Psychology

O.S.S.D. with six Grade 12 U/M courses, including Grade 12 U English. Notes:

1. ENG4U/EAE4U is the preferred English.
2. A grade of 70 percent or higher will be required in Grade 12 U English.
3. Subject to competition, candidates may be required to present averages/grades above the minimum.

Psychology is of fundamental relevance to our society. The discipline addresses important questions about the 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? The core goals of the Toronto Met's Psychology 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.

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.

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, Language and Intercultural Relations, 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.

Students must take two lower level liberal studies courses and four upper level liberal studies courses to graduate. Students must not choose courses that are restricted for their program or major.

Please refer to the liberal studies chapter of this calendar for more information on the Liberal Studies Policy. Further information on liberal studies can also be found at the Faculty of Arts' Liberal Studies website (opens in new window) .

Table A - Lower Level Restrictions

Table B - Upper Level Restrictions

Students may pursue any Minor offered by Toronto Met (with some exceptions). Please refer to the Minors chapter of this calendar for further information on individual Minor requirements and exclusions.

Undergraduate students wishing to pursue a continuing education certificate program should be aware of possible program exclusions. Please refer to the Certificate Registration section of the Curriculum Advising website (opens in new window)  for complete details.

A Program Advisory Council (PAC) is a group of volunteers that provides expert advice to a school or department on program related matters such as curriculum, program review, technology and trends in the industry, discipline or profession. For more information, see Senate Policy #158 (Program Advisory Councils).

Please see the Department of Psychology (opens in new window)  website for more updated information.