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Liberal Program

***Please note that this webpage is undergoing maintenance. Please refer to the program checklist listed under "Advising Office Tips". For further inquiries, please contact undergrad.psych [at] mcgill.ca.***

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) - Liberal Program - Core Science Component Psychology(45 Credits)

    Offered by:Psychology
    Degree:Bachelor of Science

Program Requirement:

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. The B.Sc. Liberal Core Science Component in Psychology (45 credits) provides students with a broad overview of the field of psychological science. It is less specialized than the B.Sc. Major in Psychology as students choose a selection of the core courses in psychology as well as advanced courses in specialized content areas. Students may also have the option to complete a research course(s). This program provides students with the space to take the additional courses they may need for applying to graduate school in psychology and for completing the undergraduate credits in psychology as specified by the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec (which are required by some graduate psychology programs). However, students desiring a more specialized program should consider the B.Sc. Major in Psychology.

Program Requirements

The Liberal Program - Core Science Component Psychology requires the completion of 45 credits in Psychology, all of which need to be passed with a minimum grade of C. Students completing a Liberal Program with a Core Science Component Psychology must also complete at least one breadth component in a second area.



    Program Prerequisites (0-6 credits)

    Students planning to enter the Core Science Component Psychology program should have completed an introductory course in general psychology and biology in CEGEP. Otherwise, they can complete them in their first year of study at McGill University (see below).

    Introduction to Psychology or General Psychology in CEGEP is equivalent to PSYC 100 at McGill. Students who have not completed either of those courses are advised to take PSYC 100 in their first year.

    Students who have completed General Biology 1 or 2 in CEGEP would have the recommended biology background. Students who have not completed one of those courses are advised to complete BIOL 111 or BIOL 112 during their first year.

    McGill Freshman students are recommended to complete the following courses in their U0 year:
    0-3 credits from:


    • PSYC 100 Introduction to Psychology 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer


    0-3 credits from:


    • BIOL 111 Principles:Organismal Biology 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    • BIOL 112 Cell and Molecular Biology 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer


    Required Course (3 credits)


    • PSYC 204 Intro to Psychological Stats 3 Credits
        Offered in the:
      • Fall
      • Winter
      • Summer

    *Note: CEGEP students are exempt from PSYC 204 if they have completed Probability & Statistics or Statistics with a minimum grade of 75%. If the equivalent of PSYC 204 was completed in CEGEP, then students must replace it with 3 credits in Psychology (PSYC) at the 300-level or above.


    Complementary Courses (42 credits)



      9 credits from:


      • PSYC 211 Intro Behavioural Neuroscience 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 212 Perception 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 213 Cognition 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 215 Social Psychology 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer


      List A

      6 credits in Psychology from List A (Behavioural Neuroscience, Cognition and Quantitive Methods).


      • NSCI 201 Intro. to Neuroscience 2 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 301 Animal Learning and Theory 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 302 Pain 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 306 Research Methods in Psychology 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 310 Intelligence 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 311 Human Cognition and the Brain 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 315 Computational Psychology 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 317 Genes and Behaviour 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 318 Behavioural Neuroscience 2 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 319 Computational Models-Cognition 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 329 Intro. to Auditory Cognition 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 340 Psych of Language 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 341 The Psychology of Bilingualism 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 342 Hormones & Behaviour 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 352 Res Mthds & Lab in Cog Psych 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 353 Res Mthds & Lab in Hum Percept 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 403 Modern Psych in Hist Persp 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 406 Psychological Tests 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 410 Sp Topics in Neuropsychology 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 413 Cognitive Development 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 415 EEG Laboratory in Psychology 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 427 Sensorimotor Neuroscience 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 433 Cognitive Science 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 439 Correlational Techniques 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 443 Affective Neuroscience 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 444 Sleep Mechanisms and Behaviour 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 470 Memory and Brain 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 502 Psychoneuroendocrinology 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 506 Cognitive Neuroscience of Attn 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 513 Human Decision-Making 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 514 Neurobiology of Memory 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 522 Neurochemistry and Behaviour 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 526 Advances in Visual Perception 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 529 Music Cognition 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 531 Structural Equation Models 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 537 Adv Seminar in Psych of Lang 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 538 Categoriz Communic & Consciou 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 541 Multilevel Modelling 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 545 Topics in Language Acquisition 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 560 Machine Lrng Tools: Psychology 3 Credits*
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 562 Measurement of Psych Processes 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      *1. Students who have taken COMP 202 or COMP 204 and who have taken freshman linear algebra and calculus might instead consider taking COMP 551.
      2. Students in both psychology and computer science are strongly encouraged to take COMP 551 over PSYC 560.


      List B

      6 credits in Psychology from List B (Social, Health, and Developmental Psychology).


      • PSYC 304 Child Development 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 309 Postve Psych:Sci of Well-Being 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 328 Health Psychology 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 331 Inter-Group Relations 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 332 Intro to Personality 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 333 Personality & Social Psych 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 337 Intro to Psychopathology 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 339 Intro to Applied Psychology 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 351 Res Mthds & Lab in Soc Psych 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 408 Princip&Apps of Psychother 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 409 Positive Psychology 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 412 Child Dev.: Psychopathol. 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 414 Social Development 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 436 Human Sexuality & Its Problems 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 471 Human Motivation 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 473 Social Cognition and the Self 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 474 Interpersonal Relationships 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 475 Neuroscience of Social Psych 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 483 Sem. in Exp. Psychopathology 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 491D1 Adv Study:Behaviour. Disorders 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 491D2 Adv Study:Behaviour. Disorders 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 507 Emotions, Stress, and Illness 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 509 Diverse Clinical Populations 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 512 Advanced Personality Seminar 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 528 Vulnerability to Dep. and Anx. 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 530 Applied Topics in Deafness 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 535 Adv Topics in Social Psych 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer

      • PSYC 539 Adv Topics in Social Psych 2 3 Credits
          Offered in the:
        • Fall
        • Winter
        • Summer


      15 credits in Psychology at the 300 level or above.



        6 credits in Psychology at the 400 or 500 level.



          Unclassified Courses

          Students may also select complementary courses from the research and topics courses below:


          • PSYC 385 Independent Research Project 1 3 Credits
              Offered in the:
            • Fall
            • Winter
            • Summer

          • PSYC 450D1 Research Project & Seminar 4.5 Credits
              Offered in the:
            • Fall
            • Winter
            • Summer

          • PSYC 450D2 Research Project & Seminar 4.5 Credits
              Offered in the:
            • Fall
            • Winter
            • Summer

          • PSYC 484D1 Independent Research Project 2 3 Credits
              Offered in the:
            • Fall
            • Winter
            • Summer

          • PSYC 484D2 Independant Research Project 2 3 Credits
              Offered in the:
            • Fall
            • Winter
            • Summer

          • PSYC 485 Independent Research Project 3 3 Credits
              Offered in the:
            • Fall
            • Winter
            • Summer

          • PSYC 492 Special Topics Seminar 1 3 Credits
              Offered in the:
            • Fall
            • Winter
            • Summer

          • PSYC 493 Special Topics Seminar 2 3 Credits
              Offered in the:
            • Fall
            • Winter
            • Summer

          • PSYC 499 Reading Project 1 Credits
              Offered in the:
            • Fall
            • Winter
            • Summer


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