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Director's Message

Welcome to the Graduate Program in Psychology!

We are York’s oldest and largest graduate program, and our size and diversity make us special. Whatever your interests are, you will find faculty and fellow graduate students who share them and from whom you can learn. Through your graduate years, you will gain new skills, meet new challenges, and make new friends.

The foundation of graduate studies in Psychology is based on innovative research done by our award-winning and internationally recognized faculty. We offer graduate programs leading to the Master of Arts (MA) degree by research thesis and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree by research dissertation. Both the MA and PhD are designed to give students in-depth knowledge of a specific area of psychology, by doing hands-on research on an important problem or question that advances the current frontiers of knowledge. Most of our students publish their thesis research in scientific journals and present it at national and international scientific conferences.

Students in the Psychology graduate program belong to one of seven areas of specialization:

  • Clinical (adult) Psychology
  • Clinical Developmental Psychology
    • Students in Clinical or CD can also enrol in the Clinical Neuropsychology specialist stream
  • Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science
  • Developmental Science
  • Social and Personality Psychology
  • Quantitative Methods
  • History, Theory and Critical Thought

Within and across research areas there is a critical mass for interaction among faculty and students and for sharing of resources and expertise among labs, including access to first-rate infrastructure and facilities, such as our York University Psychology Clinic (YUPC), the Centre for Vision Research (CVR), the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research, the York University Centre for Aging Research and Education (YU-CARE) and our on-campus fMRI facility. We also offer students the opportunity to gain additional credentials by completing graduate diploma/certificate programs in Health Psychology, Quantitative Methods and Neuroscience, concurrently with their MA or PhD degrees.

Our faculty and students also pursue collaborative research and practicum placements with regional hospitals, universities and community and agency partners. From fundamental research to real world application, our Psychology graduate program offers it all. We invite you to explore our program and learn how we can help you achieve your goals.

A photo of Professor Suzanne MacDonald

Learn More

The Graduate Program in Psychology at York is an exciting environment to pursue innovative, socially engaging, career-ready education. Contact our Graduate Program Assistant to learn more.