FAQ - Counselling Psychology

Admission to the Master of Education (M.Ed.) and to the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Counselling Psychology is highly competitive and offered on a full-time basis only. We receive several hundred applications for a small number of available spots, making it hard to gain admission if you only meet the minimum requirements.

Candidates for the concentration in Counselling Psychology (M.A. and M.Ed.) must hold an undergraduate degree in education, psychology, or equivalent*, with a minimum overall undergraduate average of 70% (B). All candidates must also have a minimum of 5 university courses (15 units) in the Social Sciences. A minimum of 3 out of these 5 courses (9 units) must be advanced courses (i.e. 2nd year or higher) in psychology; one of the psychology courses must be a course in personality theories.

We invite you to visit the specific requirements webpage for additional information.

The Master of Education (M.Ed.) and to the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Counselling Psychology are offered on a full-time basis only. Courses are 3 hours long and require about 6 to 9 hours of study per week of your own time. Some courses are offered in the evening and others are offered during the afternoon. You are responsible for ensuring that you can come to the course in question, to complete the requirements of your program.

Please note that the University requires that full-time students registered in a research-based program devote the majority of their time to their studies. Full-time students shall not engage in paid employment that is not directly related to their studies for more than an average of ten hours per week, or a maximum of 170 hours per term. These numbers include the total time spent in connection with such employment (e.g., in the case of students employed as research or teaching assistants, correctors, demonstrators or part-time professors, hours worked include all time spent on class preparation, grading, meeting students, or other related activities.

The Master of Arts in Education (M.A.) and Master of Education with major research paper are research-based programs that allow you to specialize in a particular field, acquire research skills and write a thesis. In addition, you will need to be matched with one of our faculty members as your thesis supervisor before being admitted to this program. The supervisor will guide you throughout your research and the writing of your project. We encourage you to start contacting some professors right away to talk about the program and your interests. Students who have completed this master’s program with thesis or major research paper are eligible to continue at the doctoral level.

The Master of Education (M.Ed.), course option is a course-based program that will allow you to deepen your knowledge of different aspects of education, introduce you to academic research and help you improve your professional practice.

The statement from the calendar states that applicants for admission to counselling psychology must “hold an undergraduate degree in education, psychology, or equivalent.” Applicants who do not hold a bachelor’s degree in either Education or Psychology can apply to the Counselling Psychology programs by satisfying an equivalency. We will consider applicants who hold a 4-year undergraduate degree who have a minimum overall undergraduate average of 70% (B) and who have completed a minimum of 5 university courses (15 units) in the Social Sciences. A minimum of 3 out of these 5 courses (9 units) must be advanced courses (i.e. 2nd year or higher) in psychology; one of the psychology courses must be a course in personality theories.

PSY 3303 Personality (3 units) (Ottawa University)

Major theories in personality. Main schools of thought and study of general characteristics of each theory. Leading representative of each school. Current research in personality.

For candidates who will have competed an Honours or a Major in Psychology, you will most likely have covered the topic in other courses combined. Therefore, you are not required to specifically have completed the Theories of Personality Course.

While some of the B.Ed.* courses may be equivalent to some psychology course, they are not generally enough to give you a competitive application on their own. In order to be admissible candidates for the M.A. and M.Ed. program must hold an undergraduate degree in education, psychology, or equivalent, with a minimum overall undergraduate average of 70% (B). All candidates must also have a minimum of 5 university courses (15 units) in the Social Sciences. A minimum of 3 out of these 5 courses (9 units) must be advanced courses (i.e. 2nd year or higher) in psychology; one of the psychology courses must be a course in personality theories.

We invite you to visit the specific requirements webpage for additional information.

We do not offer a qualifying year or any pre-evaluation. Moreover the program is highly competitive so it is important to check the admissions requirements to make sure you get the required background.

Unfortunately, we do not offer a pre-evaluation service, so you must submit your application first, with the necessary documents, in order to process the evaluation.

In order to be admissible you need a minimum of a 4-year bachelor degree. Applicants from Quebec may count their CEGEP degree as one year of university study along with their 3-year degree from a Quebec university.

You must meet the minimum requirements in order to apply. We do not offer admissions based on experience only.

The coursework option does not require that a professor supervise your work, so you should only contact professors if you are interested in the research option.

It is highly recommended that you contact the professors you are interested in working with to let them know that you are applying and would like to work with them. It is important to note that the Admissions Committee evaluates applications; all final admission offers are based upon the recommendations of the Admissions Committee rather than the individual professor.

Undergraduate university courses of second year and above are considered advanced courses. Typically, these advanced courses require a prerequisite before being allowed to enroll. For example, many Theories of Personality courses require the successful completion of an Introduction to Psychology course.

The MEd course based does not make you eligible for a PhD at the University of Ottawa but this does not preclude your eligibility in other universities. We currently do not offer a Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology at our university. For information regarding other faculties/institutions PhD requirements, we encourage you to contact them directly.

Many of our M.A. graduates have undertaken doctoral studies in Counselling Psychology or Clinical Psychology in other universities. However, we invite you to contact the School of Psychology or any other clinical program in other universities for more information on the admission requirements for the PhD in clinical psychology as requirements vary across institutions.

If you wish to be considered for both English and French programs, you must submit two applications and a letter of intent for each in the language of the program.

Candidates must meet the minimum requirements before applying to our program. The Faculty of Education does not offer conditional admissions based on language requirements. Please note that only the tests listed on our website will be accepted.

1. What should I include in my letter of intent?
2. lease see the following link for more information on the letter of intent:

Format and content for the Letter of Intent for Master programs

We consider any type of work, remunerated or volunteer, that includes direct or indirect client contact. Some examples include: camp counsellor, Boys and Girls Club, distress line volunteer, some research or teaching assistantships that is counselling-related, etc.). We encourage you to make the link between your experience and the counselling field explicit in your letter.

Letters of recommendation are an important part of your application. Make sure you provide referees who know your academic work well. Professional references are also appropriate, but they must come from a referee who works in a field related to counselling and who understands the demands of graduate school.

Once you have submitted your application and it has been transferred to uOttawa’s servers, you will receive an email with instructions on how to access uoZone, where you will be able to enter the name of your referees.

See step 5 for additional information regarding letters of recommendation

Referees ought to speak directly about your preparedness for graduate school as well as your abilities and aptitudes for being in a helping profession. You may opt to secure one academic referee and one previous employer. Together, your two letters ought to highlight your conceptual abilities, writing strength, autonomy, interpersonal skills, work ethic, commitment, empathy, and so forth. The referee should point out your specific strengths rather than providing only generalizations about you.

Yes.

Please submit the course descriptions of the courses you wish to have considered for advanced standing. You must meet the following criteria and will be evaluated by the admission committee. If it is determined that the student has already completed the equivalent of a given course, it is possible that the course will be replaced with one that is more advanced. However, exemptions are not possible. None of the compulsory counselling psychology courses may be replaced.

You must accept your offer no later than the date indicated in your offer.

No, there are no extensions. The program is highly competitive and we have many candidates on the wait list.

No, a deposit is not required.

I have been placed on a wait list for the M.Ed. Counselling Program beginning in the Fall. I was wondering if there is any sort of information which would be available, specifically the number of people who are on the waiting list or the number of applicants the program can take. 

Unfortunately, we cannot give you any further information regarding your chances of receiving an offer of admission nor your rank. We will do our best to notify you of your application verdict before June 1st. We ask that you please refrain from sending us questions regarding your wait list status as we will not be able to respond to your requests.

Yes, you will have to complete a new application as we cannot move applications for one year and you will be expected to update your file as it is a new admission cycle. You do not however, have to resubmit any transcripts unless you completed additional courses.

Unfortunately, it is very hard to give you specific reasons because it is usually a combination of factors that lead us to the decision made. The best advice we can give you is to review your CV, course work and references (refer to questions 4, 19 and 21), find the gaps and try to improve on them.

https://www.uottawa.ca/important-academic-dates-and-deadlines/

You will register through the uoCampus student system.

Courses in the Counselling Psychology concentration must be taken in a fixed sequence, and not all required courses are offered each semester.

Please consult the course schedule, which is available on the University of Ottawa website.

Since our Counselling Psychology programs have specific course sequences that must be followed, admissions are full-time only.

Placements:

1. Do students ever get a chance to complete this requirement in a private practice environment or are placements always with community/government agencies?

While most of our students complete placements in community or post-secondary contexts, students are free to complete their practicum placements in private agencies/practices, and usually 2-3 students take this route every year. Students must ensure that supervisors in private practices meet all the supervisor qualifications and that they are able to guarantee to the students that they will get adequate client-contact hours. As with all practicum arrangements, your Academic Advisor must approve the placement.

Students complete two placements during their second year (each a semester long) in the MA/MEd programs. For each practicum they must complete at least 200 hours, which include a minimum of 75 direct client-contact hours.

The programs are designed to satisfy the requirements to become a Certified Canadian Counsellor. You should consult the CCA website (http://www.ccacc.ca/) for details on course requirements and the application process. The site will also give you details on the benefits of becoming a Certified Canadian Counsellor.

Yes. Both our M.Ed. and M.A. Counselling Psychology Programs satisfy the competencies that are required by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). Many of our graduates join the CRPO and work as psychotherapists in Ontario.

Some of our graduates apply to l’Ordre des conseillers et conseillères d’orientation du Québec. However, applicants are typically required to complete other requirements.

We cannot guarantee that graduates will qualify to join any associations or colleges so it is important that you ensure your courses and clinical placements meet the specific requirements of those you wish to join.

• Many graduates go on to join the CRPO (Registered Psychotherapists) and work as psychotherapists while some choose the route of career counselling. Our graduates work in various agencies, including:

• University counselling services
• Private practice
• Government agencies / EAP programs
• Community agencies
• Mental health clinics and hospitals

Some of our graduates move on to doctoral studies following their Master’s degree (in counselling psychology, clinical psychology, or other mental health degrees).

• https://education.uottawa.ca/sites/education.uottawa.ca/files/counselling_psychology-eng.pdf

Admission to the Master of Education (M.Ed.) and to the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Counselling Psychology is highly competitive and offered on a full-time basis only. We receive several hundred applications for a small number of available spots, making it hard to gain admission if you only meet the minimum requirements. The faculty reserves the right to close at any time the admission to this concentration if the quota is reached. It is therefore important to submit your application and supporting documents as soon as possible. This program is not offered on line.

https://education.uottawa.ca/en/programs/graduate-studies/admission-deadlines

Please see our frequently asked questions (FAQ) and our Counselling Psychology pages.