Kenneth Prkachin, Professor
Robert Tait, Professor
Sherry Beaumont, Associate Professor
William Owen, Associate Professor
Glenda Prkachin, Associate Professor
Paul D. Siakaluk, Associate Professor
Loraine Lavallee, Assistant Professor
William J. Tippett, Assistant Professor
Graduate training in psychology is in high demand, partly because of
the high natural interests in the discipline, and partly because such
training leads to a variety of desirable educational and career options
in applied psychology, human development, and health. Graduates of the
PhD program will be able to fulfill both traditional and emerging roles
in psychology. Such options include the opportunity to teach and
conduct research in post-secondary institutions, perform consultations
in business and industry, do program planning and evaluation, and apply
skills to a variety of social problems such as neuropsychiatric
disorder, alcohol and drug abuse, aggression, health-risk behaviours,
and developmental difficulties across the lifespan. Increasing
connections with other disciplines and increasing recognition that the
subject matter of psychology is central to the understanding of many
social issues (e.g., health promotion, human development, high quality
of life) have broadened psychology's roles in society. Consequently, psychology has been evolving rapidly, and some of its new roles reflect
the fact that the fundamental tools of psychologists—observation,
measurement, and analysis—provide powerful means of assessing and
remediating pressing social problems.
At UNBC, Psychology is located in the College of Arts, Social and
Health Sciences, which facilitates interaction with colleagues from
related disciplines.
The objectives of the PhD program in Psychology include the following:
to develop scholars and researchers who have an advanced level of
understanding of the psychological sciences, including comprehensive
knowledge of contemporary data and theory in psychology, and a high
level of methodological expertise;
to contribute to the larger body of scientific knowledge of psychology through research;
to prepare graduates who possess the understanding and skills
necessary to deal with problems of relevance in northern British
Columbia and other regions, and who are able to work toward achieving
better health, and more stable and harmonious living and working
conditions for individuals and groups;
to prepare graduates with an understanding of the linkages between
psychological, biological, social, cultural, and ethical dimensions of
human functioning; and
to communicate the results of research in order to contribute to
the enhancement of northern British Columbia and other regions by
developing sound psychological strategies, appropriate assessment
tools, and program planning and evaluation methods.
Admission
Applicants
must have both a Bachelor's and Master's degree, at least one of which must be in
Psychology with a research-based thesis.
Students interested in applying for the PhD in Psychology are
responsible for ensuring that all application materials are received at
UNBC by the application deadline.
a letter of interest,
official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions,
three letters of reference from academic referees, and
a copy of a thesis or paper submitted for course work.
In addition to the above, applicants who do not have a Master's
degree in Psychology must submit scores on the Graduate Record
Examination Advanced Psychology test by the application deadline.
Application deadlines are found in this calendar under
"Semester Dates" or online at: www.unbc.ca/calendar/graduate,
also under "Semester Dates." The Psychology PhD Program accepts students
for September semester admission.
For additional information about graduate admissions or to download application
materials, go to the Graduate Programs website at www.unbc.ca/graduateprograms.
Requirements
Students in the PhD program are required to complete a minimum of 16
credit hours of course work consisting of two graduate seminars:
Required courses in Psychology
are offered on a two-year schedule.
These courses provide students with the basic foundations upon
which to build their PhD research. In addition, all students are
required to complete successfully a comprehensive examination and a PhD
dissertation (PSYC 890-12). The comprehensive examination is tailored to ensure each student is adequately prepared to begin work on the PhD dissertation.
Students must have a cumulative GPA of B+ or better by the end of
their second semester of registration, and maintain it at B+ or better thereafter.
Students may be required to address deficiencies within their
background preparation in psychology or in their area of concentration
that are identified by the Psychology Graduate Committee. Additional
courses may be required.
Normally, students will take a comprehensive examination by the end of
the first year in the program (or 12 credit hours for part-time
students). Upon successfully completing the comprehensive examination,
and presenting an acceptable dissertation proposal to their supervisory
committee, a student is granted PhD Candidate status, and embarks upon
completion of the dissertation under the supervision of a Faculty
Academic Supervisor. Normally, it is expected that the defence of the
dissertation by full-time PhD Candidates will take place within three
years of acceptance into the program.
