OISE Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development School & Clinical Child Psychology (SCCP) Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ s) 2014-2015 1
What is the deadline to apply? The deadline for all AP&HD programs is Monday, December 1 st 2014. Can I be admitted if my grades don't meet the minimum requirement? No. Who decides if my grades meet the minimum requirement? OISE's Registrar's Office checks that each application is complete and decides whether it meets the minimum academic requirements. Do I need to complete the GRE when applying to any of your programs? You are not required to complete the GRE to apply for admission into any of our programs. How are my grades used to assess whether I meet the program s requirements? Are all of my courses counted? The Registrar s Office uses the grades from the applicant s final year or the equivalent of the final year in its assessment for the academic standing to be used as the basis for admission to OISE graduate programs. First, they determine if the applicant is or was full- time or part- time in the final year. Full- time is defined as taking at least 4 full courses. If full- time, all the grades from the last year are averaged to calculate the academic standing, even if a student has taken more than 4 full courses. If part- time, the most recent senior level (400 and 300 level) courses (at least 5 full course equivalents) are averaged to calculate academic standing. Please note that only academic or liberal arts courses are used to calculate academic standing. Does admission to this program require a full course load in the 4th year of my undergraduate program? If this is not required, is it suggested? In other words, is a student disadvantaged if he/she has taken 3.5 credits in 4th year instead of 4? Admission does not require a full course load in the 4th year of your undergraduate program. There are no implications of taking 3.5 versus 4 courses in your last year. I have a BEd degree will my marks in that program or in subsequent Additional Qualification courses be considered? Overall, a degree that has suitable breadth, depth and, where appropriate, an affinity to the OISE graduate program to which you are seeking admission. Occasionally, a degree may not be considered an appropriate basis of admission because it does not contain sufficient liberal arts content (aka academically- oriented courses). Courses with a significant professional training component, practical component, studio component, performance component, or sports component are not counted as liberal arts. Generally, in a bachelor s degree the established standard is at least 75% liberal arts content. 2
I have taken post- degree courses to upgrade my academic standing. Do these courses count in the calculation of academic standing? Academic upgrading should meet the following conditions: At least 5 full courses at the senior level Must be academic or liberal arts courses Completed at a recognized university Completed within 5 years Completed with at least the equivalent of a University of Toronto B+ for programs that require a B standing or A- for programs that require at least an A- standing. I applied last year. Do I have to submit new reference letters and transcripts? Yes, official transcripts and reference letters need to be submitted again. If I transfer universities, do I need to provide transcripts from both? Yes. If I am applying to departments in two different university faculties (e.g. Department of Applied Psychology & Human Development at OISE and the Department of Psychology in Arts and Science), do I need to complete two applications? Yes. Different faculties require that students complete different applications. Most faculties (OISE included) allow applications to apply to different programs or departments within the faculty. At OISE, it is possible to list up to three different choices. In other words, you can apply to up to three graduate studies programs within OISE. I am applying from outside of Canada. Are there extra requirements for international students? International students may be required to provide evidence of proficiency in English. More information is available at: http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/ro/graduate_admissions/application_steps/prepare_ Your_Application/Info_for_International_Applicants.html. There is also specific information regarding financial support for international students. What if one of my referees does not have an email address? It is strongly recommended that referees submit their letters online. If online submission is not possible, letters can be sent by regular mail to the Registrar s Office. How important is the statement of intent? The statement of intent is one of the most important parts of your application. It is your opportunity to describe your past experiences related to the program to which you are applying, how those experiences led to your current interests in graduate students in this area, and, if you are applying for the MA or PhD program, your specific research 3
interests and which two or three professors you would be most interested in working with. Should I contact professors with whom I'd like to do research? If you are applying to an MA or PhD program, it is important to identify the professor or professors whose research interests you share and refer to those professors in your statement of interest. You can find a list of the professors and their research interests on the department's website, http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/aphd/index.html. To better understand their research, you can look up and read some of the research articles the professors have written. You may also want to send them a short email, introducing yourself and confirming that they will be accepting new students in the year in which you plan to apply. However, making contact with professors is not necessary, and does not convey a special advantage to students. During admissions, we rank all applicants and create a short list of the best students. We then work to find supervisory matches for these students. Sometimes, having knowledge of a particular applicant makes a difference at this point (for example, a professor may need to choose between two prospective graduate students who have both made the shortlist). However, professors do not accept students who have not made it to the short list, even if they have a prior relationship with the student. Will applying to more than one program within AP&HD increase my chances of acceptance? No, applications to more than one program within AP&HD are discouraged. Because all AP&HD's programs offer very different experiences and career paths, applicants are strongly encouraged to carefully select the program to which they wish to apply. Applying to more than one program may suggest to the Admissions Committee that you are unsure of your interests. Will I be able to transfer if I don't get into the program I want? No, AP&HD does not support requests to transfer between programs. My background training is in child & youth studies education. Can I still apply to the SCCP program? Admissions information states that to be eligible to apply to SCCP, Applicants must have an undergraduate psych degree or its equivalent. The psych component of the four year degree is defined as a minimum of 6 full courses in psych including: 3 full courses in psych at the senior level (3rd or 4th year); 1 full course in research methods; 2 other full courses in psych at the junior or senior level. We acknowledge that students in programs such as early childhood education are well suited to the SCCP program in terms of background knowledge and experience. Unfortunately, the College of Psychologists of Ontario, the professional body responsible for licensing Psychologists and Psychological Associates in Ontario, requires that students have a background in psychology. Students coming from related programs might speak with their undergraduate programs administrator about psychological equivalents of their courses 4
(i.e., in some programs, courses are cross listed in both Early Childhood and Psychology) and provide an official outline of these equivalences as part of their application. How competitive is the application to the SCCP program? Applications to the SCCP program are very high and thus admission is very competitive. We generally receive over 150 applications for the 6-8 spots we have in our MA program. Students who complete their MA in the SCCP program get preferential consideration when they apply to the PhD, so there is rarely more than 1 PhD spot open to applicants from other programs. The number of applications we receive for these PhD spots varies considerably year by year. Who are potential supervisors for SCCP students? It is important to note that faculty from across the Department of Applied Psychology & Human Development supervise students in the SCCP program. In addition, some students are supervised by adjunct faculty who work in mental health settings, such as the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Hospital for Sick Children. Do you accept students on a part- time basis? No. I understand that I need to include one professional reference letter. Who is eligible to write this letter? Your professional reference letter can come from anyone who has knowledge of your ability to work with children and families. Examples may include a supervisor at a volunteer setting or summer camp or an employer at a setting where you worked with children or families as part of your job (e.g., daycare centre, community recreation program). I have been out of school for a number of years and it is going to be very difficult for me to provide two academic reference letters. What should I do? Ideally, we would like to have two references from academic referees. However, it is sometimes impossible for students to get letters from academic supervisors many years in the past. In a case like this, it is important for applicants to invite referees who are able to speak to their ability to handle the academic demands of graduate school. Ideally, it would be someone who has supervised you doing program development, evaluation or research. This referee should be able to speak to your ability to do things such as conceptualize problems, integrate literature, develop research questions, consider methodology and other academic- like tasks. More Questions? If you have any additional questions about SCCP programs, please contact Diana Robinson by phone at (416) 978-0920 or by email diana.robinson@utoronto.ca 5
Created: May, 2014 6