Welcome to the Psychology Graduate Program

Please check your Student Centre to accept your offer and confirm that you have satisfied all the requirements of admission, such as submitting official transcripts and/or any other required documentation.

If you have not already done so, please notify your supervisor that you have accepted your offer of admission.

Your Western email address and identity is now activated. It is very important that you regularly check your email messages at: https://myoffice.uwo.ca, as this is the only email address that will be used to communicate with you. Please also use your Western email account when writing to us, as well.

You will receive an email in August addressed to your Western email account, letting you know that course registration is open along with instructions regarding how to enroll. Please consult with your supervisor regarding which courses to register for. In the meantime, please watch for course listings on our website: https://www.psychology.uwo.ca/graduate/course_information/index.html 

When is the first day of class?

The first day of the term is September 1st. However, due to various orientation events scheduled during the first week of September, you are encouraged to regularly check your Western email for an announcement from your course instructor in regards to when the first class will be held. You should also contact your supervisor to determine what date they will expect you to attend research and/or advisory meetings.

The exact details of your funding package will be communicated to you in our Mercury Financial Support Package. You will receive this electronic package by late summer, as the details become available.

In the meantime, please refer to your offer letter which outlines your minimum funding for the academic year.

From your funding package total, you are expected to pay tuition and ancillary fees. Tuition and fee schedules (per term) are posted on the Office of the Registrar’s website at: https://www.registrar.uwo.ca/student_finances/fees_refunds/fee_schedules.html

Tuition rates for the upcoming academic year are typically posted in late spring, so please keep checking this website for updates.

You will have the opportunity to apply for various scholarships during your first year of studies. The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies provides detailed information regarding available scholarships. Departmental application deadlines will be circulated to you before September 1st.

Important! Please inform us immediately of any scholarships or awards that you have accepted for the 2024-25 academic year, as these can affect your funding. Reporting this information late can result in delays and disruptions to your pay deposits.

We will send you a survey by email in June or July asking for your Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) preferences. To prepare, you can review the Psychology undergraduate course descriptions online: https://studentservices.uwo.ca/secure/timetables/mastertt/ttindex.cfm and/or consult with your supervisor regarding which courses to request.

While the best effort is made to accommodate student and faculty preferences and requests, it is not always possible to do so. Please note that once assigned, requests to change GTA appointments are not permitted unless extenuating circumstances are involved.

We are pleased to welcome you to our program and appreciate that you may have many questions regarding your move to Canada. Please bookmark Western International’s web page and check it often for important information, updates and resources. You are also welcome to reach out with your questions – the Western International team is ready to help you!

To clear your admission conditions, please also be sure to provide a copy of your approved study permit to the Western Admissions team, at gradapps@uwo.ca, and Lisa Drysdale, Psychology Graduate Program Coordinator, at edrysda4@uwo.ca.

The Department of Psychology is spread out over several buildings on campus: Advanced Facility for Avian Research (AFAR), Western Interdisciplinary Research Building (WIRB), Westminster Hall (WH), and the Social Science Centre (SSC). The Graduate Office is located on the 7th floor of the Social Science Centre (SSC). Graduate students are assigned workspace in close proximity to their supervisors and research labs. The Graduate Office, or supervisor, will notify graduate students of their assigned workspace in late summer.

Psychology Graduate Student Association (PGSA) is a volunteer committee formed by graduate students in the Department of Psychology, typically with a representative from each stream. PGSA plans events that include Buddy Night, Halloween and holiday parties. Their mission is to connect students across the Cognitive, Developmental and Brain Sciences (CDBS), Industrial/Organizational (IO), Social, Personality and Developmental (SPDP), and Clinical (CSP) streams. PGSA collaborates with Neuroscience for events and represents the Department of Psychology in various ways (e.g., on recruitment day, Science Rendezvous, and community events). PGSA also relays messages from the department to the students.

If you are interested in a liaison and/or event-planning role with PGSA, send an email to pgsa.uwo@gmail.com. For more information and regular updates, see https://www.facebook.com/groups/pgsauwo.

Bus passes are available through the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS). Please read “Collecting your bus pass” at: https://sogs.ca/buspass. Bus routes are posted online: https://www.londontransit.ca/plan-a-trip/routes-schedules.

Please follow this link for information about housing in London: https://housing.uwo.ca 

Please visit the official City of London website for recent news and events occurring in and around London, along with details about London city life, arts activities, attractions, maps, photo galleries and more.

We look forward to officially welcoming you to Western during our Graduate Student Orientation and Graduate Awards Celebration to be held in September. Orientation is a mandatory event for new and returning graduate students and we will email you with the event details this spring.

Please also watch your Western email for information regarding other graduate student orientation events and activities. Please note that some of the web pages listed below contain information about last year’s events but will be updated as September approaches.

• During the summer - Teaching Assistant Training Program (TATP)
• September (date TBD) - TA Day: Graduate Student Conference on Teaching
• September (date TBD) - Graduate Student Welcome (Student Experience) 
• Graduate Student Orientation Programming (SOGS)
• Centre for Teaching & Learning programs for graduate students

Please regularly visit the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies website for important dates for the 2024-25 academic year.

Please email your questions to Lisa Drysdale, Graduate Program Coordinator, or Amanda Burdick, Program Assistant, at psygradinfo@uwo.ca.