Programs

Psychology

Fredericton campus

  • Degrees Offered: Direct-Entry PhD (No terminal MA offered)
  • Application Deadline: Dec. 1
  • Study Options: Thesis
  • Duration: Clinical - 6 years; Psychology - 5 years
  • Entry terms: Fall

For a variety of career goals, UNB Fredericton’s psychology graduate program can help you get there.

Our Clinical Psychology direct-entry PhD program is accredited by The Canadian Psychological Association and adheres to the scientist-practitioner training model. We offer generalist training to equip students with the skills needed to work across the lifespan with children, adolescents, and adults. Our in-house training clinic (the Psychological Wellness Centre) enables students to begin practicing their newly developing clinical skills in their first year of the program. Research skills are honed through the completion of apprenticeships and the dissertation. Research opportunities are available in diverse methodologies and in both basic and applied topics.

Our Psychology direct-entry PhD program (formerly the Experimental Psychology program) prepares students for careers in a wide variety of scientific, academic, and applied settings. The program follows an apprenticeship model where students are exposed to individualized research, teaching, and applied experiences, in collaboration with their supervisor, other faculty members, and community partners.  We collaborate with our Saint John campus to provide access to a wide range of psychological research opportunities and courses.

Research areas

  • Behavioural Neuroscience
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Forensic Psychology
  • Health, Exercise, and Sports Psychology
  • Sexual Health
  • Social-Personality Psychology

Current faculty research

  • Charlene Belu: Close Relationships, Sexual Wellbeing, Couples
  • Scott Deibel: Interplay between Memory and Circadian Rhythms
  • Barbara D'Entremont: Autism, quality of life and well-being for Autistic individuals and their families, job satisfaction for Autistic individuals, high school transition for Autistic youth.
  • Shannon Drouin: Brain and Cognitive Aging Trajectories, Health and Impaired Aging, Neurodegenerative Disease, Data-Driven Methods, Multimodal Predictors Across the Lifespan. 
  • Ryan Hamilton: Sport and Exercise Psychology, Cancer Survivorship
  • Diane LaChapelle (she/her): Health and Rehabilitation Psychology, Chronic Pain
  • Emilie Lacroix: Body Image and Disordered Eating
  • Janine Olthuis: Cognitive-Behavioural Interventions, Physical Exercise and Mental Health
  • Lucia O'Sullivan: Sexual Health and Intimate Relationships of Young Adults and Adolescents
  • W. Q. Elaine Perunovic: Self-Concept and Identity, Bilingualism and Biculturalism, Cultural Psychology. 
  • Scott Ronis: Youth Emotional & Behaviour Problems, Access to Mental Health Services, Family Systems, Youth Sexual Experiences
  • Heather Sears: Adolescent Development, Help-Seeking Behaviour, Family Relationships
  • Biljana Stevanovski (she/her): Attention and Memory, Cognition, Perception, Emotion and Attention
  • Nicholas van den Berg: Sleep and Circadian Rhythms; Memory Consolidation; Cognition; Isolated, Confined, and Extreme (ICE) Environments
  • Daniel Voyer: Cognition, Perception, and Individual Differences

  • Veronica Whitford: Developmental Cognitive Psychology/Neuroscience, Psycholinguistics

Application requirements

  1. All applicants must hold an undergraduate honours degree in psychology with a minimum cumulative GPA of A-. A thesis or equivalent research experience is required.
  2. Note that applicants can apply to either the Clinical Psychology PhD program or the Psychology PhD program during each admissions cycle.
  3. Applicants must submit:
    • 500-word statement describing research interests and experience; clinical interests and related experience, if applicable; and career goals
    • Three academic reference letters
    • Complete application form
  4. Applicants whose first language is not English must submit language scores that meet or exceed:
    • International English language testing system (IELTS) = band 7
    • Paper-based TOEFL = 600
    • Internet-based TOEFL = 100
    • TWE = 4.0
    • MELAB = 85
    • CanTest = band 4.5
    • PTE =65

Funding

All students are considered for departmental Graduate Assistantships (part scholarship, part teaching assistantship); Assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis (typically, year 1 about $17,000, years 2-5 at about $20,000). Students are also nominated for other internal award competitions. Students are expected to apply for external funding and have been very successful in these competitions. Currently, we have graduate students with funding from SSHRC (Master’s and Doctoral), NSERC (Master's and Doctoral), and Vanier (Doctoral). Previous students have also held funding from CIHR (Master's and Doctoral).

Contact us

For more information on our program, contact Dr. Biljana Stevanovski, Director of Graduate Studies, or Arch Bisht Graduate Studies Assistant.

Keirstead Hall, Rm. 119
506-453-4707

Related: Graduate Program in Psychology