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Experimental and Applied Psychology Graduate Program

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Overview

The Experimental and Applied Psychology (EAP) programme is designed to train psychologists who will work in either academic settings or as researchers in industry or the public sector. Students in the EAP programme have the opportunity to specialize in Cognitive, Developmental, Forensic, Social, or Theoretical Psychology, or in Neuroscience..

Graduate Calendar
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January 15 Applications Due
How to Apply

Orientation

The EAP programme focuses on training students to become independent researchers who are capable of carrying out high quality, high impact research. Faculty in the EAP programme have research interests that address both basic questions of global importance and applied problems that impact our community, our province, and our country. To this end, student training takes place in traditional laboratory settings as well as in nonacademic community settings, such as in hospitals, schools, and law enforcement agencies. A key component of the EAP programme is strong mentorship, with students working closely with their supervisors at every stage of the development and implementation of research projects. Students also have opportunities to work with researchers in areas outside of their immediate area of specialization, and collaboration is encouraged. As part of their training, students are encouraged to present their findings at research conferences both at the University of Regina and around the globe. To this end, the Faculty of Graduate Studies provides travel awards on a competitive basis, in three competitions each year

Research Areas

Cognitive Psychology
Faculty research in cognitive psychology focuses on questions of interest in both basic areas (including attention and perception, memory, learning, mathematical cognition, and decision making) and applied areas (such as goal pursuit, with application to pro-environmental and conservation behaviour; face recognition, with application to policing and security; investigative interviewing, with application to the law; risk-taking behaviour, with application to gambling and criminal behaviour).
Developmental Psychology
Our faculty specialized in developmental psychology conduct research on how children learn and become skilled in academic domains such as arithmetic, the development of action perception and understanding of action goals, how social cognition develops in infancy and early childhood, and developmental differences in children’s memory.
Forensic Psychology
Faculty research interests in forensic psychology include the psychology of policing, reliability of eyewitness testimony, assessment of instruments used in forensic settings, predictors of criminal behaviour with emphasis on the role of risk-taking, and factors affecting decisions made by law enforcement officials in the field.
Neuroscience
Our research in neuroscience explores the neural correlates of the expression and interpretation of emotion; sex differences in cognitive and visuomotor skills, and the effects of differential prenatal exposure to hormones on behaviour later in life.
Social Psychology
Faculty in social psychology carry out research that examines social determinants of risk-taking; decision-making in police investigators, judges, and jurors; perceptions of credibility; and, ethical practices such as debriefing in social psychology research.

Program Details

Students in the EAP program complete courses in research methods, statistics, ethics, and courses relevant to their thesis research, as well as courses in other areas of interest to the student. Both M.Sc. and Ph.D. candidates complete thesis research, developed in consultation with the student’s supervisor and a thesis committee. Following acceptance of a thesis by the student’s thesis committee, an oral examination (defense) will be held. Doctoral candidates are also required to complete a comprehensive examination. The format of the comprehensive examination is flexible, with students able to choose from among several options including writing a mock research grant proposal, completing a research practicum with a community partner, or developing a new course, as best meets the career objectives of the student. M.Sc. students typically complete their program of study in two years; Ph.D. students typically complete their program of study in three years.

The courses required for the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees are as follows:

M.Sc.

Course
Credit Hours
PSYC 801 Research Design and Methodology in Psychology    3 credit hours
PSYC 807 Research and Applied Ethics 3 credit hours
PSYC 802 Applied Multivariate Statistics
or PSYC 805 Experimental Design and Analysis of Variance 		 3 credit hours
One additional PSYC course 3 credit hours
PSYC 900 Graduate Seminar in Psychology  2 credit hours
PSYC 901 Thesis Research 16 credit hours
Total:  30 credit hours

                
Ph.D.

Course
Credit Hours
PSYC 800 History, Theory and System in Psychology 3 credit hours
Three additional PSYC courses 9 credit hours
PSYC 901 Thesis Research 48 credit hours
PSYC 865-EA Comprehensive Examination 1 credit hour
Total:  61 credit hours