BA.PSYC - Psychology - BA General

www.trentu.ca/psychology

Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behaviour and the mind. As such, psychological research provides insight into questions on topics such as newborn infants’ preference for their mother’s voice, the link between personality and academic achievement or physical health, how sleep influences learning and memory, the identification of individuals who are at risk for Alzheimer’s disease or cancer, sexual negotiation and behaviour in young adults, or even how you understand these words you are reading right now. Psychology is a scientific discipline with a multitude of practical applications: it deals with every aspect of our lives, and in its application of scientific methods to questions of human concern, it helps us to better understand how and why people act, think, and feel the way they do. The Psychology program at Trent ensures that students acquire research skills and a broad-based background in the basic content of the discipline, and that they have the opportunity at upper levels to focus on more specialized topics and to become involved in original research.

INFORMATION & ADDITIONAL NOTES

• 60% or higher in PSYC 1020H and 1030H is a prerequisite for all upper-level Psychology courses.

• A 4U Mathematics course is strongly recommended for students who plan to major in Psychology.

• Most courses at the 2000 and 3000 level in the department are assigned to one of two categories (Natural Science or Social Science). Students in the single-major or joint-major program in Psychology must include in their program a range of courses chosen from each category, as indicated in the requirements for the various program options.

• Any course involving work with live vertebrate animals requires the Animal Care Course. The Animal Care Course requirement is indicated in some course descriptions but may also apply to others. Check with the course instructor if in doubt.

• For non-majors taking courses where PSYC 2018H or 2019H is a prerequisite, a statistics course in another discipline may be substituted, but only if the permission of the department has been granted.

• A maximum 2.0 credits consisting of either reading courses (PSYC 3900Y, 3901H, 3902H, 4900Y, 4901H, and 4902H) and/or research practicum courses (PSYC 3801H, 3802H, 4801H, and 4802H) may be counted toward the course requirements for a major or joint-major degree in Psychology.

• Research practicum and reading courses are only open to students in the single-major or joint-major Honours programs in Psychology.

• Offerings of 4000-level courses change from year to year. A listing of the 4000 level courses can be found on the academic timetable.