Psychology is of fundamental relevance to our society. The discipline addresses important questions about the very nature of human thought, emotion and behaviour, such as: How do we perceive, remember and process information? How do these processes change over our lifespan? How are addictions and brain chemistry related? How are psychological disorders and traumatic brain injury diagnosed and treated? How do we cope with stress in a changing world? In Ryerson's Psychology program, students learn about the evolution of psychology as a thriving academic discipline, as well as cutting-edge research findings on a wide variety of current issues, as well as how research is conducted. The core goals of the program are to: 

• educate students in the science of psychology and its application to real-life situations;
• prepare students for careers in which they will confront, elucidate, and solve problems that have psychological components;
• provide the foundation for students who wish to pursue post-graduate studies in a variety of areas including Psychology.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

There are many careers for a psychology graduate. The classic path leads to a variety of mental health care professions and roles such as rehabilitation counselling, psychogeriatric case management, addictions support, assessment and treatment of young offenders, learning disability support and others. Our program also prepares students for post-graduate studies in psychology, eventually leading to careers in public or private settings, independent practice or academia. Other careers that benefit from a degree in psychology include sports science, media development, computer application design, human resources management, pharmaceutical development, training, policy analysis, conflict mediation, human-factors engineering and more. An undergraduate degree in psychology can also prepare students for post-graduate studies in medicine, physiotherapy, nutrition and health, speech pathology and audiology, criminology, law, education, business (particularly for MBAs specializing in human resources management) kinesiology and more.

CURRICULUM INFORMATION

Semesters one and two: The first year of the Psychology program is shared with the Criminology, English, Environment and Urban Sustainability, Politics and Governance, Geographic Analysis, History, Philosophy and Sociology programs. Students choose courses from these related programs, to gain exposure to different perspectives, in addition to their required Introduction to Psychology I and II courses, which reveal and explore the wide range of areas within their chosen field.

Semesters three through eight: In the final three years of the program, psychology students delve into experimental and clinical research methods and explore the programs core areas - cognition and neuroscience, development and social psychology, clinical and health psychology and the advanced research specializations. Students complete a combination of required and elective psychology courses that encompass topics from the many areas within the discipline. In addition, students choose courses from a wide variety of other disciplines (including business, community services, the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences) that complement their psychology courses and broaden their career preparation. And, through a range of courses in all four years, students also develop core competencies necessary to succeed at the university level and in the modern workforce. Students develop skills in basic quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, critical and analytical thinking, effective communication and strategies for life-long learning. Students interested in pursuing graduate studies in Psychology will have the option of taking advanced courses from the Advanced Methods and Independent Study Group and will conduct supervised research with a faculty member.
Because students achieve breadth in the Social Sciences through course selection in Table I, only the following lower-level Liberal Studies (Table A) subject courses can be selected: ENG, FRE, HST, IRL, ITM, MUS, NPF, PHL, SCI, SPN and THL.

Transferability Guidelines

Students admitted to  the Bachelor of Arts in any of Criminology, English, Environment and Urban Sustainability, Geographic Analysis, History, Philosophy, Politics and Governance, Psychology, or Sociology, may transfer from their current program and plan to any one of the other eight plans for the Fall term of their second year of studies. Applications are available through the Program Office and must be submitted by February 2nd. Transfer applications are considered on a competitive basis subject to program capacity, and therefore program choice cannot be guaranteed.

Students intending to transfer to Psychology for second year from any of Criminology, English, Environment and Urban Sustainability, Geographic Analysis, History, Philosophy, Politics and Governance, or Sociology, are encouraged to present a cumulative grade point average of 2.67 (B-) in their first semester studies at Ryerson to maximize their chances for consideration, subject to competition and available second-year spaces. Possession of the minimum cumulative grade point average does not guarantee program transfer. Students must have successfully completed PSY 102 in order to transfer to Psychology for the Fall term of their second year of studies.  It is strongly recommended that students complete both PSY 102 and PSY 202 in first year.

Liberal Studies 

Students must take two lower-level liberal studies and four upper-level liberal studies courses to graduate.