Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour viewed from social, developmental, clinical, and biological perspectives. York’s Department of Psychology, located at the Keele campus, offers the largest and most diverse selection of courses available at any Canadian university taught by internationally recognized teachers, researchers, and clinical practitioners.

Students can choose between a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. In Introductory Psychology 1010, students in both degree options will be exposed to the diversity of human behaviour and mental processes. Areas and topics that are covered include: personality, memory, learning, intelligence, psychological disorders, the biological basis of behaviour, perception, motivation, cognition, child development, abnormal and social psychology.

Our strength comes from the diversity and breadth of the interests we explore ranging from studies of infancy to mental health disorders of childhood through the challenges of adolescence to adulthood and old age. From bilingualism to perfectionism; from pain to resilience; from how we see to how we are seen; from studies in outer space to inner space; and from what enhances empathy to how emotional focus can help us change.

In both degree options, students take the first year Introduction to Psychology course where they are introduced to basic terms and concepts in Psychology, as well as a diversity of topics including the biological bases of behaviour, learning, emotion, perception, motivation, cognition, child development, personality, social psychology and psychological health, distress, and impairment in real world contexts. The BA option gives students more choices of electives, including in the humanities and social sciences; while students in the BSc must take electives in math and science (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics, computer science).