Psychology: Clinical
The GRE (general and subject) admission requirement will be waived for the Fall 2025 intake.
As an exception to the general Master's regulations, applications to this program must be made by December 1st at 11:59pm EDT. Only complete applications, including all references will be reviewed.
Please see our MA Clinical program's Frequently Asked Questions.
Lakehead University offers a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology. The master degree normally requires two years of full-time study.
The MA Clinical program strives to develop and nurture skills within students that are grounded in science, critical thinking, and ethics, so that they may serve as competent researchers, clinicians, and educators. The program adheres closely to the scientist-practitioner model of training and practice in psychology.
For additional information on the program's goals, objectives, and values, please visit the Department of Psychology.
MA Clinical Psychology: Gender and Women's Studies Specialization
The Department of Gender and Women's Studies at Lakehead University is dedicated to furthering an understanding of the importance of gender as a category of analysis in scholarly inquiry. Through interdisciplinary instruction, students will critically assess the relevance of existing models of knowledge in reflecting gendered experience and scholarship.
The aim of the program is to encourage the development and integration of gendered teaching, learning, and research within the university community and the community at large. This Collaborative Master's program allows students to combine advanced disciplinary research with gendered scholarship from the interdisciplinary field of Gender and Women's Studies. Upon completion of the program, the degree awarded specifies the discipline of the participating academic unit and notes the Specialization in Gender and Women's Studies.
For additional information on the Interdisciplinary Graduate Specialization in Gender and Women's Studies, please visit the Gender and Women's Studies website.
MA Clinical Psychology: Gerontology Specialization
The Gerontology Program collaborates with five departments including Psychology, to provide students with an innovative, interdisciplinary learning perspective. Students have the opportunity to access multifaceted resources and work together with complementary disciplines.
Research and theory in Gerontology is reviewed, and the thesis or major project taken in the collaborating academic unit will have a gerontological focus.
For additional information on the Interdisciplinary Graduate Specialization in Gerontology, please visit the Gerontology website.
Please see our MA Clinical program's Frequently Asked Questions.
NOTE: Students in these programs must complete all requirements within six terms (2 years) of continuous registration.
Admission Requirements for Masters
Applicants for admission must be graduates of a recognized university, college, or institute as well as show evidence of scholarly achievement. Except where otherwise stated in the Admission Requirements of a particular program, degree students must have a four year bachelor's degree or its equivalent with at least second class standing (B) based on their last 20 half courses or equivalent.
For applicants from countries that follow a British-patterned grading system, please note:
- Overall standings are normally reported in lieu of an average. The CGPA can be determined on the basis of annual or overall standings as reported on the transcript or degree certificate.
- A minimum grade of B, or Second Class, Upper Division, is required.
- The National Diploma and Higher National Diploma are not recognized for admission to a graduate-level program.
- Be sure to include a copy of your institution grading scale when uploading your transcripts.
- If in doubt, you may wish to order a WES International Credential Advantage (iCap) report from wes.org
An applicant holding a degree other than one in the discipline area to which admission is sought will be considered on the basis of courses taken and academic standing.
Meeting the minimum requirements does not necessarily guarantee admission. No candidate will be admitted unless the academic unit recommends admission. All applicants will be advised by the Office of Graduate Studies in writing of their admission status.
Program Specific Requirements
In addition to the general admission requirements for Master programs, the following requirements also apply:
- Applicants must hold an Honours Bachelor of Arts or Science degree in Psychology with at least a second-class standing (70%). The degree must be from an approved college or university. Students who have not completed a course in advanced statistics and experimental design will be required to take Psychology 4111 in addition to the regular requirements for the MA Clinical degree. Students admitted to the MA Clinical Psychology program must also have an undergraduate course in Psychometrics. Otherwise, they will be required to take Psychology 3015 in addition to the regular requirements for the master's degree.
- An undergraduate thesis (or equivalent research experience) is required for admission into the MA Clinical Psychology program.
- Students admitted to the MA Clinical Psychology program have typically taken a senior undergraduate course in the historical and scientific foundations of general psychology. Students who do not have such a course are advised to take either Psychology 4611 or a Special Topics or reading course in the history of psychology at the graduate level (e.g., Psychology 5731 Special Topics in Psychology). Such a competence must be demonstrated by the end of the Clinical Psychology PhD program.
- Offers of admission may include any course prerequisites and/or co-requisites. Within the period outlined in the offer of admission, these courses must be successfully completed with a minimum grade of 70%.
- Offers for admission and support will be made up to April 1. Applicants who have applied to several university departments may accept these offers up to April 15. After this date, however, offers will be made only to those applicants who clearly state that they are not committed to any other university Department.
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores for Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical tests are required before an application can be considered. GRE Psychology Subject scores are also required for applicants to the MA Clinical Psychology program. Besides official transcripts and letters of recommendations, applications must also include a detailed statement of research interests and objectives plus the name(s) of Psychology faculty for potential masters thesis supervision.
- Applicants whose native language is not English and who have not studied in an English school system for more than three years will be required to present proof of English facility by achieving an appropriate standing in one of the following tests:
- the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a minimum internet-based score of 100, or a minimum computer-based score of 250, or a minimum paper-based score of 600 and a score of at least 5.0 on the Test of Written Language (TWE); the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery with a minimum score of 90; or the Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL) with a minimum score of 80. For more information, see Calendar.
- • Applicants are encouraged to visit the Department of Psychology MA Clinical Psychology Frequently Asked Questions page for detailed information.
- View Calendar
Academic Fees and Important Payment Information
Graduate Funding
At Lakehead University, we realize the importance of financial support for graduate students.
Therefore, financial assistance opportunities are available in several forms and are generally awarded to students by individual programs on the basis of academic promise and financial need.
The different funding options available include:
For your convenience, a searchable database of graduate scholarships, bursaries, and awards is provided below. Award eligibility, criteria, and application procedures for graduate funding is indicated for each award. Please use the general search tool to find available funding by program. Alternatively, you may also click the advanced search link to specify available funding by program level, award category and/or award amount.
Although financial support cannot be guaranteed to all graduate students in all programs, we encourage you to inquire about financial assistance with your Graduate Coordinator in your program of study. You may also contact the Graduate Funding Officer in the Faculty of Graduate Studies to learn more about your graduate funding options.
Conditions of Graduate Awards
Graduate scholarships are based on academic merit. Graduate bursaries are based on financial need, although there may be a merit component to the bursary. Where the award designates that an application is required, only those students who have submitted the specified application by the deadline will be considered for those awards. Late and/or incomplete applications will not be considered. Only successful applicants will be notified.
Recipients of scholarships, awards and bursaries must be registered in order to receive funding. Graduate awards are applied to any outstanding balance on the student's account. Students are entitled to their awards only after their fees are paid in full. Only students with credit account balances will be refunded the balance of the overpayment. Overpayment refunds of these awards will be issued at the end of September, January and May each year.
The University reserves the right to make changes without prior notice to the terms, conditions and award values listed in this section and in the University Calendar.
The most up-to-date internal awards and applications are on our new award system MyAwards
Graduate Studies Funding Database
Required Application Information
Supervisor Information
Interested students are encouraged to contact potential supervisors directly and before submitting an application for graduate study.
The first step in the application process is to complete the online graduate studies application form.
After you have submitted the online form along with the required application fee, you will be provided with an online account where you can complete the remaining steps of the application process which include uploading the required supporting documents and monitoring the status of your application.
Click here to Apply to Graduate Studies - Fall 2025 - the application will be available in mid-September.
After you have applied
After you have submitted the online application form, you will be provided with instructions by email on how to log in to myinfo, where you will be able to review and upload the remaining and required supporting documents.
- An electronic reference form will be automatically sent by email to the references you identify on the graduate studies application form
- This form is requested in support of the applicant's ability to undertake advanced study and research
- For a list of program specific documents, please see this program's Additional Application Information section (if required, see above)
- For information about English test results, please see our Calendar
Additional Application Information
New (Nov 8, 2020): Update to Reference requirements: In past application cycles, we have required 3 academic and 2 clinical (professional) references. To simplify our reference requirements, we will now only require 3 references.
The reference letters (3) should be from faculty or academic/professional supervisors with whom you have a history, such as someone you worked for as a student researcher, or who you have met with several times throughout a semester and therefore is familiar with your work. The goal is to ask someone who knows you well, and someone who can comment on the areas assessed (e.g., academic preparedness, oral and written communication skills, initiative, judgement, research skill, and overall academic ability). The referee will also be asked to comment on your professional suitability for clinical training (e.g., ability to function well under stress, sensitivity to others, awareness of interpersonal impact, receptiveness to constructive feedback, professionalism).
We strongly recommend that one of the references be from your thesis supervisor. References should not be from a family member or friend.
Applicants can choose to provide a fourth reference, focused only on professional suitability for clinical training, should they so desire. This fourth (clinical) reference is entirely optional.
- To specialize in Gender and Women's Studies, you must complete the Gender and Women's Studies Collaborative Application Form (PDF Format) and submit it with your application