ARE PSY100Y or PSYA01Y considered Life Science Courses?

[Guest dayne67]

Hi, I am 4th year student university student. I am taking a year off from my regular program and have taken some courses to fulfill the pre-requisites for UofT's medical school. I am taking courses at UofT (Scarborough). One of the courses I am taking is first year psychology (PSYA01Y), which is just like PSY100Y.

 

I know that this course is part of UofT undergraduate Life Sciences curriculum, but I am not so sure if UofT's medical school considers it to be a Life Sciences course. I am also currently taking BGYA01Y, which is first year biology. Do I have to take another Life Sciences course, or can I just rely on first year psychology as my second Life Sciences requirement for med school at UofT?

 

It would be really appreciated if someone could answer my question. Thanks.

[Guest aneliz]

I can't give you a 'for sure' answer...you should check with UofT's admissions office for that...but most schools consider psych to be an 'arts or social science' credit and not a life science or biological science for pre-req purposes.

[Guest dayne67]

aneliz, yeah, I guess I will check with UofT's admissions office. I initially took PSYA01Y because I thought it would be interesting. And I knew that other schools consider psychology to be part of the liberal arts or social sciences curriculum.

 

But at UofT, I found out that they considered psychology as part of the Life Sciences Department. And the psych profs also regard it as a Life Science course. So, then I thought that maybe I could use it as a requirement for Med School.

 

I guess I will have to email the admissions office or give them a call to find out their interpretation.

[Guest blinknoodle]

This won't help this particular situation, but I know McMaster's Intro to Psych Courses (Psych 1A03 and 1AA3) are also considered life sciences, so definitely check out this particular case.

[Guest Steve U of T]

U of T's faculty of arts & science considers psychology a life science, so there's no reason U of T's faculty of medicine would consider it as something else. If you're applying to other med schools, they may count it as a social science. It seems most schools will find an equivalent course that they offer. I emailed UWO admissions about an anthropology course I took at U of T (ANT203 - biological anthropology), which is explicitly a science course according to U of T. However, since it is offered by the department of anthropology, UWO admissions counts it as a non-science (which is what I was hoping for).

 

A life science course from U of T will be considered as such for U of T medicine, although it may not be the case for other schools you're applying to. If U of T is the only school you need this for, I wouldn't worry, although you should contact the admissions office to set your mind at ease.