Honours Program

There are two steps for applying to honours; STEP 1 is the Departmental application and STEP 2 is the  Registrar’s Office application.

STEP 1. You first apply to the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience for admission to the Honours program. Traditionally, this is done in the winter and/or summer of third year. We will provide further information in late autumn of 2021 as to the plan for admission for start in the fall of 2022.

Please note that there is no ‘cap’ to the number of students admitted, although the number in the program is limited by the ability to find a supervisor.

STEP 2. After being admitted to the departmental program, the instructors for the Honours class will help with the Honours application form for the Registrar. More information will be provided on this after admission to the dep’t. This form is due to the registrar by the last day to drop classes in September.

All students need:    

• a supervisor to agree to supervise their Honours (and sign the departmental application form)
• a B in NESC/PSYO 2000 (Note: B+ will be required for students who started at Dal in Fall 2019 or later)
• Minimum grades in psychology/neuroscience courses (not counting 1000-level or NESC/PSYO 2000)

                      -  Early admission: an A- average in the last six psychology/neuroscience                         courses
                      -  Late admission for students doing PSYO or NESC Concentrated                         Honours: an A- average in the last nine psychology/neuroscience courses                           -  Late admission for students doing a Combined Honours with PSYO or                         NESC as primary): an A- average in the last eight psychology/neuroscience                         courses

• To graduate with honours, students are required to have a minimum grade of C in    all program related courses. This is a university level requirement.  It’s not required for admission to the program, but it does needs to be secured prior to graduation.

Please see below for information on admission for transfer students and for students returning to Dalhousie.

Let's take an example of early admission into the Honours program; this requires an A- average and can be figured out simply. Using the table below, an A- is zero. For example, if your last six courses were B+, A-, A, B, A+, A, you would be admitted because (-1) + 0 + 1 + (-2) + 2 + 1 = 1 (assuming of course, that you have a willing and eligible supervisor). A similar process would be used for calculating the last eight or nine courses, as appropriate.

Which courses are counted in meeting the A- requirement?

• Counting backward from the most recent courses taken including spring/summer courses, six PSYO or NESC course are used for the average (using early admission as an example).
• A similar process would be used for calculating the last eight or nine courses, as appropriate. Please note that 6.0 credit hour classes (i.e. independent study) will count as 2 of these 6. Summer courses count in all of these calculations.
• If there is more than one course that can count within the same semester, the course with the higher grade will be used.
  
• Note that for Neuroscience students, BIOL 2020 can count in the six courses because it is a required course.
• For students with transfer credits, please submit a transcript from the original institution if at all possible.
• Applications of students who have been on exchange will be considered on a case by case basis.

• Previous Dalhousie Students (Honours Conversion): Students can apply to complete an Honours conversion after the end of their Dalhousie Psychology/Neuroscience degree. Please note that only courses taken within the last 10 years can be considered towards admission into an Honours conversion. For admission, students require:
      o   an A- average in the last nine (not counting 1000-level or NESC/PSYO 2000)
           psychology/neuroscience courses
      o   a B in NESC/PSYO 2000 (Note: B+ will be required for students who started at Dal in Fall
           2019 or later)
• All students need a supervisor to agree to supervise their Honours (and sign the departmental application form) in order to apply.

• Students transferring from other institutions are required to complete one full year of study at Dalhousie and to accumulate six or more half-credits of 2000/3000-level Dalhousie Psychology/Neuroscience classes before seeking admission to the Honours Program. They must also obtain credit for all Honours prerequisites. Any transfer student should contact an Honours Advisor as soon as possible after arriving at Dalhousie (or before, if possible) to ensure that they have or will have all appropriate/required courses.  It is not possible to complete a degree at another university and simply do an “Honours conversion” at Dalhousie.
• All students need a supervisor to agree to supervise their Honours (and sign the departmental application form) in order to apply.

• Intensive, independent research project
      o    Work under the supervision of professor (or post-doc student) to complete a novel 
            research project. Students design, conduct, collect and analyze data, interpret, and
            write thesis.
      o    The final grade is based on originality, skill, writing, and oral presentation (at In-House
            conference).
• You need to take the Honours class (NESC/PSYO 4501/4502), two 4000-level seminar classes and an advanced statistics course (3502), in addition to being admitted to the program.

• Honours is useful for students interested in research. It can help you to better understand the process of scientific research and to gain research skills.
• Honours can also be useful for those who are interested in gaining transferable skills. You will gain experience in a laboratory setting and acquire research skills. Some of these include learning to manage a project (your Honours), communication (in writing and orally) and collaboration (with others in the lab and your supervisor). All of these are transferable to many other domains both within research and beyond!
• Honours is also useful for those considering applying to Master or PhD programs. Many Masters programs require Honours, including those in Clinical Psychology.

• Students can complete third year research projects in the department (NESC/PSYO 3100/3101 or NESC/PSYO 3001). These students need to secure a supervisor, just like for Honours. These can be done in either the third or fourth year of study and so they are useful for students in preparing for Honours or for those who do not want to do Honours. To be admitted to this, you need a grade of B or higher in NESC/PSYO 2000 and an average of B+ or higher in last six (6) NESC/PSYO courses.
• Summer USRAs. Applications for these are in January of each year. More information is available here. These also require a signature from a supervisor.
• You can also volunteer in a lab. When considering these opportunities, be clear about what kind of time commitment you can make and what is expected of you, both in terms of time and role.

You can begin by thinking about the courses and/or topics that interest you. Those are good indications of your areas of interest. Look through faculty research descriptions, including linking to their websites to try to get a sense of who might be a fit in terms of interests. Please know that the Honours can be a useful learning experience, even if you don’t work on exactly your topic of primary interest. There are many skills, beyond a specific topic area, that you will learn.

Email individual faculty members to let them know of your interest. It often helps to let faculty know why you’re interested in their area of research. It can also help to attach an unofficial transcript and CV or resume if you have one. This can give them an idea of your background. Ask to meet with them to discuss a possible Honours project; you are welcome to bring your own ideas, but it is a good idea to be open to their ideas, including joining ongoing projects.

It’s possible that some faculty might not respond. This might indicate that they are currently not taking on Honours students. You can always contact faculty a second time, and you can also contact other potential supervisors.

Many students volunteer in labs to gain research experience prior to doing an Honours. This is not required, but it is helpful.

There is no perfect time to contact faculty, though typically earlier is better. For instance, some students volunteer in second year (though this is certainly not required). Typically, students begin to establish connections with potential supervisors in the fall of their in their 3rd year (Sept-Oct). However, sometimes supervisors won’t have a good sense of their lab capacity or ongoing projects until later (e.g., January). As for everyone, COVID-19 has increased uncertainty for many supervisors, so, while it’s still recommended to reach out early, expect that faculty may not be able to provide a definitive response and may advise you to follow up later.

Core faculty in the department can be supervisors. See the link here. https://www.dal.ca/faculty/science/psychology_neuroscience/faculty-staff.html

In addition to core faculty in the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, other faculty across the Dalhousie campus and affiliated with the hospitals may be eligible to supervise Honours students; these faculty are listed in the adjunct and cross-appointed lists on the departmental website. If you are unsure of the eligibility for acting as an Honours supervisor, the onus is on you to contact an Honours Advisor to ask. In some cases, faculty from other departments or centers may be eligible, but there may be the need for oversight by someone internal to the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience. This is at the discretion of the Honours Advisor.

Please note that having secured a willing and eligible supervisor is a requirement for admission, but does not guarantee admission into the program.