Undergraduate Psychology students can look for research opportunities within the Psychology Department and the wider research community at U of T through the following pathways. This list is not exhaustive, though, and students may find other opportunities available through avenues that are not listed here:
- Join the Psychology Undergraduate Research Community (PURC). This is a group led by graduate students intended to create a community for undergraduate students to learn more about psychological research, present to their peers, and develop professional skills outside of the laboratory. You can find more information at: https://purc.psych.utoronto.ca/
- Connect with individual UTSG Psychology faculty members and research associates about possible volunteer opportunities in their labs. Volunteer opportunities may also exist within U of T at other divisions or campuses, such as UTM Psychology, UTSC Psychology, OISE, Rotman, Kinesiology, etc.
- Complete a 4th year Individual Project by taking PSY405H1/Y1 or PSY406H1/Y1. For more information, please read and fill out the
PSY 405_406 Instructions and Application Form_Updated Sept 2025 with your supervisor to be enrolled for course credit. This is another popular way students gain useful research experience relevant to future career opportunities or admission to graduate school. Please note that project supervisors can only be selected from the following list of undergraduate research supervisors.
- Our departmental Psychology program student Quercus page will have research opportunities posted throughout the academic year. If you are a program student, you should have access to this page. Please be sure to turn on notifications. Ocassionally you may also see opportunities posted on our Instagram stories.
- Check out the Faculty of Arts & Science Research Opportunities page, which includes the Research Opportunity Program (ROP). ROPs provides an opportunity for students early in their academic career to engage in an original research project with a professor, in exchange for course credit. Students who apply to an ROP in Psychology would receive a full-course credit of PSY299Y1 or PSY399Y1, with there being a few instances of 0.5 credit ROP courses (PSY299H1).
- Apply to our Research Specialist Program after you have completed your second year. This program is designed for students who have demonstrated a particular interest in and aptitude for research, and who want to complete a 4th year thesis. For more information on this program, please see here.
- Apply for the summer NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) or the University of Toronto Excellence Awards (UTEA) in Social Science and Humanities and in Natural Science and Engineering. These award competitions provide students with excellent paid research experience during the summer months.
- Explore the Undergraduate Research Hub via U of T's Career Centre, or the Work-Study Program, or also check out the Laidlaw Scholars Undergraduate Leadership and Research Programme.
- Occasionally the Psychology Students' Association (PSA) have research assistant opportunities advertised on their website.
- Various affiliated organizations, such as CAMH, Sick Kids, Baycrest, and UHN often have volunteer and research assistant positions available for undergraduate students.
Clinical Opportunities
While our department's focus is not on Clinical Psychology, many of our students are interested in pursuing careers in counselling/therapy and clinical research. The following are links to potential volunteer and research opportunities in the clinical field to help get you started:
- https://www.startclinic.ca/volunteer-opportunities/
- https://www.dcogt.com/volunteer/
- https://blcc.ca/join-us/
- https://bbs.camhx.ca/about-us/get-involved
- https://www.camh.ca/en/get-involved/join-the-cause/volunteer-at-camh
- https://stridestoronto.ca/get-involved/volunteer/
- https://www.baycrest.org/Baycrest-Pages/Get-Involved/Volunteer/Becoming-a-Volunteer
- https://www.uhn.ca/corporate/ways-help/Volunteering_UHN/Pages/how_to_become_a_volunteer.aspx