Academic Credential Evaluation

The first step in getting registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) is having your academic credentials reviewed by the Credentials Evaluation Sub-Commitee (CESC). CESC assesses whether your courses and degrees meet the academic requirements laid out in CAP’s Criteria for Evaluating Academic Credentials. What are the requirements?

• Degrees have to come from authorized/accredited schools.

• A minimum of:
  1. 60 completed semester credits of psychology coursework for thesis-based graduate programs. 30 of those credits must be at the graduate level
  2. 72 completed semester credits of psychology coursework for non-thesis based graduate programs. 36 of those credits must be at the graduate level. 

• Completed three semester credits (usually one course) in each core area in your graduate studies: ethics, research methods, assessment, and intervention. There are specific requirements to ensure that the courses you took truly fulfill CAP’s requirements, particularly in terms of the content covered in the courses. 

• Completed three semester credits (usually one course) in each substantive content area Many people fulfill these at the senior undergraduate level, but graduate courses can count as well. The four areas are:
  1. Biological Bases of Behaviour
  2. Cognitive/Affective Bases of Behaviour
  3. Social Bases of Behaviour
  4. Psychology of the Individual