Undergraduate Honours Thesis

Updated September 2025

Undergraduate Honours Thesis in Psychology

FALL 2026 application information 


 

APPLICATION FORM (updated for Fall 2026):
Request to Enrol (Microsoft Word version)

Contact shelder@uoguelph.ca if you require this information in an alternate format.

 

IMPORTANT! Professional etiquette when writing to potential supervisors

 

F26 Applicant actions:

  1. Fall/Winter 25/26: be sure that you are completing all prerequisite requirements for PSYC*4870 Honours Thesis I AND PSYC*4780 Advanced Research Methods and Statistics or PSYC*4790 Qualitative Methods in Psychology.
    • Prerequisites include: completion of 14.00 credits, PSYC*3000 (or 7.50 PSYC credits), PSYC*3290 and minimum 75% Psychology cumulative average
    • While the minimum PSYC average is 75%, the actual average of those accepted tends to be higher. In F25 the minimum PSYC average of successful candidates was above 85%
    • Contact potential supervisors.
      • Link to: Psychology labs and projects.
      • Obtaining a supervisor's agreement greatly increases the possibility that you will be approved for the honours thesis, however be aware that it is still a competitive process. 
      • You can find out who is accepting students by clicking on their profile.
      • You can not do an honours thesis without a supervisor. 
      • Thesis supervisors can be faculty members from the Department of Psychology OR another department. 
      • The course size for PSYC*4870 is limited to 50 students. (Each year, some qualified students are not accepted.) Students with an average below 80% are not usually accepted because demand for the class exceeds class size.
      • Only consider the Honours Thesis if you intend to pursue a post-graduate degree in Psychology or Neuroscience (i.e. MA/MSc/PhD). You do NOT need an honours thesis to apply to social work, law school med school, or teacher's college.
  2. Complete the Request to Enrol
  3. Submit to psyc.ug.asst@uoguelph.ca

Fall 2026/Winter 2027 Honours Thesis: Application process and timeline (BAH.PSYC students)

September(2025)-February(2026)

 

Search for a thesis supervisor (see above). It is not possible to do a thesis without a supervisor.

 
February 27, 2026
  • Deadline to submit application package. This should include:
    • Completed "request to enrol form" 
    • Personal Statement (maximum 300 words)
    • UNOFFICIAL copy of your transcript
    • If you have confirmed a supervisor, you do not need to include the statement and transcript
March, 2026

First round of acceptances will be sent to students who fulfill the following criteria:

  • Meet the prerequisite requirements
  • Have a confirmed supervisor
  • PSYC average above 80%
June, 2026

Add period for Fall'26

IF your application has been accepted, you will receive registration instructions.

If you have NOT been accepted, you should choose your fall courses as if you will not be doing an honours thesis in order to ensure that you get a spot, since the 4th year courses fill up quickly.
June 30, 2026 All applicants will be notified by this date.

There are some differences for BSCH.NEUR students. Contact a faculty advisor to discuss your application further. 

 

Tips for contacting a potential supervisor:

  • Before you contact them, familiarize yourself with their work: read their papers, know what type of work they do.

  • Be flexible in balancing your own ideas to fit within the research.

  • Be prepared to provide intellectual contribution to the project even if the work is already underway.

  • Be considerate: contact them during office hours if possible or set up an appointment.

  • Read more about professional email etiquette.

Previous course outlines:

Course descriptions: 

  • PSYC*4870 Honours Thesis I [0.50 credit] Under individual faculty supervision, students plan, develop, and write a research proposal and prepare an extensive review paper on their area of research. Classes are held on how to create a research proposal (oral and written), research ethics (REB) protocols, and applying to graduate school.
  • PSYC*4880 Honours Thesis II [1.00 credit] Students conduct research and write an undergraduate thesis under the direction of a faculty member, present a poster, and reflect upon their work. Classes are held on how to create a poster and how to structure a thesis. 

Still have questions?

 

Sample posters from previous thesis students:

2024-2025

Sophie Kelly: An Examination of Mental Health Discourse in Pre-Service Child Educatino Programs and Its Impact on Workplace Stigma

Sydney Larche: Deliberate Self-Harm and Suicidality Among Adolescents with Primary and Secondary Callous-Unemotional Traits

Rohail Raza: How are Adults Involved in young Children's Social and Cognitive Play in a Naturalized Playground

(tied) Cassidy Darechuk: Affective Consequences of Oculomotor and Finger Response Inhibition for Visual Stimuli

Previous years

Emilia Szwajka, William O'Grady
Effects of social support on adolescent academic achievement
Poster

Wing Tse, Leanne Son Hing, Ella Gomes, Mais Haj-Ayoub
The influence of organizational factors on firefighters' well-being
Poster Photo

Miranda Chan, Donnelle DiMarco, Dr. Harvey Marmurek
The Effects of Divided Attention on the Testing Effect and its Transferability
Poster

Cayden Genik and Dr. Ian Newby-Clark
Flow of Consciousness Lab
Poster

Effects of Memory Salience for No-Go Devaluation
Amelia Luzy-Kocher, Brooke Pardy and Dr. Mark Fenske
Poster

Bailey Bingham, Claire Coulter, Dr. Karl Cottenie, Dr. Shoshanah Jacobs
Metacognition and exam performance: Tools for effective learning
Poster

Sarah Hollywood, Rachel L. Driscoll and Dr. Mark Fenske
Mood killer: Response inhibition reduces the capacity of erotic stimuli to elicit feelings of sexual arousal
Poster

Jonah Stub and Dr. M. Gloria Gonzalez-Morales
The Effect of Conversation Topic on Dominance Behaviour
Poster

Aleece Katan and Dr. Heidi Bailey
Self-Compassion as a Moderator of Reactions to Social Rejection
Poster

Brianne Gayfer, Jasmine Mahdy (MA) and Dr. Stephen Lewis
Peer Reactions to Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Disclosure
Poster