PSYC Departmental Policies

PSYC 100 requirement

PSYC 100/6.0 is a prerequisite for all other psychology courses. It can only be waived if a student has completed a similar advanced high school (AP) or college level introductory psychology course. 

Core course requirement

 PSYC 203/3.0 and PSYC 300/6.0 may not be substituted by an equivalent course from another university. Letters of Permission will only be granted in extraordinary cases. PSYC 202/3.0 may be substituted by an equivalent course from another Department at Queen’s. These courses may not be repeated, except with the permission of the Chair of Undergraduate Studies.

Exam absence

Students who cannot write an exam during the December or April exam period due to a serious, extenuating circumstance (illness, death in the family) must follow the steps below to be eligible to write a deferred exam during the PSYC department’s Make up Exam period in January, April/May, and September.

1. Obtain permission from their instructor to write a deferred exam.  This requires notifying your instructor in advance or, under extraordinary circumstances, within 72 hours after, the exam, with appropriate documentation [i]. Please use the Request for Exam Deferral form and attach your documentation.
2. Complete and return the instructor-signed Permission for an Incomplete Grade form available on the Arts and Science website and return to the UG office.
3. Be available to write the makeup exam the PSYC department’s Make up Exam period in January, April/May or September or receive ‘0’ on the exam.

NOTE: Students who do not write the makeup exam are advised to drop the course. If a student cannot write the makeup exam due to a serious extenuating circumstance for which they can provide new documentation, they will either be granted a second deferral by their instructor or be supported in their appeal to drop the course after the deadline though this decision rests with the Associate Dean (Studies). 

Travel during exams

According to university regulations, students are expected to be available to write scheduled exams at any time during the official December and April examination periods as well as during any scheduled class times. Requests to write a make-up exam because of conflicting travel plans (e.g. flight bookings) or requests to miss an in class exam due to other plans will NOT be considered except under extraordinary circumstances. Students are advised to wait until the final exam schedules are posted before making any travel arrangements.

Accommodation after the fact

Once a student has written an exam or submitted an assignment, they may not subsequently be granted accommodation such as being offered a second opportunity to write the exam or assignment or have it count for less than originally specified in the course syllabus (reweighted). Students who cannot perform to the best of their abilities due a serious, extenuating circumstance must inform their instructor before attempting an exam or completing a course to arrange appropriate accommodation. Appeals to change a grade after the fact must be made to the Associate Dean (Studies) and will only be supported by the department in exceptional circumstances.  

  Correspondence Course exam requirement

All correspondence courses shall have a proctored final examination and a student cannot pass a correspondence course without passing the final examination.