Transitional Diploma in Psychology – Honours Degree Equivalent

Transitional Diploma in Psychology Admission Application

In Section E : Academic Credentials (5) of its Guidelines for Registration as a Psychologist or Psychological Associate, the Ontario College of Psychologists states, “Applicants shall have completed a four-year undergraduate degree in psychology or substantially equivalent study. Substantially equivalent study is considered to be at least 10 full undergraduate courses (of approximately 72 hours each) in psychology. Graduate level courses may be used to fulfill this requirement only if they were not required as part of the graduate degree program…..”

Some students who wish to complete graduate study and qualify for membership in the College of Psychologists do not meet this requirement. This may be especially true for foreign-trained psychologists. For these students, AGPS offers graduate-level courses in psychology that are substantially equivalent to those offered in a four-year undergraduate degree. These courses are not required as part of the proposed Master of Psychology degree. Successful completion of these courses will result in the granting of a Transitional Diploma in Psychology.

Note: While Diploma courses have been designed to meet College of Psychologists’ Academic Credential requirements, only the College can determine the eligibility any candidate.

Admissions

Students who wish to complete all or any part of the Diploma must meet the minimum standards for provisional admission to the proposed Master of Psychology degree:

• a baccalaureate from an accredited University program or equivalent including at least two full courses (12 credits) in psychology, one of which must be Introductory Psychology.

• an overall grade point average of B or 3.0 on a 4-point scale.

Students who fulfill these criteria but lack the remaining 8 courses (48 credits) or any part of them may be required to complete a Transitional Diploma including all missing courses. Applicable coursework from a related field or insufficient coursework will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee to determine which credits may be transferable and/or what work or clinical experience may be considered relevant. Ultimately, the College of Psychologists will determine whether a student’s coursework meets requirements for registration.
For more information contact:

Dr. Linda J. Page
ljpage@adler.ca
416-923-4419 extension 214

Students may complete the Transitional Diploma and continue their graduate studies at another institution. It is the responsibility of these students to ensure that their credits from AGPS will be accepted as prerequisites for psychological study in the receiving graduate program.

Requirements

Entering students will have successfully completed a minimum of two full undergraduate courses (12 credits) in psychology including Introductory Psychology.
Students who enter with more than 2 full courses or 12 credits but fewer than 10 full courses or 60 credits may apply to the Academic Standing Committee to have credits transferred into the Diploma program. Only after admission to the Diploma program may this request be made.

Diploma courses are three credits each (except 461, 462, 463, & 505) and include 16 courses for a total of 48 credits. Each 3-credit course is made up of 36 fifty-minute teaching hours. The Diploma program requires 12 consecutive months of full-time study or 24 consecutive months of part-time study, with courses offered over a one week pre-session and one or two years of three trimesters of four months each.

Pre-Session

Every Diploma student will be required to complete the pre-session Course 400-Learning: Theory and Practice that meets for 5 consecutive weekdays before the first trimester of regular weekend classes begins.

Colloquia

Once each month during every trimester in which students are registered or paying continuous enrolment fees, they are expected to attend school-wide Course 505-Colloquia where faculty members, students, and invited guests present information of interest to professional psychologists and human services practitioners in general. Two hours of each regular class for each trimester will consist of Colloquium attendance.

Integration Seminars

Full-time Diploma students will be expected to attend weekly teleclass sessions, and part-time students biweekly sessions, of Courses 461,462, 463-Integration Seminars. Four hours of each 3-credit course each trimester will consist of these teleclasses.

Transitional Diploma Courses

411-Cognitive Psychology
412-Motivation
413-Emotion & Consciousness
421-Sensation & Perception
422-Introduction to Neuropsychology
423-Health Psychology
431-Advances in Social Psychology
432-The Interpersonal System
433-Community Psychology & Diversity
441-Life-span Development
442-Advances in Personality Theory
443-Advances in Psychopathology
451-History of Psychology
452-Statistics for Behavioural Research & Assessment
453-Critical Evaluation of Research or 693.01-Library Research Tutorial
461/2/3-Integration Seminars
505-Colloquia

Courses 461, 462 & 463-Integration Seminars & 505 Colloquia meet throughout the year.

Table 1: Full-time Diploma Sequence

• Pre-session course 400 will be offered Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. before the first trimester begins.

• Courses 461, 462 & 463-Integration Seminars: Four hours of each regular class in each trimester will consist of faculty-led small group meetings by teleclass. Using an adult education model, students will be responsible for discovering or creating cases, exercises, or other projects that require an integration of that trimester’s class material.

• Course 505-Colloquia will be offered once each month on a weekend evening. Colloquia attendance will count toward two hours of each regular class in each trimester

Regular (for-credit) courses will be offered two weekends per month, one beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon, for a total of 8 weekends each trimester. Each course will consist of 4 weekend days of 7½ hours each day. Remaining course hours consist of Colloquia and Integration Seminars.

• Weekend 1

Friday: all-school Colloquium 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (Series A)

Sunday: 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (Series B)

• Weekend 2

Friday: 1 p.m.-9:30 p.m. (Series C)

Saturday: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (Series D)

Sunday: 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Series E)

Table 2: Part-Time Diploma Sequence

Year one

Year two

• Pre-session course 400 will be offered Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. before the first trimester begins.

• Courses 461a&b, 462a&b, & 463a&b-Integration Seminars: Four hours of each regular class in each trimester will consist of faculty-led small group meetings every other week by teleclass. Using an adult education model, students will be responsible for discovering or creating cases, exercises, or other projects that require an integration of that trimester’s class material.

• 505 Colloquia will be offered one weekend per month 6:30-8:30 p.m. on a weekend night. Colloquium attendance will count toward two hours of each regular class in each trimester

Regular courses in the part-time sequence will be offered one weekend per month for a total of 4 weekends each trimester. Each course will consist of 4 weekend days of 7 ½ hours each day. Remaining course hours consist of 505 Colloquium and 461a&b-2a&b-3a&b-Integration Seminars.

• Year 1

Friday: all-school Colloquium 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. (Series A)

Sunday: 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Series B)

• Year 2

Friday: 1 p.m.-9:30 p.m. (Series C)

Saturday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. (Series D)

Sunday: 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Series E)