Psychologist – Section E – Academic Credentials

Registration Guidelines

UPDTED: April 2019

The non-exemptible degree requirements for registration as a Psychologist are specified in Sections
5. (1) 1. and 12.(1) 1. of the Registration Regulation.

The applicant must have obtained a doctoral degree,

i. from a psychology program that is accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association or by another accrediting body that has been approved by Council for that purpose,

ii. from a psychology program that is considered by a panel of the Registration Committee to be equivalent to a program described in subparagraph i, or

iii. from a psychology program that is offered by an educational institution outside of Canada or the United States of America and that is considered by a panel of the Registration Committee to be substantially similar to a program described in subparagraph i.

CPA Accredited Doctoral Programs (i.)

With respect to 5.(1) 1. i. described above, a listing of doctoral programs in psychology accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) may be viewed on the CPA’s website at the following link: www.cpa.ca  in the section of the website titled “Accreditation”.

Doctoral Programs equivalent to CPA Accredited Doctoral Programs (ii.)

With respect to 5.(1) 1. ii. described above, the following criteria will be used to evaluate a doctoral program in psychology as being equivalent to a CPA accredited program:

  1. The doctoral degree awarded by the program is equivalent in academic level to a doctoral degree from a Canadian university;
  2. The degree is offered at an institution that is:A. Canadian institution that is legally authorized to grant the degree,B. an institution in the United States of America that is accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the United States Secretary of Education as a reliable authority concerning the quality of education or training offered by institutions of higher learning or by another accrediting body approved by Council, orC. an institution that is based in a country other than Canada or the United States of America that is considered to be equivalent to an institution described in sub-paragraph A by a foreign credential evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services or by another foreign credential evaluation service approved by Council;
  3. The program is offered within a department of psychology or delivered by an identifiable core faculty of doctoral trained Psychologists that assume responsibility for the program;
  4. The program is clearly and publicly identified and described as a psychology program in its brochure, website, and descriptive materials;
  5. The program clearly and publicly communicates in its brochure, website, and descriptive materials its intent to train professional Psychologists;
  6. The program has an identifiable body of students enrolled in it;
  7. The program has an identifiable core faculty of Psychologists responsible for delivering the program. The core faculty members each hold a doctoral degree in psychology;
  8. The program requires that students maintain a minimum of 3 years of full-time resident graduate study or a part-time equivalent of 3 years of full-time resident graduate study;
  9. The program requires candidates to demonstrate either undergraduate or graduate competence In the five core content areas for psychology, by passing suitable evaluations in each of the five areas or by successful completion of at least one half-year graduate course, or an advanced undergraduate course (beyond a first-year introductory course) in each of the five areas:I. Biological bases of behaviour;
    II. Cognitive affective bases of behaviour;
    III. Social bases of behaviour;
    IV. Psychology of the individual; and
    V. Historical and Scientific foundations of psychology.
  10. The program includes graduate level instruction in the foundations of professional psychology, including:
    • Assessment and Evaluation
    • Intervention and Consultation;
    • Scientific and Professional Ethics; and
    • Research Design and Test Construction.
  11. The program includes training and evaluation of competence in interpersonal relationships through coursework, practica, or internship;
  12. The program requires practicum training of at least 600 hours, of which at least 300 hours are devoted to direct, face-to-face patient/client contact, and at least 150 hours consist of supervision.
    Supervision must be by practitioners who are registered to practice psychology in the jurisdiction in which the services are provided.
  13. The program requires a pre-doctoral internship of at least 1500 hours. The pre-doctoral internship must be approved by the program and must be completed after the practicum training and before the doctoral degree is conferred. Supervisors of the pre-doctoral internship must be practitioners who are registered to practice psychology in the jurisdiction in which the services are provided.

Doctoral Programs substantially similar to CPA Accredited Doctoral Programs (iii.)
(From outside of Canada or U.S.A)

With respect to 5.(1) 1. iii. described above, the following criteria will be used to evaluate a doctoral program in psychology that is offered by an educational institution outside of Canada or the United States of America as substantially similar to a CPA accredited program:

  1. The doctoral degree awarded by the program is equivalent in academic level to a doctoral degree from a Canadian university;The Registration Committee will consider the doctoral psychology program on its own or the doctoral program in combination with a prior master’s psychology program with respect to the following criteria:
  2. Each graduate degree is offered in or through a degree granting institution that is:
    a. based in a country other than Canada or the United States of America, and
    b. is considered, by a foreign credential evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services or by another foreign credential evaluation service approved by Council, to be equivalent to a Canadian institution that is legally authorized to grant the degree.
  3. Each program is offered within a department of psychology or delivered by an identifiable core faculty of Psychologists that assume responsibility for the program;
  4. Each program is clearly and publicly identified and described as a psychology program in its brochure, website, and descriptive materials;
  5. At least one of the master’s program or the doctoral program clearly and publicly communicates in its brochure, website, and descriptive materials its intent to train providers of psychological services;
  6. Each degree program has an identifiable body of students enrolled in it;
  7. Each program has an identifiable core faculty responsible for delivering the program. The members of the core faculty have a graduate level degree in psychology;
  8. The candidate has completed a minimum of 3 years of full-time resident graduate study or a part-time equivalent of 3 years of full-time resident graduate study in the program or programs;
  9. The program or programs require candidates to demonstrate either undergraduate or graduate competence in at least four of the five core content areas for psychology, by passing suitable evaluations in each of the areas or by successful completion of at least one graduate course, or an advanced undergraduate course (beyond a first-year introductory course) in each of the areas:
    I. Biological bases of behaviour;
    II. Cognitive affective bases of behaviour;
    III. Social bases of behaviour;
    IV. Psychology of the individual;
    V. Historical and Scientific foundations of psychology.
  10. The program or programs include graduate level instruction in the foundations of professional psychology, including:
    • Assessment and Evaluation
    • Intervention and Consultation;
    • Scientific and Professional Ethics; and
    • Research Design and Test Construction;
  11. The candidate must have completed supervised practica or an internship. The supervised practica or internship may be completed as a requirement of the degree program or programs or may be acquired outside of the degree program or programs. The supervised practica or internship must include direct client contact and must be supervised by practitioners who are registered to practice psychology or, in countries where psychology is not regulated, by supervisors who are professionally identified as Psychologists;
  12. The supervised practica or internship described in criterion 11 must have been completed before the doctoral degree was awarded.

Degrees not accepted under Section 5. (1) 1. and 12.(1) 1. of the Registration Regulation

If the Registration Committee determines that the doctoral degree program completed by the applicant does not meet the requirements described in the Registration Regulation, the application will be refused. The doctoral degree cannot be augmented by the applicant, after having obtained the degree, into the equivalent of a degree acceptable to the College. Therefore, in order to become eligible for registration as a Psychologist, such an applicant must complete another doctoral degree in a psychology program that meets the requirements outlined in the Registration Regulation.

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