Previous names: Division of Social Science; Division of Social Science and Administration; Psychology
Established: 1993
History:
Psychology courses can be traced back to as far as 1965 in UNBSJ’s Arts curriculum when one second-year course was offered to students at Beaverbrook House, taught by Mr. David G. Likely. A first year course was also offered in 1967. The courses in Psychology were listed in the Social Science course grouping under the Bachelor of Arts. Classes remained at Beaverbrook House until 1969 when the Arts Faculty moved to Sir Douglas Hazen Hall on the Tucker Park campus.
During the 1970s, Psychology at UNBSJ experienced both academic and administrative growth. Beginning in 1974, Psychology was listed under the Social Science and Administration Division and was chaired by Dr. H. Jain. By 1975, six courses were offered in Psychology and a new Psychology lab construction project, coordinated by Professor Lawrence Lewis, had been implemented in Hazen Hall. The new laboratory included an area for human research, animal research, animal housing, equipment facilities and storage. UNBSJ also began offering a Major and Honours in Psychology in 1976, just before the separation of the Division of Social Science from Administration and the subsequent election of a Social Science Division Chairman, Robert E. Garland. By the end of the 1970s, the number of academic courses offered in Psychology had grown from six in 1975 to forty-four.
The following decade exhibited a slower, steadier development of the Psychology program than that of the decade preceding it. In 1984, Michael T. Bradley, a Psychology Professor, was elected chairman of the Social Science Division. One year later, Psychology was offered under the Bachelor of Science as well as Arts, followed by the Bachelor of Science in Biology-Psychology in 1990. Between the years 1980-1995 there was a small decline in the number of courses offered in Psychology, but the numbers increased again in the latter part of the 1990s. In 1992, just before the Department of Psychology was established, the first fully formed Masters program at UNBSJ was offered in Psychology. Once the department had been established in 1993, Dr. Alexander Wilson became the first chair, followed by Dr. Harold Taukulis in 1996. In 1997, a minor in Psychosocial Dimensions of Sport was added to the program. Course offerings continued to rise throughout the 2000s and by 2011, fifty-seven courses were offered to students in Psychology. Dr. Alexander Wilson, Dr. Enrico DiTommaso and Dr. Lily E. Both were all chairs of the department throughout the 2000s.
Physical location: Sir Douglas Hazen Hall
Faculty: Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Science
Notes: Established date is based on the date that the separate UNBSJ department was officially stated in the calendar, and in the commencement year of the UNBSJ Faculty of Science, Applied Science and Engineering.
Sources:
- Undergraduate Calendar (UA RG 86) 1966-2014
- UNB Perspectives Vol. 2(2); 3(1)
- McGahan, Peter. The Quiet Campus : A History of the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, 1959-1969. Fredericton: New Ireland Press, 1998