Behavioural Neuroscience Program
This interdisciplinary program emphasizes modern theory and methodology of neurobiological explanations of behaviour in human and non-human animals. Students in the Behavioural Neuroscience Program receive intensive training at the intersection of psychology and neuroscience. Research projects typically involve measuring and manipulating neural circuit activity, cell signaling pathways, and gene expression in conjunction with advanced behavioural analyses in living animals.
Program Requirements
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Psychology: Behavioural Neuroscience
Offered by: Psychology
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Program Requirement:
Students must satisfy all program requirements for the Ph.D. in Psychology. The Ph.D. thesis must be on a topic relating to behavioural neuroscience.
Thesis
A thesis for the doctoral degree must constitute original scholarship and must be a distinct contribution to knowledge. It must show familiarity with previous work in the field and must demonstrate ability to plan and carry out research, organize results, and defend the approach and conclusions in a scholarly manner. The research presented must meet current standards of the discipline; as well, the thesis must clearly demonstrate how the research advances knowledge in the field. Finally, the thesis must be written in compliance with norms for academic and scholarly expression and for publication in the public domain.
Language Acquisition Program
This interdisciplinary program focuses on the scientific exploration of language acquisition by different kinds of learners in diverse contexts. Students in the Language Acquisition Program are introduced to theoretical and methodological issues on language acquisition from the perspectives of cognitive neuroscience, theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics, education, communication sciences and disorders, and neuropsychology.
Program Requirements
Psychology: Language Acquisition (Ph.D.)
Offered by: Psychology (Faculty of Science)
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Program Description
Students must satisfy all program requirements for the Ph.D. in Psychology. The Ph.D. thesis must be on a topic relating to language acquisition.
Thesis
A thesis for the doctoral degree must constitute original scholarship and must be a distinct contribution to knowledge. It must show familiarity with previous work in the field and must demonstrate ability to plan and carry out research, organize results, and defend the approach and conclusions in a scholarly manner. The research presented must meet current standards of the discipline; as well, the thesis must clearly demonstrate how the research advances knowledge in the field. Finally, the thesis must be written in compliance with norms for academic and scholarly expression and for publication in the public domain.
Required Courses (6 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| LING 710 | Language Acquisition Issues 2. | 2 |
Language Acquisition Issues 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examination and discussion of the leterature on a selected topic in language acquisition. | ||
| PSYC 701 | Doctoral Comprehensive Examination. | 0 |
Doctoral Comprehensive Examination. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025 An examination that must be passed by all doctoral candidates in order to continue in the doctoral program. | ||
| PSYC 709 | Language Acquisition Issues 1. | 2 |
Language Acquisition Issues 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in language acquisition issues. | ||
| SCSD 712 | Language Acquisition Issues 4. | 2 |
Language Acquisition Issues 4. Terms offered: Fall 2025 An examination that must be passed by all doctoral candidates in order to continue in the doctoral program. | ||
Complementary Courses (15-32 credits)
12 credits (one course per term in Year 2 and Year 3) chosen from the following list:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PSYC 712 | Comparative and Physiological Psychology 3. | 3 |
Comparative and Physiological Psychology 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in comparative and physiological psychology. | ||
| PSYC 715 | Comparative and Physiological Psychology 6. | 3 |
Comparative and Physiological Psychology 6. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Advanced area seminar on a topic in comparative and physiological psychology. | ||
| PSYC 722 | Personality and Social Psychology. | 3 |
Personality and Social Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in personality and social psychology. | ||
| PSYC 723 | Personality and Social Psychology. | 3 |
Personality and Social Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in comparative and physiological psychology. | ||
| PSYC 724 | Personality and Social Psychology. | 3 |
Personality and Social Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in comparative and physiological psychology. | ||
| PSYC 725 | Personality and Social Psychology. | 3 |
Personality and Social Psychology. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Advanced area seminar on a topic in comparative and physiological psychology. | ||
| PSYC 727 | Personality and Social Psychology. | 3 |
Personality and Social Psychology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in comparative and physiological psychology. | ||
| PSYC 728 | Ethics and Professional Issues. | 3 |
Ethics and Professional Issues. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Clinical psychology as a profession, with particular emphasis on ethical issues. | ||
| PSYC 729 | Theory of Assessment. | 3 |
Theory of Assessment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Issues related to psychological measurement and assessment. | ||
| PSYC 730 | Clinical Neuroscience Methods. | 3 |
Clinical Neuroscience Methods. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Techniques used in the study of biological aspects of clinical disorders, including methods in epidemiology, course and outcome, behavioural and molecular genetics, neuroimaging, psychophysiology and psychopharmacology. | ||
| PSYC 732D1 | Clinical Psychology 1. | 1.5 |
Clinical Psychology 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Review of clinical psychology. | ||
| PSYC 732D2 | Clinical Psychology 1. | 1.5 |
Clinical Psychology 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Review of clinical psychology. | ||
| PSYC 733D1 | Clinical Psychology 2. | 1.5 |
Clinical Psychology 2. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Review of clinical psychology. | ||
| PSYC 733D2 | Clinical Psychology 2. | 1.5 |
Clinical Psychology 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Review of clinical psychology. | ||
| PSYC 734 | Developmental Psychology and Language. | 3 |
Developmental Psychology and Language. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in developmental psychology and language | ||
| PSYC 735 | Developmental Psychology and Language. | 3 |
Developmental Psychology and Language. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in developmental psychology and language. | ||
| PSYC 736 | Developmental Psychology and Language. | 3 |
Developmental Psychology and Language. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in developmental psychology and language | ||
| PSYC 740 | Perception and Cognition. | 3 |
Perception and Cognition. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Advanced area seminar on a topic in perception and cognition. | ||
| PSYC 741 | Perception and Cognition. | 3 |
Perception and Cognition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in perception and cognition. | ||
| PSYC 742 | Perception and Cognition. | 3 |
Perception and Cognition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in perception and cognition. | ||
| PSYC 746 | Quantitative and Individual Differences. | 3 |
Quantitative and Individual Differences. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in quantitative and individual difference. | ||
| PSYC 747 | Quantitative and Individual Differences. | 3 |
Quantitative and Individual Differences. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in quantitative and individual difference. | ||
| PSYC 748 | Quantitative and Individual Differences. | 3 |
Quantitative and Individual Differences. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in quantitative and individual difference. | ||
| PSYC 749 | Quantitative and Individual Differences. | 3 |
Quantitative and Individual Differences. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in quantitative and individual difference. | ||
| PSYC 750 | Applied Bayesian Statistics. | 3 |
Applied Bayesian Statistics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Bayesian statistics, emphasizing applications to commonly encountered models in the social sciences (regression analysis, mediation and moderation, and latent variable models). Focus will be on differences between classical and Bayesian statistics, Bayesian analyses for several commonly used models in psychology, reporting results of a Bayesian analysis, and critical evaluation of methods and results sections of papers in psychology journals that used Bayesian analysis. | ||
| PSYC 752D1 | Psychotherapy and Behaviour Change. | 3 |
Psychotherapy and Behaviour Change. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A practice-oriented course. Staff and students discuss current cases being treated with a variety of psychotherapeutic and behavioural change techniques. | ||
| PSYC 752D2 | Psychotherapy and Behaviour Change. | 3 |
Psychotherapy and Behaviour Change. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See PSYC 752D1 for course description. | ||
| PSYC 753 | Health Psychology Seminar 1. | 3 |
Health Psychology Seminar 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in health psychology. | ||
At least 3 credits selected from the following list:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDSL 620 | Social Justice Issues in Second Language Education. | 3 |
Social Justice Issues in Second Language Education. Terms offered: Winter 2026 An examination of social identity, non-dominant languages, and power relations among speakers, and their impact on the nature of second/additional language teaching, learning and use, from the perspective of critical applied linguistics. Topics range from the micro level of the individual to the macro level of language planning and policy-making. | ||
| EDSL 623 | Second Language Learning. | 3 |
Second Language Learning. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Seminar in second language acquisition theory and research and their relevance to teaching a second language. | ||
| EDSL 624 | Educational Sociolinguistics. | 3 |
Educational Sociolinguistics. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Seminar in the social, cultural and political dimensions of English second language learning and teaching. | ||
| EDSL 627 | Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research. | 3 |
Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Seminar in second language classroom-centred research focusing on instructional procedures and practices in relationship to learning outcomes. | ||
| EDSL 632 | Second Language Literacy Development. | 3 |
Second Language Literacy Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theory and research related to the teaching and learning of second language literacy. The orientation is on reading and writing as a socio-cognitive activity. | ||
| LING 651 | Topics in Acquisition of Phonology. | 3 |
Topics in Acquisition of Phonology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of theoretically informed work on the first language acquisition of phonology. | ||
| LING 655 | Theory of L2 Acquisition. | 3 |
Theory of L2 Acquisition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Interlanguage grammars and the role of Universal Grammar in second language acquisition. | ||
| LING 751 | Advanced Seminar: Experimental 1. | 3 |
Advanced Seminar: Experimental 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An advanced seminar on current experimental research in linguistics. Topic varies by year. | ||
| LING 752 | Advanced Seminar: Experimental 2. | 3 |
Advanced Seminar: Experimental 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An advanced seminar on current experimental research in linguistics. Topic varies by year. | ||
| PSYC 545 | Topics in Language Acquisition. | 3 |
Topics in Language Acquisition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Psychological mechanisms and theories of first language acquisition in infancy and early childhood. Topics such as: infant speech perception, acquisition of grammar, word learning, pidgin and Creole languages, critical and sensitive periods, genetic and evolutionary bases of language. | ||
| PSYC 735 | Developmental Psychology and Language. | 3 |
Developmental Psychology and Language. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in developmental psychology and language. | ||
| SCSD 619 | Phonological Development. | 3 |
Phonological Development. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Theories and research related to normal and abnormal phonological development in children will be studied. | ||
| SCSD 632 | Phonological Disorders: Children. | 3 |
Phonological Disorders: Children. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The nature of phonological disorders and clinical approaches for their remediation in children will be presented. | ||
| SCSD 637 | Developmental Language Disorders 1. | 3 |
Developmental Language Disorders 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The nature of developmental language disorders and the assessment of language competence and performance in both speaking and non-speaking children will be studied. | ||
| SCSD 643 | Developmental Language Disorders 2. | 3 |
Developmental Language Disorders 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Major theories of language disorders are translated into intervention principles used in language treatment programs. Adaptations of intervention techniques to suit specific disorders (including augmentative communication) will be explored. | ||
| SCSD 652 | Advanced Research Seminar 1. | 3 |
Advanced Research Seminar 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Pro seminar in which current research topics in communication disorders will be discussed. | ||
| SCSD 653 | Advanced Research Seminar 2. | 3 |
Advanced Research Seminar 2. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Pro seminar in which current research topics in communication disorders will be discussed. | ||
| SCSD 654 | Advanced Research Seminar 3. | 3 |
Advanced Research Seminar 3. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Current research topics in communication sciences and disorders. | ||
0-2 from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDPE 713 | Language Acquisition Issues 5. | 2 |
Language Acquisition Issues 5. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Seminar on language science controversies and their associating literature, and practical implications in education and learning in general. | ||
| EDSL 711 | Language Acquisition Issues 3. | 2 |
Language Acquisition Issues 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Review of language acquisition issues. | ||
0-3 credits of statistics from the following list:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDPE 676 | Intermediate Statistics. | 3 |
Intermediate Statistics. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Concepts and procedures of conducting basic descriptive and inferential statistics, including analysis of variance, correlation, and regression models. Provides experience with data-analysis tools. | ||
| EDPE 682 | Univariate/Multivariate Analysis. | 3 |
Univariate/Multivariate Analysis. Terms offered: Winter 2026 General linear model as a unified data analytic system for estimation and hypothesis testing that subsumes regression, analysis of variance, and analysis of covariance for single dependent variables. Introduction to generalizations involving multiple dependent (criterion) variables. Applications oriented toward education, educational psychology and counselling psychology. Experience with data-analysis tools. | ||
| LING 620 | Experimental Linguistics: Methods. | 3 |
Experimental Linguistics: Methods. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Introduction to experimental research methods for linguists. | ||
| PSYC 650 | Advanced Statistics 1. | 3 |
Advanced Statistics 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 A course in advanced statistics with specialization in experimental design. | ||
| PSYC 651 | Advanced Statistics 2. | 3 |
Advanced Statistics 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 A course in advanced statistics with specialization in multivariate techniques. | ||
Students who have taken an equivalent course in statistics will be deemed to have satisfied this requirement for the Language Acquisition Option.
These 3 credits are only required for students who have not previously taken an equivalent course in statistics.
0-12 credits from the following (students without a McGill master's degree need to take all 12 credits):
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PSYC 650 | Advanced Statistics 1. | 3 |
Advanced Statistics 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 A course in advanced statistics with specialization in experimental design. | ||
| PSYC 651 | Advanced Statistics 2. | 3 |
Advanced Statistics 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 A course in advanced statistics with specialization in multivariate techniques. | ||
| PSYC 660D1 | Psychology Theory. | 3 |
Psychology Theory. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Professors representing the various research areas within the Department discuss critical issues and developments within their fields of expertise. | ||
| PSYC 660D2 | Psychology Theory. | 3 |
Psychology Theory. Terms offered: Winter 2026 See PSYC 660D1 for course description. | ||
Note: The Department of Psychology does not ordinarily require an examination in a foreign language however, all students planning on practicing clinical psychology in the province of Quebec will be examined based on their proficiency in French before being admitted to the professional association.