One of the great joys of a university education is that you have a chance to explore a wide range of academic interests. To this end, every academic program has a degree of built-in flexibility allowing you to explore electives – individual courses that may be of interest to you, but are not directly tied to the learning objectives of your chosen program. Some programs are more flexible than others. The Neuroscience and Mental Health programs offer the most flexibility in terms of exploring other disciplines to fulfill science electives, non-science electives, and free electives. The two 20-credit Neuroscience and Mental Health programs lend well to adding one minor (two, if strategically chosen) without exceeding the 20-credits.
This page is intended to be a starting point in guiding you on how electives can be incorporated into your program (for example, what is the difference between an Advanced Science Faculty elective, and a Free elective?), and to understand what courses can be used as electives. When choosing courses, in addition to adhering to course prerequisites and departmental registration restrictions, you will want to consider staying in alignment with personal interests and post-undergraduate goals.
Some courses listed below count in more than one category and are therefore listed multiple times. If you have any questions about electives pertaining to your program audit, please contact the Undergraduate Administrator for advising.
Full regulations are outlined in the Undergraduate Calendar. Students must follow calendar regulations for their term of admission to their current degree program.
Regulations for catalogue year Fall 2020 available here
Advanced Science Faculty Elective
- A course offered by the Faculty of Science, 2000-level or above.
- Allowed to be NEUR.
- Counts toward Major CGPA and Overall CGPA.
- Short list of exemptions found in Regulations section of Undergraduate Calendar.
Course suggestions
To maximize neuroscience content:
- NEUR 2004 Fundamentals of Scientific Writing in Neuroscience
- NEUR 2801 Neuroscience and Creativity
- NEUR 4001 Special Topics in Neuroscience (topics vary semester to semester)
- NEUR 4900 Independent Study
To explore more psychological areas:
- PSYC 2700 Cognitive Psychology
- PSYC 3207 Human Neuropsychology I
- PSYC 3307 Human Neuropsychology II
- PSYC 3506 Cognitive Development
- PSYC 3702 Perception
To prepare for medical school:
- CHEM 2203 Organic Chemistry I
- CHEM 2204 Organic Chemistry II
- BIOL 3305 Human and Comparative Physiology
Science Continuation Courses
- A course offered by the Faculty of Science, 2000-level or above.
- Not allowed to be NEUR.
- Counts toward Overall CGPA only.
- Short list of exemptions found in Regulations section of Undergraduate Calendar.
Course Suggestions
To explore more psychological areas:
- PSYC 2700 Cognitive Psychology
- PSYC 3207 Human Neuropsychology I
- PSYC 3307 Human Neuropsychology II
- PSYC 3506 Cognitive Development
- PSYC 3702 Perception
To prepare for medical school:
- CHEM 2203 Organic Chemistry I
- CHEM 2204 Organic Chemistry II
- BIOL 3305 Human and Comparative Physiology
Courses Outside the Faculty of Science & Engineering
- Count toward Overall CGPA only.
- Allowed to be 1000-level if there is room in audit. (University-wide rule of maximum 7.0 credits of 1000-level courses allowed in a program, including core requirements.)
- All courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Public Affairs, and the Sprott School of Business are allowed, except for science GEOG courses, all GEOM, all science PSYC listed in Regulations section of the Undergraduate Calendar.
- NSCI 1000 may be used.
Course Suggestions
- PSYC 1001 Introduction to Psychology I
- PSYC 1002 Introduction to Psychology II
- CGSC 2001 Introduction to Cognitive Science
- CGSC 3501 Cognitive Neuroscience
- PHIL 2408 Bioethics
- PHIL 2501 Introduction to Philosophy of Mind
- PHIL 2301 Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
- PHIL 3501 Philosophy of Cognitive Science
- PHIL 3502 Mind and Action
Free Electives
- Count toward Overall CGPA only.
- Allowed to be 1000-level if there is room in audit. (University-wide rule of maximum 7.0 credits of 1000-level courses allowed in a program, including core requirements.)
- Short list of prohibited courses found on Regulations page of the Undergraduate Calendar.
Course Suggestions
- COMP 1004 Introduction to Computers for the Sciences
- PSYC 1001 Introduction to Psychology I
- PSYC 1002 Introduction to Psychology II
- CGSC 2001 Introduction to Cognitive Science
- CGSC 3501 Cognitive Neuroscience
- PHIL 2408 Bioethics
- PHIL 2501 Introduction to Philosophy of Mind
- PHIL 2301 Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
- PHIL 3501 Philosophy of Cognitive Science
- PHIL 3502 Mind and Action