All Psychology students take courses from the same list. The main difference is that the Psychology Major in Science (54 credits) has more credits than the Psychology Major in Arts (36 credits) and the Psychology Major in Arts & Science (36 credits). However, students in Arts who would like to take more Psychology courses have the option of completing the Minor in Behavioural Science (18 credits), which consists of additional Psychology courses. This Minor is only offered to Psychology Majors in Arts. These two programs (Arts Psychology Major and Minor in Behavioural Science) together make up the same amount of credits as the Psychology Major in Science. Students in Arts & Science completing the Major in Psychology can only complete the 36 credits for the Major in Psychology and cannot complete the Minor Concentration in Behavioural Science.

For information about the differences in program requirements, see Programs of study descriptions (https://www.mcgill.ca/psychology/undergraduate/programs-study).

For more information about the differences between the Faculty requirements, please see the Faculty of Science (https://www.mcgill.ca/science/) and the Faculty of Arts (https://www.mcgill.ca/oasis/) websites.

Students interested in pursuing graduate studies in psychology, especially in professional psychology disciplines, such as clinical, counselling, and school psychology, may want to choose either the B.Sc. where they can complete a 54-credit Major in Psychology or the B.A. where they can choose to complete a Specialization Option, which includes a Major Concentration in Psychology (36 credits) with a Minor Concentration in Behavioural Science (18 credits).

However, there may be other psychology graduate programs, in or outside of Quebec, that do not require as many psychology courses. In these cases, the Major in Psychology via the B.A. & Sc. may be sufficiently specialized. Students are thus encouraged to research the different graduate programs that they may be interested in to verify their admission requirements.

McGill’s admission requirements will depend on your previous education and the program(s) you intend to study. For information regarding admission requirements and last year’s minimum scores, see https://www.mcgill.ca/undergraduate-admissions/apply/requirements. Please note that admission cut-off scores vary every year.

There are various ways for Psychology undergraduate students to obtain hands-on research experience in the Department. Psychology students can do Independent Research courses for credit that provide an in-depth, hands-on introduction to research in a laboratory setting. These can be one-semester or two-semester, and the student works with a Psychology faculty member and a graduate student to conduct research and write up a thesis (APA style manuscript) based on the research. Honours and Honours equivalent students present their research at a department-wide research showcase. Students can apply for summer fellowship programs which are paid research experiences in labs. We also offer several Psychology laboratory courses in which students do research in a classroom setting, with the direct supervision of a professor. Students design their own projects and test them on each other. Additional not-for-credit options include volunteering or working as a paid research assistant in individual faculty research labs. For more information, please see Research Opportunities (https://www.mcgill.ca/psychology/undergraduate/current-students/research...).

Psychology courses have reserved seating. Thus, if seats appear available but you are unable to register, it means that the seats reserved for students in your category are currently full.

Courses taken at another university are evaluated only after admission to McGill. 

McGill considers ECON 227D and PSYC 204 equivalent courses (http://www.mcgill.ca/study/2022-2023/faculties/arts/undergraduate/ug_arts_course_reqs#topic_5C9FB78051774D55AD1AB5457CBA80ED). If you completed ECON 227D with a grade of “C” or better, and it is not counting towards another program, then you can use ECON 227D as a substitute for PSYC 204.

However, If ECON 227D is counting towards another program (i.e., ECON major or minor), then you would be exempt from PSYC 204, but BA students will need to replace it with 3 credits at the 300 level or above in psychology, anthropology, linguistics, or sociology. BA & Sc students can replace PSYC 204 with 3 credits at the 300-level or above in psychology only.

In addition, you would still be required to complete PSYC 305 (and you will receive credit for it) for the Major Concentration in Psychology (36 credits).

PSYC 204 is a prerequisite for PSYC 305 and the two courses cannot be taken concurrently.