Program Requirements

M.A. Psychology

5.0 credits are required to qualify for the degree:

• 1.0 credit in PSYC 5410 and PSYC 5411 (recommended to complete during the first two terms of your program)
• 0.5 credit in professional development courses: PSYC 5002, PSYC 5003, PSYC 5004 or PSYC 5903
• 1.0 credit course work in PSYC at the 5000 level, excluding professional development courses
• 2.5 credits – Thesis – which must be defended at an oral examination
• PSYC 5906 (Pro-Seminar in Psychology) is a required non-credit course (recommended to complete during the first two terms of your program)

For details on which courses are being offered in the current academic year, click here.

M.A. Psychology with Specialization in Data Science

Students admitted to the MA in Psychology may decide to pursue a Specialization in Data Science.

5.0 credits are required to qualify for the degree:

• 1.0 credit in PSYC 5410 * and PSYC 5411 * (recommended to complete during the first two terms of your program)
• 0.5 credit in Data 5000 *
• 0.5 credit in professional development courses: PSYC 5002, PSYC 5003, PSYC 5004 or PSYC 5903
• 0.5 credit course work in PSYC at the 5000 level, excluding professional development courses
• 2.5 credits – Thesis – must be in the area of Data Science, and must be defended at an oral examination
• PSYC 5906 (Pro-Seminar in Psychology) is a required non-credit course (recommended to complete during the first two terms of your program)

*Students must receive at least an A grade in each of the courses included in the Specialization.

For details on which courses are being offered in the current academic year, click here

Prospectus

All master’s students must successfully defend a prospectus before proceeding to the defense of their thesis.  A completed Prospectus Examination Approval Form must be approved by the Graduate Chair at least two weeks prior to the exam date.  Copies of the prospectus must be provided to the committee members as well as the Graduate Administrator at least two weeks prior to the exam date. You will find the Prospectus Examination Approval and Procedures form on the ‘Forms‘ section of the website.

Thesis

Students must successfully defend their thesis at an oral exam.  A completed Master’s Thesis Examination Approval Form must be approved by the Graduate Chair at least three weeks prior to the exam date.  You will find the Master’s Thesis Examination Approval and Procedures form on the ‘Forms‘ section of the website.

Academic Standing

Master’s students who fail to achieve a weighted GPA of B- (7.0) after 2 terms of study, or to maintain it subsequently, will be required to withdraw from the program.

Continuous Thesis Registration

Once a student has registered in the thesis (PSYC 5909) requirement they must maintain continuous registration.

Regulations for PSYC 590X

Students in the M.A. program are normally allowed to take up to a maximum of 2 half-credits in total of PSYC 5900 or PSYC 5901 courses. Approval for topics of these courses must be obtained from the Graduate Chair. Students register in PSYC 5900 / PSYC 5901 only in the term that they will submit their paper.

Time Limits

Full-time: 6 terms – 2 years from initial registration
Part-time: 18 terms – 6 years from initial registration

Apply to Graduate

You must apply to graduate online at Carleton Central by:

• March 1st for Spring Convocation (June)
• September 1st for Fall Convocation (November)
• December 1st for Winter Convocation (February)

Ph.D. in Psychology

10 credits are required to qualify for the degree:

• 1.0 credit in PSYC 5410 and PSYC 5411
• 0.5 credit in Elective Statistics courses: PSYC 5401, PSYC 5407, PSYC 5412, PSYC 5413, PSYC 5414, PSYC 5415, PSYC 5416 or PSYC 5417
• 0.5 credit in professional development courses: PSYC 5002, PSYC 5003, PSYC 5004, PSYC 6104, PSYC 6114 or PSYC 6903
• 1.0 credit in graduate level PSYC courses, excluding professional development courses
• 7.0 credits – Thesis – which must be defended at an oral examination
• PSYC 6906 and PSYC 6907 (Pro-Seminar in Psychology I & II) are required non-credit courses; recommended to complete during the first 2 years of your program)

Equivalencies will be determined on a case-by-case basis through application to the graduate committee.

For details on which courses are being offered in the current academic year, click here.

Ph.D. in Psychology with Concentration in Quantitative Methodology

Students admitted to the Ph.D. in Psychology may decide to pursue a Concentration in Quantitative Methodology by completing 2.5 credits in graduate quantitative methods courses within their program. The quantitative methods courses include PSYC 5410, PSYC 5411, PSYC 6410 and an additional 1.0 credit from the Electives Statistics courses

10 credits are required to qualify for the degree:

• 1.0 credit in PSYC 5410 * and PSYC 5411 *
• 1.0 credit in Elective Statistics courses*: PSYC 5401, PSYC 5407, PSYC 5412, PSYC 5413, PSYC 5414, PSYC 5415, PSYC 5416 or PSYC 5417
• 0.5 credit in professional development courses: PSYC 5002, PSYC 5003, PSYC 5004, PSYC 6104, PSYC 6114 or PSYC 6903
• 0.5 credit in PSYC 6410*
• 7.0 credits – Thesis – which must be defended at an oral examination
• PSYC 6906 and PSYC 6907 (Pro-Seminar in Psychology I & II) are required non-credit courses; recommended to complete during the first 2 years of your program)

* Students must receive at least an A grade in each of the courses included in the Concentration. 

Registration in PSYC 6410 will occur after the 2.0 statistics credits have been completed and after a proposed research project has been approved by the Department.

Upon completion of the Concentration’s requirements, the student will request an in-program change from a PhD in Psychology to a PhD in Psychology with a Concentration in Quantitative Methodology.

Prospectus

Doctoral students are required to successfully defend a prospectus by the end of the 7th term of study for full-time students or 10th term of study for part-time students. A completed Prospectus Examination Approval Form must be approved by the Graduate Chair at least two weeks prior to the date of the examination. Copies of the prospectus must be submitted to all committee members, as well as the Graduate Administrator at least two weeks prior to the examination date. You will find the Prospectus Examination Approval and Procedures form on the ‘Forms‘ section of the website.

Thesis

Doctoral students are required to successfully defend a thesis at an oral examination. A completed Doctoral Thesis Examination Approval Form needs to be approved by the Departmental Chair at least six weeks prior to the examination date. Please read the procedures attached to the Approval Form very carefully. You will find the Doctoral Thesis Examination Approval and Procedures form on the ‘Forms‘ section of the website.

Academic Standing

Doctoral students who fail to achieve a weighted GPA of A- (10) after 2 terms of study or to maintain it subsequently, will be required to withdraw from the program.

Continuous Thesis Registration

Students must maintain continuous registration in the thesis (PSYC 6909) after initial registration.

Regulations for PSYC 690x

There is no limit to the number of PSYC 690x courses that doctoral students can take towards their degree however only a maximum of two courses may be done with the same supervisor. Approval for topics for PSYC 690x courses must be obtained from the Graduate Chair.

Time Limits

• Full-time: 15 terms – 5 years from initial registration
• Part-time (only available in cases of exceptional merit): 27 terms – 9 years from initial registration

Our current doctoral program has been very successful in guiding students to a timely completion of the degree requirements and we will make every effort to enable students to complete within four years.  We do recognize that in some cases students will require additional time and the existing funding formula for doctoral students guarantees five years of TA funding.

Apply to Graduate

You must apply to graduate online at Carleton Central by:

• March 1st for Spring Convocation (June)
• September 1st for Fall Convocation (November)
• December 1st for Winter Convocation (February)