While AI chatbots may be stealing headlines for functioning as ad-hoc therapists, human counselors aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. A growing awareness about the importance of mental health has reduced the stigma around seeking help, and the demand for services is growing. The Canadian Job Bank, a national, government-run platform featuring a database of job listings and labour market information, predicts 18,800 psychologist jobs becoming available before 2031.
A psychology degree has applications far beyond the therapy room. The tools of the trade generalize well and the skills psychology students acquire, like how to review and synthesize literature and how to perform research, translate well to positions in management and leadership; grads go on to work in sales, finance, human resources and academia. Psychology grads are also highly sought after for jobs as community service workers and police officers.
Students can obtain a psychology degree as a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science. Getting into a psychology B.A. usually requires Grade 12 English, while students vying for a spot in a B.Sc. program typically need Grade 12 math and biology. In B.A. programs, students sample electives across the humanities and social sciences, providing a good basis for work in marketing, human resources or law, while B.Sc. programs provide more research opportunities and can be good preparation for further science-based education, like medical school. Both options allow students to go onto graduate studies in psychology.
The field of psychology is as varied as the minds it studies. Of high interest these days is industrial-organizational psychology—I-O for short—which studies how people behave in the workplace, applicable to any business looking to increase efficiency, understand their consumers and hire the best talent.
For those with an interest in AI and tech, cognitive science digs deep into the inner workings of the mind and brain, incorporating concepts from philosophy, linguistics, neuroscience and computer science. It’s no surprise that psych grads often go on to work in tech, leading cutting-edge work on neural networks and facial recognition software.
While a psychology undergrad provides a good basis for many careers, those who want to work as a mental-health professional in educational or medical settings will need more training, in the form of a master’s degree. To become a licensed psychologist, equipped to conduct assessments and work with clients with more severe mental disorders, students will need a Ph.D.
In the field, there’s increasing recognition of the need for culturally cognizant and trauma-informed care, particularly for Indigenous, racialized, immigrant and transgender and queer communities, and steps are being taken to get more people from these groups into the profession. York University has an initiative, for example, to connect BIPOC students with research opportunities.
With a plethora of opportunities awaiting them, several fields of study to choose from and a desperate need for their skills, students studying the mind will have plenty to think about.
Standout Psychology Programs
York University
Degree: Bachelor of arts and bachelor of science
Co-op: No
York is known as one of Canada’s best schools for clinical psychology—the branch that deals with diagnosing and treating mental-health issues. Among its many professors are leaders in health psychology and visual-motor neuroscience. Students can choose to earn digital badges in two of the following concentrations: aging and late life development, applied methods and analysis, child and youth development, counselling and mental health, neuropsychology, our social world and social minds, and psychological humanities, contexts and communities.
McGill University
Degree: Bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, bachelor of arts and science
Co-op: No
McGill is well regarded for its strength in neuroscience and psychology. Students in both the B.A. and B.Sc. programs take courses in statistics, behavioural neuroscience, perception, cognition and social psychology. The school offers a combined bachelor of arts and science where students can take courses across both faculties, providing a well-rounded education. Students also have the opportunity to enrol in lab courses, where they design their own projects and test them on each other.
University of Toronto
Degree: Bachelor of science
Co-op: Yes
As Canada’s largest university, U of T has a broad range of courses and research areas
available to its students. Students with a strong research interest can apply for one of 15 spots in the research specialist program. Students who want a more hands-on experience should consider the Scarborough campus, which offers co-op in the general psychology program as well as in the mental-health studies program.
University of British Columbia
Degree: Bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, bachelor of arts and science
Co-op: Yes
UBC has one of the world’s top programs in experimental psychology, with 55 different laboratories, research centres and interdisciplinary hubs. Students can focus their coursework in a specific area, such as cognitive science, developmental psychology or psychometrics—the branch of psychology devoted to the nitty gritty of measuring the mind through instruments, like IQ tests.
McMaster University
Degree: Bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, bachelor of applied science
Co-op: No
With its strong reputation in the life sciences, students in McMaster’s department of psychology, neuroscience and behaviour focus on the medical side of the field. The applied psychology in human behaviour program relates psychological theories to everyday life; psychology, neuroscience and behaviour, or PNB, includes experimental studies of humans and animals; BioPNB adds a biology major to the PNB program. The neuroscience program, which includes biology, chemistry, computer science, math and physics, is geared towards students interested in pursuing neuroscience research.
