For non-UBC students: there is no direct admission into the Psychology department; all prospective students must first be admitted into a Faculty by UBC Admissions. Questions on admissions requirements and transfers should be directed to them.
For current UBC students: There are no minimum requirements to declare a BA Major in Psychology or any Psychology Minor. You can declare this major once you have been promoted to second-year standing. To complete a BSc Major in Psychology, interested students must apply after their first (or, in some cases, second) year. Admission is based on grades in science courses only and, while there is no official minimum average required, the application process is quite competitive. For more information on the BSc Psychology Major, please contact BScAdvising[at]psych.ubc.ca.
If you are currently a member of the Psychology Department (i.e. you have declared a Major, Minor, or Honours in Psychology at UBC), you can email a transfer evaluation request to the Psychology Undergraduate Advisor. Make sure to include a detailed course syllabus that indicates the course name/description, institution, instructor, weekly topics, evaluation methods, and reference information for any texts used. Transfer evaluations take on average 2-3 weeks to complete, however, depending on the time of year, may take even longer.
Yes, all students wishing to complete a Major or Minor in Psychology must take PSYC 101 and PSYC 102 (or PSYC 100), totaling 6 credits.
Wait and keep an eye on the SSC. As term approaches and, especially, during the add/drop period, it is likely that a few seats open up in previously full classes. If the add/drop period is coming to an end and/or the course is likely to see few, if any, drops, you can contact the course instructor to request an exception to the set head capacity. Forward written permission from the instructor to Psychology Undergraduate Advising for manual registration.
If you wish to graduate with a Major in Psychology, you cannot be exempt from taking PSYC 218.
There will be several sections of PSYC 207 and PSYC 208 Contemporary Issues--with various topics. On the Student Service Centre, click 'Courses'. Once you have selected PSYC 207 or PSYC 208, click on the arrow beside 'Section Comments'. The topic for each section will be listed there.
The Student Service Centre sometimes has problems recognizing transfer credit – that's why you received a WEB warning. You may still click on the “register for section” button to proceed with the registration request.
Maybe. You can request manual registration in PSYC 217 and/or PSYC 218 only if there are seats available after all of the Psychology Major students have completed registration.
These courses are designed to help you prepare for advanced study in Psychology, so we think it is a good idea to take them in 2nd year. But don’t just take our word for it! We surveyed Psychology Majors to find out what they think. Key survey results are summarized here: PSYC 217/218 Student Survey Results
Yes, although offerings change from year-to-year. Please visit the Distance Learning website for current information.
The course listing is published near the end of February. Check the Course Schedule on UBC's Student Service's website.
Earlier versions of the UBC Calendar can be found in the UBC Vancouver Academic Calendar Archive or contact the Transcript Dept. of Enrolment Services.
Visit Student Workday to declare or change your major. Students can follow this tutorial for more information on how to do this.
The BSc - Science Minor in Psychology is no longer offered. Admission to the Minor in Behavioural Neuroscience is suspended until further notice. Students interested in neuroscience should apply for the new Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience (UPN).
Directed Studies give you an opportunity to participate in a research project, as determined by you and your supervising faculty member.
- Contact a full-time UBC Psychology faculty member faculty member (Sessional instructors are not eligible to supervise a Directed Study) and ask whether they will supervise your project.
- If a full-time UBC Psychology faculty member agrees to supervise your project, they will provide you with a registration form to complete.
- Complete the required information on the form, including a brief summary of the project. Email the completed form back to undergrad@psych.ubc.ca.
NOTE: The Department of Psychology requires at least 30 upper-level PSYC credits for the Psychology Major. Directed Study projects with the course numbers PSYC 340, 348, 388, 440, 448 or 488 may not be included for the minimum 30-upper level Psychology credits required for the BA Major in Psychology program.
For more information visit the Human Subject Pool webpage.
Visit our Get Involved with Research page for open volunteer Research Assistant positions. You can also check out the postings on the bulletin board in the atrium of UBC Psychology's Kenny building.
Generally, to obtain a research position you need to be sponsored by a professor before applying. There are occasionally postings online, on the department's digital signage screens, or on the bulletin board in UBC Psychology's Kenny building. However, the bulk of these are volunteer positions.
For Research Assistant questions:
Check out answers from a student view, about the process, and advice from profs. There was also a recent AMA on r/UBC with psychology students, they had some great advice on getting into labs. Here's the link to that Q/A.
- Obtain a second degree with a Major in Psychology. As a student with a previous degree, you will need to complete a minimum of 60 credits and meet all of the requirements of both the Department of Psychology, and your governing faculty.
- Apply to UBC as an unclassified student. This means that you are only required to take the courses that are required for the Psychology Program (42 credits). However, you will not obtain a second degree.
Counselling Psychology is offered through the Faculty of Education.
Information on the graduate awards process is available at the Awards and Funding webpage.