The Psychology department offers third and fourth year directed readings courses. These are independent study courses supervised by individual faculty members and are an excellent way to get research experience and learn more about very specific topics in Psychology.
Finding a Supervisor The first step to registering is to find a supervisor. You can review faculty research interests on the Psychology website here (click on their names for more information) and here. Once you have found a faculty member you whose research is interesting to you, you may contact them by email to ask if they will consider supervising a directed readings course.
Co-Supervision is an Option Students are allowed to work with faculty members from other departments, as long as the project is psychological in nature AND they have a co-supervisor in Psychology. Co-supervision requires of less a time commitment for faculty and some PSYC faculty members are happy help in this way. The process is the same, except that you would first find a primary supervisor (outside os PSYC) and then ask a Psychology faculty member if they will co-supervise you. The Primary supervisor may have an existing relationship with a Psychology member and may be able to suggest who you can ask to be your co-supervisor.
How to Register If a faculty member agrees to supervise you, forward an email where the faculty member agrees to supervise you to Kirsti van Dorsser ([email protected]) and include the following information: Your name, student number, the course code for the course you have chosen and the duration you would like to complete it in. Once Kirsti has that information an override will be processed that will allow you to register in the course.
Exactly what you will do to complete the directed readings course will be up to your supervisor. It is a good idea to clarify their expectations before you begin. You might want to ask questions about how often you will be expected to meet with them, approximately how many hours a week you should expect to work on the course, how you will be evaluated, and anything else that comes to mind.