Admissions FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Graduate Admissions

What happens with my application, and how long does it take?

All documents are compiled by Graduate Admissions and Records, who assess your file once they have received your application fee. (Here is a complete list of what you need to send and the mailing address of UVic's Graduate Admissions.) If your application is complete and meets University standards, it will be sent to the Department of Psychology. It is then made available to the potential supervisors you have indicated on the Prospective Grad Student Information Sheet. Once your application has been fully considered, we let you know by mail what has been decided.

From the time all your paperwork has arrived at UVic, it can take between a couple of weeks to two months to process your application, depending on volume, competition, and whether it has been retained for further consideration. You can monitor your application's status online at MyStatus.

Which professors are considering new students?

The Faculty Directory page names faculty members who intend to consider students for admission next Fall, but circumstances change. The most up-to-date listing is always on our website. You do not need to ask professors' permission before adding them to your list.

I couldn't get into the Clinical program this year. Should I apply to Experimental Neuropsychology or Lifespan Development now, and transfer into Clinical later?

:No. Although there is some overlap between these programs and their Clinical counterparts, they are distinct areas of study. Admission into any one program does not transfer to another.

My university uses a 4-point GPA scale. How does this translate to UVic's 9-point scale?

This is UVic's grading scale:

9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
A+	A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+	C	D

4-point GPA scales vary from one school to the next. You can most accurately convert your own GPA by converting it to a letter grade and using the table above. For a comprehensive explanation of this scale, visit the Records Services site.

What are the course or degrees requirements to apply to your graduate program?

Applicants with three-year bachelor degrees or degrees from other disciplines face strong competition from students who have bachelor degrees in Psychology. We use a measure called Undergraduate Competency Requirements, or UCRs. The applicant has to finish all the required courses either before or shortly after the beginning of the Master's program.

1. Biological Bases of Behaviour (e.g., Biological Psychological, Physiological Psychology, Neuropsychology)
2. Cognitive Bases of Behaviour (e.g., Learning, Memory, Cognition)
3. Social Bases of Behaviour (e.g., Social Psychology, Special Topics Courses in Social Psychology)
4. Individual Differences (e.g., Abnormal Psychology, Developmental Psychopathology)
   • This is an additional requirement for Clinical applicants.

What scores do I need to get on the GRE, and do I really have to write it?

Yes you do. We need the GRE general test scores, but not the subject test scores. We do not set a minimum standard for GRE scores, but higher is better. Here are some recent average Grade Point Averages and GRE scores:

GPA	GRE-Verbal	GRE-Quant	GRE-Analytical writing
7.76	587 / 78 (%ile)	654 / 64	5.26 / 77

The GRE school code for UVic is 0989. The department code is 2016 for Psychology, or 2001 for Clinical Psychology.

Do you offer Counselling Psychology?

We offer Clinical Psychology, not Counselling Psychology. Counselling is, however, offered through UVic's Faculty of Education, under Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies: http://www.uvic.ca/education/psychology/programs/graduate/counsellingpsych/.

I have more questions!!

If you have read our material and still have questions, please feel free to ask. You can write us at:

Department of Psychology
University of Victoria
P.O. Box 3050  STN CSC
Victoria BC  V8W 3P5
Canada

First contact Karen Kienapple, the Graduate Admissions Secretary in the Department of Psychology, at psychgrd@uvic.ca, or by phone at (250) 721-6109. For questions about particular programmes, contact the following area coordinators:

Cognition and Brain Sciences
Dr. Stephen Lindsay ........ slindsay@uvic.ca

Lifespan Development
Dr. Andrea Piccinin .......... piccinin@uvic.ca

Experimental Neuropsychology
Dr. Ron Skelton .............. skelton@uvic.ca

Clinical Psychology
Dr. Catherine Costigan .... costigan@uvic.ca

Social Psychology
Dr. Fred Grouzet ............. fgrouzet@uvic.ca