All Psychologists in Nova Scotia must be registered with the Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in Psychology. Professional practice in psychology is limited to those who are so registered.  Entry level applicants must have a master’s or doctoral degree in psychology that qualifies them for placement on the Register of Candidates.  Following placement on the Register of Candidates, they must complete all of the Candidacy Requirements before their name is placed on the Register of Psychologists.  A listing of the registration criteria and candidacy requirements is available by clicking here.

Degrees in Psychology Acceptable to the Board

As per the Psychologists Act (2000), applicants for registration as psychologists are required to show they have obtained a master’s, doctoral or equivalent degree in psychology that is acceptable to the Board from an educational institution approved the Board.

The applicant’s training must include adequate background in the foundational areas of psychological theory and supervised practicum, internship, field or laboratory training appropriate to psychology.

Potential applicants with questions about their program should consult the checklist below about acceptable degrees.

Acceptable programs must include the following:

The majority of the faculty as psychologists.

Practica and/or internship directly supervised by psychologists totalling at least 500 hours in duration

Required an undergraduate degree in psychology (or equivalent coursework) in order to gain admission. To be clear: The requirement is not met by an applicant possessing an undergraduate degree (or equivalent coursework) in psychology, this criterion must be an admission requirement of the program.

Coursework titles/descriptions with clear psychological terminology/abbreviations such as the words “psychology”, “psychological” “psych”.

Residency: Programs that are primarily based on-line are not acceptable to the Board. The program must include at least one year of continuous residency, in addition to any internship or practica.

To be clear residency is defined as: “physical presence, in person, at an educational institution or training facility in a manner that facilitates acculturation in the profession, the full participation and integration of the individual in the educational, and training experience and includes faculty student interaction. Training models that rely exclusively on physical presence for periods of less than one continuous year (e.g. multiple long weekends and/or summer intensive sessions), or that use video teleconferencing or other electronic means as a substitute for any part of the minimum requirement for physical presence at the institution do not meet this definition of residency.”

Please note: This checklist is meant to provide initial guidance but the full registration criteria and candidacy requirements should be reviewed by clicking here.