Admission Requirements

Thank you for your interest in our graduate program.
The application window for the September 2021-2022 academic year is now closed.
The application process for the September 2022-2023 academic year will open in October 2021, with the following deadlines:

• deadline of December 1, 2021 for the PNB Research and Clinical Training Stream (within the PNB Graduate Program)
• deadline of December 15, 2021 for the PNB Graduate Program

The Department believes that successful graduate training requires close collaboration between student and research director on a research project that is of interest to both. Applicants are therefore encouraged to correspond directly with individual members of the faculty in whose research they may be interested. Faculty members are happy to discuss the opportunities available for research in their laboratories.

The McMaster Graduate Calendar is an important source of information.

• 2020-2021 McMaster Graduate Calendar
• 2020-2021 McMaster Graduate Calendar - Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour Graduate Program

Foreign students may enter Canada on student visas. Further information on how to obtain these visas may be requested from the nearest Canadian Consulate. We encourage foreign students to read our page for International Students.

Graduate Application Requirements

To help you understand the application requirements for our PNB graduate program, we advise you to first read carefully the general application requirements found on the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) How To Apply web page, especially the “Prepare your application” and “Application Instructions” tabs. Then check the points listed here for requirements that are specific to our PNB graduate program.

Supervision in our graduate program is strongly apprenticeship-style supervision, and to be successful with your application we advise you to reach out to professors who have a research program in your area of interest. Acceptance is dependent on whether there is a position for a student within a lab, so the application process is facilitated by students contacting a potential faculty advisor and discussing research opportunities with them prior to submitting an application.

Applicants for graduate study in Psychology normally must have received, from a recognized university, either a Master’s degree in Psychology, or an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with at least a B+ standing. Occasional exceptions are made to the above requirements for students with a background in a related or relevant scientific discipline. For example, students with strong backgrounds in biology, neuroscience, computer science, chemistry or physics are encouraged to apply.

In addition to the requirements laid out by the School of Graduate Studies (How To Apply), PNB requires the following:

• A statement of interest in pursuing graduate studies in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour in one or more of the following six areas:

(1) Animal Behaviour

(2) Systems & Behavioral Neuroscience

(3) Cognition/Perception

(4) Developmental Psychology

(5) Evolution & Social Behaviour

(6) Research & Clinical Training stream

The statement should be one page in length, single spaced, with 12 pt font.

Please list any research, teaching, or work experience that is related to the fields in which you are interested in working.

Please list supervisors you wish to work with (no more than 3).

• Please indicate clearly if you are interested in applying to the Research & Clinical Training (RCT) stream. There will be a question on the application form for this purpose but you might also address this in your statement of interest.

• Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to submit scores for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE; General Test). It may be worthwhile to ask the faculty member you are interested in working with whether they would like to see your GREs.
• If English is not your native language, please provide an official copy of your TOEFL score (please see the School of Graduate Studies How To Apply page for minimum scores).

To access the online application, visit: School of Graduate Studies “How to Apply”

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact our Graduate Administrative Assistant, Nancy Riddell, by email (riddeln@mcmaster.ca) or phone (905-525-9140 ext. 23298).