Cognitive and Brain Sciences Specialization (BSc)
What is the Cognitive and Brain Sciences specialization (BSc)?
Students who complete a specialization in Cognitive and Brain Sciences will receive targeted education pertaining to neural mechanisms and the cognitive processes that these mechanisms engender. Topics may include neural communication, neural function and dysfunction, neural systems, research methods in neuroscience, thinking, reasoning, attention and decision making.
What are the requirements and how do I apply?
Admission is competitive. The specific average or standing required for admission varies from year to year. Students are selected by taking into consideration a wide range of criteria including school marks, distribution of subjects taken, and performance in subjects relevant to the academic degree. Possession of the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance. Preference will be given to applicants with the best qualifications.
Current Ontario secondary school students must complete the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with six 4U or 4M credits including English (ENG4U), Advanced Functions (MHF4U), and two of Biology (SBI4U), Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U), Chemistry (SCH4U) or Physics (SPH4U). All other applicants should refer to Admissions for the requirements for their specific category of admission.
Degree requirements:
To be eligible for the Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Psychology, students must successfully complete 120 credit hours. Although reasonable efforts will be made to provide the courses in the indicated semesters in the following degree maps, course requirements and term offerings may change. Each year prior to course registration the order and timing of course offerings will be released by the faculty and communicated to students.
To learn more about the admissions process and apply, visit our Undergraduate Admissions website.
Experiential Learning: Internships, Practicums, and Community Engagement
To learn more about the Affective Science and Mental Health specialization (BSc) program’s experiential learning opportunities (e.g., the practicum, the internship, and community engagement projects), check out the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities’ Experiential Learning Office.
What courses will I take?
Year 1 [30 credit hours]:
BIOL 1010U – Biology I: Molecular and Cellular Systems
BIOL 1020U – Biology II: Diversity of Life and Principles of Ecology
CHEM 1010U – Chemistry I
CHEM 1020U – Chemistry II
PHY 1030U – Introductory Physics
PHY 1040U – Physics for Biosciences
MATH 1015U – Mathematics for Bioscience
PSYC 1000U – Introductory Psychology
SOCI 1000U – Introductory Sociology
One general elective*
Year 2 [30 credit hours]:
Two general electives***
PSYC 2010U – Developmental Psychology
PSYC 2020U – Social Psychology
PSYC 2030U – Psychopathology
PSYC 2050U – Brain and Behaviour
PSYC 2060U – Cognitive Psychology
PSYC 2900U – Research Methods in Psychology
PSYC 2910U – Data Analysis in Psychology
PSYC 3060U – Personality Psychology
Year 3 [30 credit hours]:
PSYC 3910U – Advanced Data Analysis in Psychology
Four Psychology electives*
Two Science electives**
Three general electives***
Year 4 [30 credit hours]
One of:
PSYC 4110U – Honours Thesis in Psychology I or
Psychology elective*
One of:
PSYC 4120U – Honours Thesis in Psychology II or
Psychology elective*
One of:
SSCI 4098U – Practicum or
SSCI 4103U – Internship or
Psychology elective*
Three Psychology electives*
Four general electives***
Psychology electives*
Any non‐required course with a PSYC 3XXX or 4XXX designation can count towards students’ necessary Psychology electives.
Science electives**
Any non‐required course run within the Faculty of Science that does not have a PSYC designation can count towards students’ necessary Science electives.
General electives***
Any non‐required course in any faculty can count towards students’ necessary general electives.
Specialization in Cognitive and Brain Sciences:
The specialization in Cognitive and Brain Sciences requires that students complete five courses from the following lists, of which at least three must come from List A, and at least one must come from List B.
List A:
PSYC 3090U – Social Affective Neuroscience
PSYC 3510U – Research Methods in Neuroscience
PSYC 3520U – Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
PSYC 3530U – Developmental Neuroscience
BIOL 3060U – Fundamentals of Neuroscience
NSCI 4999U – Advanced Topics in Integrative Neuroscience
List B:
PSYC 3075U – Biopsychology of Sex
PSYC 3085U – Drugs and Behaviour
PSYC 3610U – Thinking and Decision Making
PSYC 3630U – Sleep and Consciousness
PSYC 4210U – Social Cognition
BIOL 4820U – Neuropharmacology
Note:
Courses included in more than one specialization cluster can count towards either specialization, but cannot be double-counted towards multiple specializations for the same student. PSYC 3900U – Special Topics in Psychology I and PSYC 4900U – Special Topics in Psychology II may count towards the specialization, as determined appropriate on a course by course basis by the Psychology faculty. Please see Academic Advising for approval.
