Undergraduate Programs

Overview

Psychologists study the mechanisms that underlie our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. They examine a diverse range of topics, such as how we think and learn, how we interact with others, and how we can promote healthy development and wellness. This is accomplished by conducting research so that the knowledge gained can help us better understand the human mind, enhance well-being and performance, and generate additional research questions.

All of our programs provide opportunities to explore psychology’s major areas within the context of an active and diverse research environment. Our honours programs offer five concentrations for students wishing to focus on one of these major areas:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Social and Personality Psychology

Remember that concentrations are not necessary to find a job or get admitted into any particular graduate program. They do allow students, however, to enjoy thematically related courses they are passionate about.

Bachelor of Arts Program

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) comprises Carleton’s largest degree program and intends to provide you with both a solid introduction to one or more academic disciplines and a broad range of transferable skills that will help you succeed in whatever life brings after graduation.

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offers a three-year program leading to a BA in Psychology.

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology provides a good foundation for occupations that deal with psychological issues but is not intended to prepare you for a career as a professional psychologist.

Honours Programs

If you are interested in becoming a professional psychologist, you should consider one of our Honours programs.

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offers a four-year Honours program leading to a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Psychology.

The Faculty of Science offers a four-year Honours program leading to a Bachelor of Science, B.Sc (Honours) in Psychology.

Both the B.A. (Honours) and the B.Sc. (Honours) in Psychology require 20.0 credits for the degree; nine of these credits are from psychology. In addition to a number of core courses in the fourth year, Honours students either design and carry out a supervised research thesis or participate in an honours project class.

The Bachelor of Arts, BA (Combined Honours) in Psychology program allows you to combine your studies in psychology with studies in another discipline.

Minors

We are proud to announce that we are now offering a minor in Management and Human Resources for psychology students! The minor was created cooperatively by the Department of Psychology and the Sprott School of Business for students who wish to learn more about management, human resources, and marketing while also deepening their knowledge about psychology.

View a list of major programs available as minors and a list of programs offered exclusively as minors.

Students can only complete one Psychology Minor as part of their degree program.

Co-op

Experiential education has always been an important component of our program.

The Co-op option is available for BA (Honours) and B.Sc (Honours) students in psychology and affords opportunities for students to:

• Combine their academic studies with experience in applied environments.
• Implement their psychological knowledge and skills across a variety of settings, including government departments, community agencies, and the private sector.
• Become more engaged with the planning of life after graduation.
• Achieve an enhanced knowledge of potential career paths.
• Cultivate professional skills associated with success.
• Contribute to an organization.
• Establish valuable contacts in the community.
• Actively reflect on their experiences at work and express these ideas via work term reports.
• Facilitate the transition from university into the workplace.

Practicum

The primary purpose of a Practicum in Community Psychology is to provide students with the opportunity to combine their academic studies with experience in an applied environment. Some placements are research-based, while others are more applied in nature. The practicum provides students with an opportunity to cultivate the professional skills associated with success in the workplace, engage with the discipline outside the classroom, become more involved with the career planning process, and make valuable contacts in the community.

 A sampling of participating agencies includes:

• The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board,
• Correctional Service Canada,
• RCMP,
• Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario,
• Vista Brain Injury Services, and many more.

Designing Your Program

Bachelor of Arts Program

Six of your 15.0 credits will be in psychology. You may choose your other courses from other disciplines of interest.

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology provides a good foundation for occupations that deal with psychological issues, but is not intended to prepare you for a career as a professional Psychologist.

Honours Programs

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offers a four-year Honours program leading to a BA (Honours) in Psychology.

The Faculty of Science offers a four-year Honours program leading to a B.Sc (Honours) in Psychology.

Both the BA (Honours) and the BSc (Honours) in Psychology require 20.0 credits for the degree; nine of these credits are from psychology.

In addition to a number of core courses in fourth year, Honours students either design and carry out a supervised research Thesis or participate in a Project class.

The BA (Combined Honours) in Psychology program allows you to combine your studies in psychology with studies in another discipline.

Minor

A minor in psychology is open to all undergraduate students in programs other than psychology.

Students can only complete one Psychology Minor as part of their degree program.

Concentrations

A concentration is a way of enhancing your degree by selecting a group of 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th year courses that are thematically related. If you are passionate about one of our areas of research, the relevant concentration will provide you with a “road map” that will help you choose the very best courses for you.

In addition, your concentration will be formally recognized when you graduate. Your diploma will explicitly state “BA (or BS.c) in Psychology with a concentration in [the area that you have chosen]”.

You will be able to use it to show future employers or graduate programs that you have acquired expertise in an area of psychology that goes beyond the typical undergraduate degree.