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How to Apply

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The deadline for submitting a complete application to the Graduate Program in Psychology is December 1st.

Applications open in mid-October, and applicants are strongly encouraged to begin the process early to ensure all required documents are submitted on time.

After submitting your application, you must promptly upload all post-secondary transcripts and provide the names and email addresses of your referees. All required materials must be received by December 1st, for your application to be considered complete.

We recommend that you create your application and pay the application fee by November 24th. Once your application is created, you will receive your MyFile login link and student number within approximately four to five business days (please also check your spam or junk folders).

You are responsible for ensuring that all necessary documents (e.g. transcripts, reference letters, etc.) are uploaded by the deadline. Please be sure to indicate the correct emails and names of your referees, as they cannot be changed. Referees will receive a link to complete, and they should be aware that they have only two weeks to complete the reference (please tell referees to check their spam/junk folders).

Required Documents:

  1. 2 references
  2. CV
  3. Statement of Interest (Applicants to Clinical and Clinical Developmental areas, please refer to the specific area pages for further details)
  4. Transcript
  5. Supplementary Information form (SIF)
  6. If you attended a university where courses were taught in a language other than English, Official English Language Proficiency test results are required. (Please refer to this page for the English proficiency requirement. )

We are not able to offer funded positions to international applicants at this time. If you are externally funded or self-funded, please visit the Faculty of Graduate Studies—International Students for more information.

Apply Online to York

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If you have already applied to Graduate Psychology or are concerned about uploaded documents, read this FAQ page which may be of interest to you, including information on document processing times.

Interested in Graduate School in Psychology?  We have the answers.

Remember, applying to graduate school is like planning a trip around the world – it requires careful planning and preparation well in advance before the journey can begin.

Here’s a quick list of what you need to know:

Degree Requirement:  In order to apply, you will need an Honours BA (or BSc) in Psychology or the equivalent of eight full courses in Psychology.  The eight full courses can be any combination of half or full courses which add up to a total of eight full courses.

GPA:  Applicants will need a minimum B+ average from your last two years of study (or last 60 credits) in order to be eligible.  For Clinical and Clinical-Developmental applicants, it is recommended that you have at least an A average.

References: When filling out the online application, two (2) references are required (academic references preferred); however, you may submit up to three (3) in total.  Only the Clinical-Developmental Area specifically expects three references.  When you complete the referee information, a link is emailed to the referees and the referees will complete it online.

Statement of Interest:  You will need to complete a Statement of Interest, which should be no more than 2 pages double-spaced (standard margins, 12-point font).  Please note: If you are applying to one of our Clinical Programs and wish to enter the Neuropsychology stream for C or CD, please indicate this in your Statement of Interest.

C.V.:  You will need to submit a C.V. (regardless of the area to which you are applying).

Transcripts: You will need to upload transcripts of all courses taken at all Post-Secondary Institutions attended. We accept unofficial transcripts for your online application; however, we only accept unofficial copies that include your name and name of the Institution clearly shown on the transcript. As well if you have already graduated, the transcript must show the degree was conferred. If you are made an Offer of Admission, you will be required to supply official copies.

Supplementary Information Form:  You will need to complete this page with the names of any awards for which you have applied (e.g., OGS, SSHRC, CIHR, NSERC), your language skills, chosen Areas of Specialization, and finally, the names of supervisor(s) with whom you would like to work.  N.B.: It is very important that you do not leave blanks in Questions 1 – 4.

We only have one intake per year, which is in the Fall term.

The deadline for the Fall application cycle is December 1st. We usually open the online system in mid-October. Please note that December 1st is the absolute last day to submit a complete admission application. It is recommended to submit a complete application by November 24th, thus allowing adequate time to attend to your application in case of unexpected delays.

You will need the equivalent of eight full courses in Psychology in order to apply, as well as a four-year Honours degree with a thesis. If you do not have the eight courses in Psychology, or the Honours degree, we recommend you upgrade your degree and take the required number of Psychology courses in order to qualify for graduate school. For further undergraduate study at York University, you may contact York Admissions at Ask an Expert.

Please include the area of research you are interested in pursuing, why you are interested in working within a specific faculty member’s lab, and why you would like to come to York University, as well as any other relevant information. A brief history of your academic and professional experience is also helpful.

We appreciate the benefits that a diverse student body brings to our programme. Our goal is for all students to feel welcome at York University, Department of Psychology. We invite students to disclose any extenuating circumstances related to diversity that may have affected their preparation for graduate school, e.g., a need to work, a need for paid employment, or part-time undergraduate experiences at the University. Please add this to your Statement of Interest when applying.

You can find the list of faculty accepting students under the “Faculty Taking Students” tab. Each area of “Area of Specialization” has its own “Faculty Taking Students” tab.

Email addresses for faculty can be found on this page.  

International students are welcome to apply, if they are able to self-fund their tuition and living expenses.  At this time, unfortunately, we are unable to offer funding for international students. International students who are able to self-fund will require IELTS/TOEFL scores as well as meeting the above requirements for applicants. As well, please refer to the Faculty of Graduate Studies' International Admissions page for information regarding admission requirements, English language proficiency, degree equivalency, immigration, and support services.

No, our CPA-accredited clinical programs are designed and accredited as a unit (MA + PhD together) so a different kind of master's degree is not a substitute for the first two years of our program. It is not uncommon for students in our highly competitive Clinical programs to have other master's degrees prior to entry. The only exception would be if you have an MA from another CPA-accredited Clinical program.

York University requires a Master’s in Psychology as a prerequisite to entering the PhD program.

Applicants applying with a low GPA may need to consider boosting their GPA before applying. While we review applications holistically, most students who are accepted into our program have a A/A+ GPA, combined with strong research experience and references.

Please note there are no specific Psychology courses that we require, to meet the 8 full (16 half-credit) Psychology undergrad requirements. Students often take undergrad courses they like, to help them earn a higher grade and make their application more competitive.

Any course will be counted if it is a regular undergrad course with a Psychology course code that can be taken at the undergrad level (i.e., no certificate or college-level courses, or certificate programs, as those are not recognized by the university and thus not accepted or recommended).

If you are an undergrad Psychology major at York University, then we suggest that you follow your degree checklist, as the courses in your undergrad Psychology Degree Checklist would meet our minimum admission requirements, including the course requirements from each category.

Also, breadth requirements will only be assessed in the Clinical area after you apply. If the clinical area finds that you are missing breadth requirements, it will be noted in your offer letter.

Some areas emphasize the Honours Thesis, but no, a thesis is not a strict requirement, so doing an honours project would not affect your eligibility. We suggest students complete a thesis as it gives them a chance to gain relevant research experience and academic references, but we recognize that there are many other opportunities for you to gain valuable research experience and references, such a capstone or honors independent study/project course, so if you would like to pursue other options, they will be accepted accordingly.

No, applicants do not need to secure a supervisor before applying. However, in your Supplementary Form, if you are interested in working with a specific professor, please add the names of up to three professors with whom you would hope to work. (Supervisor information belongs in Question 4 of the Supplementary Information Form). It is a good idea to email potential supervisors in advance. In addition, in your Statement of Interest, you may also go into further details about your possible research with specific professors.

Please note that your first choice of Area is given priority, and then your second and third choices.
If you are not successful in your first choice, then your file may be considered by your second and/ or third choice. However, if you listed the Clinical and/or CD area as your second or third choice and were unsuccessful in your first choice, then the clinical or CD faculty reviewing your second area choice may not consider your application due to the volume of applicants that list C and CD as their first choice. This is not the case for the other areas.

Also, though you have 3 choices, it is important to write on your letter of statement on your top choice to give your letter more focus, and if it applies, to incorporate interests in other Areas to explain all your choices.

Also note the supervisor(s) you list should be in the same Area as one of your top choices.

Here are some of elements of successful applicants:

  • They have applied for or have a history of external scholarship funding. We strongly recommend that you apply for external scholarship funding (e.g., Ontario Graduate Scholarship and one of the Tri-Council funding agencies [CIHR, SSHRC, NSERC]) before starting graduate school, even though you may not know what you will be doing for your Master’s research. Make sure to mention any submitted funding applications in your Statement of Interest!
  • They have contacted faculty members before applying. Let faculty members know you intend on applying, and why you think you are a good fit to work with them in their program of research. Faculty members may not respond—however, even knowing you are applying can help them keep an eye out for your application.
  • They specify whom they wish to work with. It is certainly acceptable to mention a number of faculty members (not just one), as this will increase your likelihood of being reviewed by a faculty member who will be taking a new graduate student (not every faculty member takes on a student every year). At the same time, being too broad in your research interests and in the number of faculty members whom you wish to work with makes it difficult for the review committee to know whom to direct your application to.
  • Prior experience is an asset. Students have a history of presenting or publishing research during their undergraduate program/years, have high grades and have clinical and research experience that is linked to the field of research of their potential supervisor. They often have life experiences that demonstrate maturity, interpersonal competence, initiative, and responsibility. At the same time, we value the important perspectives and knowledge that comes through lived experience.
  • Students have excellent letters of reference. We recommend obtaining three letters of reference if possible. It is important that the referees know you well enough to answer the questions in the referral form. As a general rule, however, two strong references are better than three mediocre references. Referees can be from research or clinical fields, and a mix of both can be helpful. You should definitely include your undergraduate thesis supervisor as a reference.

Currently our three CPA-accredited clinical training programs do not offer a stand-alone MA degree. The MA is just the first two years of the MA+PhD program. Students who are not interested in the PhD should consider other programs that offer a Master’s degree in Psychotherapy or Counselling.

You can only do our program full-time and in-person.

Admissions opens around mid-October and closes December 1st. However, we strongly advise that you apply several weeks well before the deadline as we have approximately 1000 applicants. Due to volume, last minute requests about issues the day before the deadline may leave you without an answer or time to remedy any errors. Please note when filling out your student Information Form, that edits cannot be made after submission. As well, we cannot add referees once you have submitted your two referee names and emails (or three referees if you are applying to CD).  Please have this information completed before you press “Submit”.  Meeting the minimum admission requirements is not a guarantee of admission. Only the most qualified candidates will be considered. In Question 3, the seven choices of specialization are:

  • Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Sciences
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Clinical Developmental Psychology
  • Developmental Science
  • Historical, Theoretical, and Critical Studies of Psychology
  • Quantitative Methods
  • Social and Personality Psychology

**Please note: Clinical Neuropsychology and Clinical Developmental Neuropsychology are part of the Clinical and Clinical Developmental programs, respectively.

If this page does not provide an answer to your inquiry, please send an email to gradpsyc@yorku.ca. In the Subject line, please put your full name, student number (if applicable), and whether you are a domestic or international student. We will reply to you as soon as possible.

Next Steps

Now that you have applied, please be sure to check your MyFile for any changes in status, or reminders for outstanding requirements. Area faculty begin rating applications in January, and if a supervisor is interested, you should be contacted by the end of February for our first round of offers. Some Areas have an open house, other areas have individual interviews.  After the initial offers, timing is variable but additional offers may be made. Therefore, if you have not been contacted and there is no change on your My File application status, it means you are still under consideration. Your patience is appreciated.

If you are contacted with an Offer of Admission, you will have until April 15 to accept or decline, although we hope you will accept as soon as you can.

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.

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How to Apply