X. Degree Programs

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.)

Psychology: Brain & Cognition (PBC)

Department of Psychology, College of Social and Applied Human Sciences

The B.Sc. Major in Psychology: Brain and Cognition offers an opportunity for students to develop interests within learning, perception, cognition, and biopsychology from a sound base in physical and biological sciences. Students primarily interested in other areas within psychology should consult the schedule of studies for the Bachelor of Arts program. Psychology courses in the above focuses may also be studied via the B.A. program.

Note on Honours Courses

Honours Courses: courses designated with (H) are designed for students in a psychology honours specialization. This includes B.A. Honours Psychology (PYSC) major or minor, B.A. Information Systems and Human Behaviour (ISHB) major, B.Sc. Psychology: Brain and Cognition (PBC), major or minor, and the Neuroscience (NEUR) minor. (H) courses are Honours level requiring for registration a cumulative average of at least 70% in all course attempts in Psychology or registration in the ISHB major, NEUR minor, or PBC major or minor. Unless otherwise specified, all other courses may be taken by students in a general or honours program, providing the prerequisites are met.

Major (Honours Program)

Semester 1
BIOL*1090 [0.50] Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology
CHEM*1040 [0.50] General Chemistry I
MATH*1080 [0.50] Elements of Calculus I
PHYS*1080 [0.50] Physics for Life Sciences
PSYC*1000 [0.50] Introduction to Psychology
Students lacking Grade 12 or 4U Biology, Chemistry or Physics should follow the revised schedule of study for this major found at: http://www.bsc.uoguelph.ca/revisedss
Semester 2
CHEM*1050 [0.50] General Chemistry II
PHYS*1070 [0.50] Physics for Life Sciences II
One of:
BIOL*1070 [0.50] Discovering Biodiversity
BIOL*1080 [0.50] Biological Concepts of Health
One of:
CIS*1200 [0.50] Introduction to Computing
CIS*1500 [0.50] Introduction to Programming
One of:
PSYC*1010 [0.50] Quantification in Psychology
STAT*2040 [0.50] Statistics I
Semester 3

One of:

PSYC*2330 [0.50] Principles of Learning
PSYC*2410 [0.50] Behavioural Neuroscience I
One of:
PSYC*2390 [0.50] Principles of Sensation and Perception
PSYC*2650 [0.50] Cognitive Psychology
0.50 Arts/Non-Psychology Social Science electives *
1.00 elective or restricted electives*
Semester 4
PSYC*2040 [0.50] Research Statistics
PSYC*2360 [0.50] Introductory Research Methods
0.50 Psychology core (PSYC*2330, PSYC*2390, PSYC*2410, PSYC*2650)
One of:
PSYC*2310 [0.50] Introduction to Social Psychology
PSYC*2450 [0.50] Introduction to Developmental Psychology
PSYC*2740 [0.50] Personality
0.50 Arts/Non-Psychology Social Science electives *
Semester 5 **
2.50 electives or restricted electives (Students contemplating graduate studies should see Graduate Studies Advisory Note below)
Semester 6 **
PSYC*3250 [0.50] Psychological Measurement
2.00 electives or restricted electives
Semester 7 **

2.50 electives or restricted electives

Semester 8 **

2.50 electives or restricted electives*

Restricted Electives
  1. A minimum of 1.00 credits of Approved Non-psychology Arts and Social Science electives

  2. 3.00 credits from following psychology courses:

    PSYC*3030 [0.50] Neurochemical Basis of Behaviour
    PSYC*3100 [0.50] Evolutionary Psychology
    PSYC*3330 [0.50] Memory
    PSYC*3340 [0.50] Psycholinguistics
    PSYC*3370 [0.50] Experimental Design and Analysis
    PSYC*3380 [0.50] Non-experimental Research Methods
    PSYC*3410 [0.50] Behavioural Neuroscience II
    PSYC*3440 [0.50] Cognitive Development
    PSYC*3850 [0.50] Intellectual Disabilities
    PSYC*3900 [0.50] Psychology Research Internship ***
    PSYC*4050 [0.50] Seminar in Animal Learning
    PSYC*4470 [0.50] Behavioural Neuroscience Seminar
    PSYC*4500 [0.50] Current Theoretical Issues in Psychology ***
    PSYC*4510 [0.50] Current Issues in Psychology ***
    PSYC*4600 [0.50] Cognitive Neuroscience
    PSYC*4750 [0.50] Seminar in Motivation and Emotion
    PSYC*4870 [0.50] Honours Thesis I ***
    PSYC*4880 [1.00] Honours Thesis II ***
    PSYC*4900 [0.50] Psychology Seminar

Note: The selection of electives should take into consideration the prerequisites for preferred advanced courses. With the permission of the Psychology Department PRIOR to course selection, up to 2 non-psychology credits can be used towards the psychology credits if such courses enhance the student's psychology program.

Students should refer to the list of Approved Science and Arts/Social Science electives for BSc students:http://www.bsc.uoguelph.ca/Approved_electives.shtml

** Graduate Studies Advisory Note

Students planning to enter a graduate program in Psychology are advised to complete PSYC*3370 and PSYC*3380 in Semesters 5 and 6, as well as and PSYC*4880 in Semesters 7 and 8, respectively. PSYC*4370 or PSYC*4900 must be completed prior to or concurrently with either PSYC*4870 or PSYC*4880.

*** Depending upon the project chosen, these courses will be evaluated by the faculty advisor to determine their suitability as science electives.

Credit Summary (20.00 Total Credits)

4.50 - First year science core

3.00 - Required science courses semesters 3 - 8

3.00 - Restricted electives (#2)

5.50 - Approved Science electives

1.00 - Required Arts and Social Science courses, semesters 1 - 8

1.00 - Approved Non-Psychology Arts and/or Social Science electives (#1)

2.00 - Free electives - any approved elective for B.Sc. students

Of the total credits required, students are required to complete 16.00 credits in science of which 2.00 credits must be at the 4000 level and an additional 4.00 credits must be at the 3000 or 4000 level.

Minor (Honours Program)

A minor in Psychology: Brain and Cognition requires a minimum of 5.00 psychology credits as follows:

PSYC*1000 [0.50] Introduction to Psychology
PSYC*2360 [0.50] Introductory Research Methods

2.00 credits from 2000 level psychology core courses selected as follows:

  1. 1.50 credits from:

    PSYC*2330 [0.50] Principles of Learning
    PSYC*2390 [0.50] Principles of Sensation and Perception
    PSYC*2410 [0.50] Behavioural Neuroscience I
    PSYC*2650 [0.50] Cognitive Psychology
  2. 0.50 credits from:

    PSYC*2310 [0.50] Introduction to Social Psychology
    PSYC*2450 [0.50] Introduction to Developmental Psychology
    PSYC*2740 [0.50] Personality

1.50 credits from courses in Restricted Electives list above

One of:

PSYC*1010 [0.50] Quantification in Psychology
STAT*2040 [0.50] Statistics I
University of Guelph
50 Stone Road East
Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1
Canada
519-824-4120