Undergraduate student resources

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General resources

Student research participation

Students in PSYC1200 Introduction to Psychology earn a percentage of their final grade either by participating in research studies or by studying for and writing an exam in lieu of participation.

Psychology student advising

Advisors can provide useful advice and information about your academic program, including information about course selections, preparing for and being accepted into graduate programs, careers in psychology and related fields, obtaining special permission to enter courses for which you lack the prerequisite(s), and making the most of your undergraduate training.

Faculty of Arts students who are enrolled in the psychology honours undergraduate program and Faculty of Science students who are enrolled in any major or honours undergraduate program in psychology must obtain approval from the Associate Head, Undergraduate Studies or the Undergraduate Student Advisor for their course selections and any changes to their class schedule.

Student research experience

If you are interested in pursuing a graduate degree in psychology, it is a good idea to get research experience as soon as possible. There are many ways to do this: volunteer as a research assistant, get paid to be a research assistant, or apply for research funding.

Research funding is very competitive and decisions are typically based on two components – your GPA and your research proposal. For each award, you are responsible for finding a psychology faculty member willing to supervise your research.

Volunteer research assistant positions

Anyone who is in their second year in Psychology is ready to volunteer. The best way to go about this is to look at the most up-to-date research interests of the faculty and adjuncts listed on the psychology faculty page and find someone whose research is of interest to you. Then, contact the individual and ask if they have any volunteer positions available. 

Paid research positions

Paid positions typically require you to have had some research experience, so most individuals will have already volunteered as a research assistant. 

Psychology undergraduate research experience awards (PURE)

During each competition, a limited number of awards of $6,000 each will be allocated to undergraduate students in their third or fourth year of an Honours program in Psychology. Fall PURE Awards will fund studies from October through March whereas spring PURE Awards will fund studies from May to August.

PURE application information and deadlines

There are two annual competitions for this award (Spring and Fall). During each competition, a limited number of awards up to $6,000 each will be allocated as scholarships/bursaries to undergraduate students in their third or fourth year of an Honours program in Psychology conducting research in a laboratory under direct supervision of a University of Manitoba Department of Psychology faculty member. The proposed research project must be distinct from the student's Honours thesis. Students are not eligible to hold this award after they have completed their degree requirements so fourth year students should apply for Fall Awards. Fall PURE Awards will fund studies from October through March whereas spring PURE Awards will fund studies from May to August. This funding should be considered as a bursary, not employment income.

The purpose of these awards is for outstanding undergraduates to receive additional research training with the goal of increasing their competitiveness in funding competitions (e.g. for graduate-level awards from NSERC, SSHRC, & CIHR). Individuals may only receive this funding once.

The evaluation criteria will be:
GPA - 50 per cent
Proposed Research Activities - 35 per cent
Advisor's Letter of Support - 15 per cent

Supervisors will normally contribute one third of the value of the award from their own grant funds (i.e. up to $2000 out of the maximum $6000). The remaining funds up to $4000 will be funded by the Department of Psychology. However, the Department may fully fund the award for one outstanding undergraduate nominee if their prospective faculty supervisor does not possess sufficient grant funds to meet their contribution.

Please note that part of awardees' obligation is to present their research in poster form as part of the University of Manitoba's yearly Undergraduate Student Research Poster Competition, which tends to occur during the middle of the fall term.

Application:

If the student is currently in the Honours Research Seminar, the research description must clearly explain how the proposed project is distinct from the student's Honours thesis.

Students should submit a PDF file containing:

  • a brief description of the research project to be pursued (no more than 500 words in length),
  • a screen shot of their transcript from Aurora, and
  • a letter of support from their prospective faculty advisor that indicates whether they have $2000 to contribute to the award.

Letters of support can be emailed directly to the Associate Head (undergraduate) Launa.Leboe-McGowan@umanitoba.ca. Students should submit only one e-mail with their research description and transcript attached before 4:00 p.m. on the due date.

Deadlines:

Applications for the fall competition are due (Friday, September 22, 2023).
Applications for the spring competition are due (Friday, February 2, 2024).

UM undergraduate research award (URA)

This award provides you with an exciting opportunity to compete to be mentored with a professor of your choice for 16 weeks, to receive $7000, and to gain valuable experience in your field of interest. Applications are typically due in Mid-February. More information and the URA application forms can be found on the URA website.

NSERC URA

These awards are granted on a competitive basis to any student who hopes to gain research experience working under the supervision of an NSERC-funded researcher. The competition is typically announced in January.

SPUR

The Society for and Personality and Social Psychology  provide research awards to under-represented ethnic minority groups to gain research experience in the United States during the summer. For more information see SPUR.

Financial aid and awards

The Department of Psychology offers awards to undergraduate and graduate students. Students pursuing studies in psychology are also eligible for Faculty of Arts and general University of Manitoba financial aid and awards.

Psychology undergraduate awards

Ten Have Award

The Ten Have Award is awarded annually to the psychology student in fourth-year honours whose thesis was judged to be the most outstanding that year.

The decision is based on the the originality of the research, the quality of the data analysis, the insightfulness in the interpretation of the results, the quality of the written thesis, and the student's independence conducting the research.

The award is named after Bill Ten Have, PhD, a former graduate student and department lecturer, who died prematurely in an automobile accident.

CPA Certificates of Academic Excellence for undergraduate honours and graduate students

These certificates from the Canadian Psychological Association recognize outstanding achievements made by students at all levels of study in each Canadian department of psychology.

University psychology department chairs are sent the call to submit theses in early May.

Find more UM financial aid and awards

Career opportunities

What can you do with a BA/BSc in psychology?

Career opportunities

A psychology degree is excellent preparation for the following fields:

  • Education
  • Law
  • Business administration
  • Medicine
  • Social work

These represent the top five fields where our recent graduates are employed.

Career skills

A psychology undergraduate degree provides training in many valuable career skills:

  • Statistical data analysis
  • Psychological subject matter
  • Public speaking
  • Writing
  • Research design
  • Critical thinking

These are the top six skills reported to us by recent graduates as helping them in their early careers.

Becoming a psychologist

If you plan to be a psychologist, you require a Masters degree and a PhD.

The best preparation for those degrees is to do the Honours undergraduate degree and gain as much research experience as possible during your undergraduate program.

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