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Affective Science and Mental Health specialization

Students can take either a Bachelor of Arts, or a Bachelor of Science in Affective Science and Mental Health. Please see details for each program in the tabs below.

What is the Affective Science and Mental Health specialization (BA)?

Students will receive targeted education pertaining to the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying emotion, and the manner in which these mechanisms contribute to mental health or mental illness. 

How can 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). It is recommended that Biology (SBI4U) and one of Advanced Functions (MHF4U), Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U) or Mathematics of Data Management (MDM4U) is taken. To learn more about the admissions process and apply, visit our Undergraduate Admissions website.

Experiential Learning: Co-op, Internships, Practicums, and Community Engagement

To learn more about the Affective Science and Mental Health specialization (BA) program’s experiential learning opportunities (e.g., C-op, 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 1841U Essentials of Biology
PSYC 1000U Introductory Psychology
SSCI 1910U Writing for the Social Sciences

Two of:

COMM 1100U Introduction to Communication Studies
CRMN 1000U Introduction to Criminal Justice
LGLS 1000U Foundations of Legal Studies
POSC 1000U Introduction to Political Science

Five general electives (recommended elective: ALSU 1101U Foundations for Academic Learning and Success)

Year 2 (30 credit hours)

Two general electives
PSYC 2010U Developmental Psychology
PSYC 2020U Social Psychology
PSYC 2030U Abnormal Psychology
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 FSSH 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.
FSSH electives**
Any non-required course run within the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities that does not have a PSYC designation can count towards students' necessary FSSH electives.
General electives***
General electives can be taken at/or adjoining their year level, where permission has been granted and prerequisites have been fulfilled. Any non-required course in any faculty can count towards students' necessary general electives.
To achieve the specialization in Affective Science and Mental Health students will be required to complete five courses from the following lists, three of which must come from list A. 
List A:

PSYC 3065U – Emotion
PSYC 3090U – Social Affective Neuroscience
PSYC 3085U – Drugs and Behaviour
PSYC 3330U – Developmental Psychopathology
PSYC 3620U – Motivation and Emotion
List B:

FPSY 3055U – Treatment in Forensic Settings
FPSY 4820U – Selected Topics in Antisociality
HLSC 1811U – Social Determinants of Health
HLSC 3463U – Human Genetics in Society
HLSC 4821U – Exploring the Mind Body Connection: Wellness Promotion Strategies for Life
BIOL 3060U – Fundamentals of Neuroscience
BIOL 4820U – Neuropharmacology

What is the Affective Science and Mental Health specialization (BSc)?

Students will receive targeted education pertaining to the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying emotion, and the manner in which these mechanisms contribute to mental health or mental illness. 

How can 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.

Experiential Learning: Co-op, Internships, Practicums, and Community Engagement

To learn more about the Affective Science and Mental Health specialization (BA) program’s experiential learning opportunities (e.g., C-op, 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 4103W – 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. 

The specialization in Affective Science and Mental Health requires that students complete five courses from the following lists, of which at least three of those courses must come from list A.

List A

PSYC 3065U – Emotion
PSYC 3070U – Stress and Coping
PSYC 3090U – Social Affective Neuroscience
PSYC 3085U – Drugs and Behaviour
PSYC 3330U – Developmental Psychopathology
PSYC 3620U – Motivation and Emotion

List B

FPSY 3055U – Treatment in Forensic Settings
FPSY 4820U – Selected Topics in Antisociality
HLSC 1811U – Social Determinants of Health
HLSC 3463U – Human Genetics in Society
HLSC 4808U – Exploring Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
BIOL 3060U – Fundamentals of Neuroscience
BIOL 4820U – Neuropharmacology


Please note: 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.