The College of Psychologists of Ontario
Should the Registrar have doubts that an applicant’s training is congruent with the proposed area of practice,
pursuant to Sections 16. (1) 7. and 16. (1) (3) (b) of the Registration Regulation, a certificate of registration
for supervised practice will be issued, along with a notice letter advising of the Registrar’s referral of the
application to the Registration Committee for a review of their training in relation to their Declaration of
Competence. The supervised member will then have a thirty day period to make a written submission to the
Committee outlining how the incongruence may be resolved, either by a revision in the declaration of
competence, or by means of a formal training plan (see guidelines in Section K).
Application Expiry
It is the responsibility of the applicant to check with the College on the status of his/her application.
Applications are not kept by the College indefinitely. An application for registration as a psychological
associate (supervised practice) that has not resulted in either the issuance of a certificate of registration or a
statement of eligibility from the Registrar will expire 24 months after the date of the application (entered on
Box A1 of the application form). The College will make reasonable efforts to contact the applicant prior to the
date of application expiry.
The College will scan and save electronically an applicant’s application form and any supporting documents
for 5 years from the date of application expiry. At the end of the 5 year period, the scanned information will be
securely destroyed.
Should the applicant re-apply for registration before the end of the 5 year period, he/she must submit a new
application form and application fee to the College, and the College will endeavour to use whatever of the
scanned original documentation that is appropriate. For example, a confirmation of registration from another
regulatory authority may need to be re-submitted.
In all cases, an applicant would be required to meet the College’s requirements in effect at the time of their reapplication.
E ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS
The non-exemptible degree requirements for registration as a psychological associate are specified in Section
16. (1) 1. of the Registration Regulation.
Sections 16. (1) 1. i. A and B and C of the Registration Regulation specify that:
1. It is a non-exemptible registration requirement that an applicant must have obtained a master’s degree
from a psychology program which is offered at:



a legally authorized degree-granting institution in Canada; or
an accredited degree-granting institution from the United States of America; or
a degree-granting institution from another country that has been evaluated by an acceptable foreign
credential evaluation service, as being equivalent in level to a master’s degree offered at a university in
Canada.
Section 16. (1) 1. ii. requires that admission to the master’s program was based on undergraduate
instruction in psychology:
2. The master’s degree program requires as a prerequisite for admission to the program, that the applicants
have taken a minimum of 576 hours of undergraduate instruction in psychology;
Section 16. (1) 1. iii. specifies the content and training required in the master’s
program:
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3. The master’s degree program includes at least 36 hours of instruction in each of the following areas:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Psychological assessment,
Psychological intervention,
Professional ethics and standards for psychology,
Research design, methodology and statistics,
Biological bases of behaviour*,
Social bases of behaviour*,
Cognitive-affective bases of behaviour*,
Psychology of the individual*.
*For the subjects numbered 5 to 8, successful completion of an advanced undergraduate level course
(beyond a first-year introductory course) is also acceptable.
4. The master’s degree program includes a supervised psychology practicum or psychology internship; and
5. The master’s degree program requires candidates to complete a minimum of one academic year of full-time
resident graduate study and training or equivalent part-time resident graduate study and training. (Resident
study and training consists of in-person participation in courses, seminars, practica and internships with faceto-face contact with faculty and other students).
Master’s degrees in psychology that meet the requirements of Section 16. (1) i and ii, but do not
meet requirements of Section 16. (1) 1. iii.
Section 16. (3) (a) specifies that in cases where an applicant’s master’s degree in psychology was found to
meet the requirements of Section 16. (1) 1. i. and ii, but does not meet the requirements of Section 16. (1) 1.
iii., the Registration Committee will determine whether the master’s degree program in psychology is
substantially similar, but not equivalent, to that described in subsection 16. (1) 1. iii. The Registration
Committee will use the following criteria to determine whether the master’s program completed by the
applicant is substantially similar to the master’s psychology program described in the regulation:
1. The degree program requires candidates to demonstrate competence in at least six of the eight core content
areas and foundations of professional psychology, either by passing suitable evaluations in each area or by
successful completion of a graduate course in each area:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Psychological assessment;
Psychological intervention;
Professional ethics and standards for psychology;
Research design, methodology and statistics
Biological bases of behaviour*;
Cognitive-affective bases of behaviour*;
Social bases of behaviour*; and
Psychology of the individual*.
*For the subjects numbered 5 to 8, successful completion of an advanced undergraduate level course
(beyond a first-year introductory course) is also acceptable.
2. The candidate must have completed a supervised practicum or an internship. The supervised practicum or
internship may be completed as a requirement of the master’s program or may be acquired outside of the
master’s program while the candidate is enrolled in the master’s program. The supervised practicum or
internship must include direct client contact and must be supervised by practitioners who are registered to
practice psychology or, in countries where psychology is not regulated, by supervisors who are
professionally identified as psychologists.
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3. The program requires candidates to complete a minimum of one academic year of full-time resident
graduate study and training or equivalent part-time resident graduate study and training.
Where the Registration Committee determines that the psychology program completed for the
applicant’s master’s degree is substantially similar, but not equivalent, to the program described in the
regulation, the Committee may require the applicant to complete additional education or training.
Degrees not accepted under Section 16 (1) 1. i., ii., iii.
If the Registration Committee determines that the master’s degree program completed by the applicant is not
substantially similar to the master’s degree psychology program described in the regulation, the application
will be refused. The master’s degree program cannot be augmented by the applicant, after having obtained the
degree, into the equivalent of a degree acceptable to the College. Therefore, in order to become eligible for
registration as a psychological associate, such an applicant must complete another master’s degree in a
psychology program that meets the requirements outlined in the Registration Regulation.
F ACCEPTABLE POST-MASTER’S WORK EXPERIENCE
According to Section 16. (1) 2. of the Registration Regulation, it is a non-exemptible registration requirement
that the applicant must have completed a period of supervised post-master’s work experience. The minimum
amount of experience is four years (48 months) consisting of 1500 practice hours per year for a total of 6000
hours. If the experience is accumulated over a period of more than four years, it must nevertheless total 6000
hours.
All of the experience must be supervised by a regulated member of the profession of psychology in accordance
with the College’s Standards of Professional Conduct for supervision, or the equivalent standards in another
jurisdiction. It is expected that the 6000 hours of experience will be a learning opportunity with active
participation in professional activities and development of a professional identity. The experience cannot take
place in the applicants’ own private practice.
To document the 6000 hours of supervision, the applicant must arrange for his or her supervisor(s) to submit a
completed Post-Master’s Work Confirmation Form directly to the College. This form is available for
download from the Applicants section of the College’s website at www.cpo.on.ca.
Individuals are encouraged to apply for registration shortly after the master’s degree is completed in order to
be identified by the College as eligible to proceed with registration. Although, at that point, the certificate for
supervised practice cannot be issued, the individual becomes eligible to take both the Examination for
Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) and the Jurisprudence and Ethics Examination (JEE). In addition,
if the College determines that retraining is required, this retraining can take place during the 6000 hours of
work experience.
G AUTHORIZED SUPERVISED PRACTICE
Candidates must complete a minimum of 1500 hours (12 months) of post-master’s supervised practice in
Ontario under the supervision of two members of the College. In order to undertake this supervised practice,
approved applicants will be issued with a certificate for supervised practice. This certificate is the normal
prerequisite to eligibility for a certificate for autonomous practice.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUANCE OF A CERTIFICATE FOR SUPERVISED PRACTICE
Section 23. (1) of the Registration Regulation specifies that:

An applicant must have an acceptable master’s degree as described in Section E of these guidelines;
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