390): only Honours BSc Psychology and BA Psychology with the Research Intensive Specialization in level 3A or above who have the prerequisite courses can course select PSYCH 389 and 390.

Honours seminars (PSYCH 420, 451, 453, 454, 455, 457, 458, 459, 461, 462 and 463): priority to fourth year students over third year students; priority to those who have not taken an honours seminar previously; typically no more than one honours seminar per term will be allowed; priority in the Spring term section(s) to those in the co-op stream of study. Honours Psychology students in level 3A or above who are taking or have taken PSYCH 391 and have a Psychology average of at least 74% can course select an honours seminar.

4. Academic Standing

I am concerned about my academic standing. What does 'conditional standing' mean? What does 'at risk of being required to withdraw' mean?

How can I prepare to apply for graduate studies in Psychology?

Will it matter whether I have a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Honours Psychology?

Psych 499A/B/C (Honours Thesis) is an optional course.

An honours degree in Psychology (BA or BSc) that includes an honours thesis and/or a fourth year senior seminar is typically required for admission to graduate studies in psychology. In order to complete an Honours Thesis and other advanced research courses as an Honours Psychology BA student, you must enrol in the Research Intensive Specialization.

Be sure to choose some psychology courses in the area of Psychology that relates to the area you hope to study at graduate level.

Courses in the Faculty of Science (e.g., Biology) as well as computer programming will be helpful to those interested in cognitive psychology or cognitive neuroscience at the graduate level.

Graduate schools typically evaluate applicants' preparedness for graduate studies based on the application form, personal statements regarding relevant background for the intended area of study, scores on the Graduate Record Exam, academic standing, letters of recommendation, and the match of interests between the student and the potential faculty supervisor. Some schools may require an interview. See applying to graduate studies in Psychology for further details.

Will those with an Honours degree in Psychology from UWaterloo be given special consideration with respect to admission to graduate studies in psychology at UWaterloo?

No.

However, UWaterloo students have the advantage of networking with faculty throughout their undergraduate studies (see experiences and opportunities). Thus reviewers of applications will be more familiar with the research interests and aptitude for conducting research of UWaterloo students than other applicants.

Normally, you should do the Bachelor's degree and graduate degree at different institutions in order to be exposed to a variety of perspectives. However, it is not uncommon for a small number of alumni to stay at UWaterloo for graduate studies because of a good match between a faculty member's and a student's interests.

6. Careers in Psychology

How do clinical psychologists, counselling psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, and social workers differ in their approaches to helping people with their problems?