Honours Advising

If you are attempting to register for a 4000-level PSYC course and see the notice “Granted petition required,” it means you have not received permission to register for that course from a department advisor by following this process.

Many Honours courses reach capacity quickly. Students are strongly advised to submit their Honours advising forms two weeks before their registration date to avoid waitlists. However, course approval is for the registration periods listed above, and only for courses currently on the university’s schedule. Please do not list courses you hope to take in future years that are not yet scheduled.

Requirements for declaring Honours Psychology as a major and continuing in the program are:

• Completed 30 credit hours or more.
• 3.0 GPA (B) in psychology (PSYC) courses including all repeats and failures.
• 2.5 GPA (C+) in courses from all other areas.

Students who are not in the Psychology Honours program may still take 4000-level PSYC courses with permission of an Honours Advisor if they have a 3.0 GPA across all PSYC courses and satisfy all course prerequisites.

Students who do not fulfill the above requirements (e.g., an Honours student whose GPA has dropped below the minimums) should email an Honours Advisor to discuss their options.

Also consult the UWinnipeg Psychology Department website or the UWinnipeg’s Academic Calendar for all entry, continuation, and graduation requirements.

A note on PSYC 4010/3 & 4020/3 (Advanced Readings and Research in Psychology): These courses require a faculty advisor who will create and supervise a set of advanced readings and assignments for the student. AR & R topics are typically limited to subject material not addressed in existing Honours seminars. Please consult UWinnipeg’s Academic Calendar for a basic description of these courses and secure a faculty advisor yourself before attempting to register in 4010 or 4020. Registration also requires the submission of the completed digital AR & R Contract form, available from the faculty advisor of your AR & R. Occasionally, sections of 4010 or 4020 may appear as scheduled courses on WebAdvisor; these are not actually available to you for registration unless they are your designed and approved AR & R.

A note on PSYC-4040/6 (Honours Thesis): This course has both a classroom component and a full-year research project under the supervision of two faculty members, which the student must approach and secure. Currently, you do not need a confirmed advisor to register for PSYC-4040, but students who wish to take the Thesis are strongly encouraged to approach potential advisors the academic year before their intended registration. Students are typically supervised by Psychology Department faculty who specialize in their proposed thesis area. See psychology faculty members and their general areas of specialization and interests here.

n.b., The primary advisor must have a regular academic appointment at the University of Winnipeg. On the Psychology Department’s faculty list this is indicated by “RAS.” Other subject-matter experts who are not RAS may serve as secondary advisors, if willing.

You must complete and submit two forms: The GPA Calculator (requires MS Excel) and the BA Honours Form (requires Adobe Reader DC).

STEP 1: Plan your courses. Consult WebAdvisor to see which courses are offered in the upcoming/current registration period. Plan your schedule using Student Planning under the Registration menu in WebAdvisor; an Honours Advisor may review your plan. Ensure that you have all necessary course prerequisites because failure to do so will result in delays. Please feel free to contact an advisor if you have questions related to the program at this step.

Obtain Needed Permissions: If you are missing a course prerequisite or need other permissions (e.g., register over capacity) those must be provided by the course instructor. The advising process will proceed faster if you have already obtained these permissions before submitting your Honours forms and noted this in your advising email or in your Honours form comments. Honours advisors cannot waive course prerequisites or allow registration over capacity.

STEP 2: GPA Calculator: Retrieve your transcript from WebAdvisor and complete the GPA Calculator Form. You do not need to send your transcript itself. The top box is all PSYC courses including all attempts (i.e., failing grades, repeats, and courses excluded from one’s cumulative GPA). The bottom box is all non-PSYC courses. Courses with final grades of “standing” should be listed, but S grades are not included in GPA calculations. In-progress courses should not be included.

 STEP 3: BA Honours Form: Ensure you are using the PSYC BA Honours form. You may need Adobe Reader DC or another compatible pdf reader to complete it. Please download the file and use Adobe Acrobat DC to complete it. (This is particularly important for Mac users.) The form has four sections:

• Personal information (e.g., name & e-mail). NEW: Include the calendar/catalog year used to determine your degree requirements; this is shown on WebAdvisor and is usually the year you first registered at UW.
• Section 1. To be completed by anyone who is NOT a psychology Honours student but wishes to register for 4000-level courses. This includes Neuroscience students and 3-year or 4-year Psychology BA students.
• Section 2. To be completed only by students intending a PSYC Honours degree.
• Section 3. Courses to be taken in upcoming/current registration period. Please include any relevant comments, e.g., if you have obtained any required waivers.
• Required fields will appear as the appropriate options are checked.
• The “save file” button will validate and save your file.

 STEP 4: Submit forms: Save the GPA Calculator & BA Honours Form using the following filename convention: “yourlastname-studentnumber”.  Email both forms to the Honours advising address above. The files must remain in their original formats (i.e., Excel xlsx and Adobe pdf) to be processed. In your email, please feel free to include any questions you have about the program or any explanatory comments (e.g., if you have obtained any necessary permissions from the course instructor).

An Honours Advisor will review your forms and inform you about your eligibility to register for Honours courses. They can also answer any questions you might have about your program of study. Once forms have been emailed to Registration, the “granted petition” hold is usually released from all approved courses within a business day or two.