Registration Guidelines
UPDATED: April 2019
The non-exemptible degree requirements for registration as a Psychological Associate are specified in Section 16. (1) 1. of the Registration Regulation.
Sections 16. (1) 1. i A and B and C of the Registration Regulation specify that:
1. It is a non-exemptible registration requirement that an applicant must have obtained a master’s degree from a psychology program which is offered at:
- a legally authorized degree-granting institution in Canada; or
- an accredited degree-granting institution from the United States of America; or
- a degree-granting institution from another country that has been evaluated by an acceptable foreign credential evaluation service, as being equivalent in level to a master’s degree offered at a university in Canada.
Section 16. (1) 1. ii. requires that admission to the master’s program was based on undergraduate instruction in psychology:
2. The master’s degree program requires as a prerequisite for admission to the program, that the applicants have taken a minimum of 576 hours of undergraduate instruction in psychology;
Section 16. (1) 1. iii. specifies the content and training required in the master’s program:
3. The master’s degree program includes at least 36 hours of instruction in each of the following areas:
- Psychological assessment,
- Psychological intervention,
- Professional ethics and standards for psychology,
- Research design, methodology and statistics,
- Biological bases of behaviour*,
- Social bases of behaviour*,
- Cognitive-affective bases of behaviour*,
- Psychology of the individual*.
*For the subjects numbered 5 to 8, successful completion of an advanced undergraduate level course (beyond a first-year introductory course) is also acceptable.
4. The master’s degree program includes a supervised psychology practicum or psychology internship; and
5. The master’s degree program requires candidates to complete a minimum of one academic year of full-time resident graduate study and training or equivalent part-time resident graduate study and training. (Resident study and training consists of in-person participation in courses, seminars, practica and internships with face-to-face contact with faculty and other students).
Master’s degrees in psychology that meet the requirements of Section 16. (1) i and ii, but do not meet requirements of Section 16. (1) 1. iii.
Section 16. (3) (a) specifies that in cases where an applicant’s master’s degree in psychology was found to meet the requirements of Section 16. (1) 1. i. and ii, but does not meet the requirements of Section 16. (1) 1. iii., the Registration Committee will determine whether the master’s degree program in psychology is substantially similar, but not equivalent, to that described in subsection 16.(1)1.iii. The Registration Committee will use the following criteria to determine whether the master’s program completed by the applicant is substantially similar to the master’s psychology program described in the regulation:
1. The degree program requires candidates to demonstrate competence in at least six of the eight core content areas and foundations of professional psychology, either by passing suitable evaluations in each area or by successful completion of a graduate course in each area:
- Psychological assessment;
- Psychological intervention;
- Professional ethics and standards for psychology;
- Research design and methodology and statistics
- Biological bases of behaviour*;
- Cognitive-affective bases of behaviour*;
- Social bases of behaviour*; and
- Psychology of the individual*.
*For the subjects numbered 5 to 8, successful completion of an advanced undergraduate level course (beyond a first-year introductory course) is also acceptable.
2. The candidate must have completed a supervised practicum or an internship. The supervised practicum or internship may be completed as a requirement of the master’s program or may be acquired outside of the master’s program while the candidate is enrolled in the master’s program. The supervised practicum or internship must include direct client contact and must be supervised by practitioners who are registered to practice psychology or, in countries where psychology is not regulated, by supervisors who are professionally identified as psychologists.
3. The program requires candidates to complete a minimum of one academic year of full-time resident graduate study and training or equivalent part-time resident graduate study and training.
Where the Registration Committee determines that the psychology program completed for the applicant’s master’s degree is substantially similar, but not equivalent, to the program described in the regulation, the Committee may require the applicant to complete additional education or training.
Degrees not accepted under Section 16 (1) 1. i., ii., iii.
If the Registration Committee determines that the master’s degree program completed by the applicant is not substantially similar to the master’s degree psychology program described in the regulation, the application will be refused. The master’s degree program cannot be augmented by the applicant, after having obtained the degree, into the equivalent of a degree acceptable to the College. Therefore, in order to become eligible for registration as a Psychological Associate, such an applicant must complete another master’s degree in a psychology program that meets the requirements outlined in the Registration Regulation.