Honours Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour - Music Cognition Specialization (B.A.)

Admission

Admission to the program requires Advanced Rudiments (or Grade 2 Rudiments) from the Royal Conservatory of Music (a grade of 80% or above, within the last two years), or a grade of 65% or above on a qualifying music theory exam administered by the School of the Arts (SOTA).

Enrolment in this program is limited and possession of the published minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Selection is based on academic achievement but requires, as a minimum, completion of any Level I program with a Grade Point Average of at least 5.0; a grade of at least B- in PSYCH 1FF3  or 1XX3  (See Note 13 below); credit in one of BIOLOGY 1A03 , 1M03 , 1P03  or Grade 12 Biology U (See Note 14 below); credit in one of MATH 1A03 , 1LS3  or 1M03  (See Note 2 below); and credit in MUSIC 1A03  or 1AA3 . (See Note 4 below)

Notes

1. Application for admission must be made by April 1. See Admission to Level II Programs  in Academic Regulations in this section of the Calendar.
2. Students with Grade 12 Calculus and Vectors U must take one of MATH 1A03 , 1LS3  or 1M03 . Students with Grade 12 Advanced Functions U must complete MATH 1F03  prior to completing one of MATH 1A03 , 1LS3  or 1M03 . Students with Grade 11 Math must first take MATH 1K03 . Students who obtain at least a B- in MATH 1K03 , may then take MATH 1M03 . Students who obtain less than B- in MATH 1K03 , must take MATH 1F03  prior to taking one of MATH 1A03 , 1LS3  or 1M03 .
3. Students wishing to take more advanced MATH courses are required to have at least a B- in MATH 1M03  or credit in MATH 1A03  or 1LS3 .
4. MUSIC 1A03  or 1AA3  is required for admission, however, completion of both are required by the end of Level IV.
5. Students who have completed Grade 3 History (History 1) or Grade 5 History (History 3) from the Royal Conservatory of Music, with a grade of at least 70%, are not required to complete MUSIC 1AA3 , and those students who have similarly obtained at least 70% on RCM Grade 4 History (History 2) are not required to complete MUSIC 1A03  either for admission to the Music Cognition Specialization or to fulfill their degree requirements
6. Entrance into MUSIC 1CA3  requires Advanced Rudiments (formerly Grade 2 Rudiments) from the Royal Conservatory of Music (a grade of 80% or above, within the last two years) or MUSIC 1C03  (with a grade of 75% or above.) or a grade of 65% or above on a qualifying music theory exam administered by the School of the Arts (SOTA). Appointments can be made with SOTA to write the exam on specific dates between February and May. The content of the exam is summarized at: https://sota.humanities.mcmaster.ca
7. Students having completed Grade 4 Theory (Harmony 4) from the Royal Conservatory of Music with a grade of 70% or better can receive advanced credit for MUSIC 1CA3 - Theory and Analysis I .
8. Students considering applying to graduate school should complete a course with a strong research component such as MUSICCOG 3QQ3 A/B S , 4D06 A/B , 4QQ3 A/B S ; PNB 3QQ3 A/B S , 4D06 A/B , 4D09 A/B , 4QQ3 A/B S .
9. MATH 1B03 - Linear Algebra I  and STATS 2D03 - Introduction to Probability  are recommended for students intending to pursue graduate work in psychology or neuroscience. PHYSICS 2G03 - Scientific Computing  is recommended for students interested in neuroscience, cognition and perception, and for students intending to pursue graduate work in Psychology.
10. PSYCH 3AB3 , 3AC3 , 3AG3 , 3BA3 , 3CB3 , 3CD3  may only be used as electives.
11. The Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour pre-registration ballot will include the thesis courses (PNB 4D06 A/B , 4D09 A/B ) and the Individual Study courses (PNB 3Q03 A/B S , 3QQ3 A/B S , 4Q03 A/B S , 4QQ3 A/B S ). Students wishing to take these courses must complete and submit a ballot by mid February. Students will be informed of the outcome of the first phase by mid March. Specific dates will be announced during the fall term. Ballots can be obtained on the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour web site at: http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/pnb/.
12. Students are encouraged to complete both PSYCH 3A03  and 3H03  as part of the Psychology Course List requirement.
13. Either PSYCH 1FF3  or 1XX3  is required for Admission but PSYCH 1XX3  is recommended. Completion of one of PSYCH 1F03  or 1X03  is required by the end of Level II but PSYCH 1X03  is recommended in Level I.
14. It is recommended that students take BIOLOGY 1M03  in Level I, and BIOLOGY 1A03  in Level II.

Course List 2 (Capstone Courses)

• MUSICCOG 4D06 A/B - Thesis in Music Cognition
• MUSICCOG 4QQ3 A/B S - Experimental Laboratory in Music Cognition II
• PNB 4D06 A/B - Senior Thesis
• PNB 4J03 - Inquiry in Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour
• PNB 4Q03 A/B S - Advanced Individual Library Study
• PNB 4QQ3 A/B S - Advanced Individual Lab Study
• PNB 4SC6 A/B - Science Communication in the Behavioural Sciences

Course List 3 (Psychology Course List)

• BIOLOGY 3P03 - Cell Physiology
• BIOLOGY 4T03 - Neurobiology
• HTHSCI 4BB3 - Neuroimmunology
• KINESIOL 3E03 - Neural Control of Human Movement
• KINESIOL 4P03  
• LIFESCI 3BB3 - Neurobiology of Disease
• LIFESCI 3E03 - Reproductive Endocrinology
• LIFESCI 3K03 - Neural Control of Human Movement
• LINGUIST 2PS3 - Psycholinguistics
• LINGUIST 3C03 - Child Language Acquisition
• LINGUIST 3NL3 - Cognitive Neuroscience of Language
• MUSIC 2CB3 - Theory and Analysis IV
• MUSIC 2MT3 - Introduction to the Practice of Music Therapy
• MUSICCOG 3QQ3 A/B S - Experimental Laboratory in Music Cognition I
• NEUROSCI 3J03 - Visual Neuroscience
• NEUROSCI 3SN3 - Neural Circuits
• All Level III and IV PNB courses,

Requirements

120 units total (Levels I to IV), of which no more than 48 units may be Level I

Requirements for Students who entered prior to September 2017

120 units total (Levels I to IV), of which no more than 48 units may be Level I