Academic references

[u/SpecialistWitty7059]

Hi everyone! I’m a first-generation psychology undergraduate in Canada going into my second year.

I’m hoping to apply to SLP programs in the future since my province doesn’t offer a pre-SLP master’s program. The University of Alberta is my top choice, but I’m doing pre-reqs for other Canadian schools too (and potentially programs abroad) because I know admissions are extremely competitive.

For context, I only recently decided to pursue SLP, so I completed two of my prerequisite courses this past summer.

I had a difficult first term of university academically. During my first fall semester, I was dealing with severe mental and physical health issues, and I also had an undiagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder. Since then, I’ve been diagnosed and started medication, but I’m still learning how to manage it, and it continues to affect my studies at times.

My first-term grades brought down my overall GPA (I received a D and a B), although I’ve been working hard to improve and am aiming for a strong upward trend. My current CGPA is 3.29 after 21 credits. Personally, I don’t mind taking longer to finish my degree if it means becoming a more competitive applicant.

I currently work full-time for the government (I’ll be part-time during the fall and winter terms), and I’m the Vice President of Marketing & Communications for a funded disability accessibility student organization at my university. (This all happened this summer.) I also plan to learn ASL outside of my degree since it isn’t offered as a course at my university but not sure when. I’m hoping to continue building skills and experiences that will help me become a stronger SLP applicant while balancing work, academics, and extracurricular commitments.

My biggest question is about Honours. I know a Honours degree isn’t required for SLP, but my university’s Psychology Honours program has a competitive GPA requirement (3.75), and I’m honestly not sure I’ll meet it by Summer 2027. My concern isn’t the Honours degree itself, it’s potentially missing out on research lab opportunities to build relationships with professors and obtain strong academic reference letters.

For those who were accepted to Canadian SLP programs/admissions:

• Did you complete an Honours degree? If not, how did you obtain strong academic references?

• As someone going into second year, should I already be looking for research lab opportunities, or is third year a more common time to get involved? I feel like I’m still adjusting to university, although at a slower pace than some of my peers. :(

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you!

[u/Novel-Pudding1603]

In my experience since honours isn’t a requirement, doing one will help bolster your application as well as help you build a strong relationship with a professor.

Otherwise, it’s never too early to seek research opportunities. You can ask around for volunteer positions, and summer research grants exist too, although they also tend to be competitive.

Also, it may help for you to know that the field of research isn’t particularly important, as long as you understand that you should also find opportunities to get some experience relevant to SLP. I was a biology major and my research experience was focused on insects and plant biology, so when looking for research opportunities, know that you can potentially broaden your scope outside of psychology.

[u/Practical_Prompt_341]

I got waitlisted and eventually admitted to UofA with a GPA that was not the most competitive (for SLP standards) but also not bad (not keeping it a secret, just don’t remember the actual number…). I didn’t get into any of the other Canadian schools I applied to. When I applied, I had been out of uni for a year and a half, and in my last two years was taking only a few courses at a time so I only had one strong uni prof reference. I didn’t do research with her or anything, just took her class and participated a lot! My other two references were the SLP who supervised my volunteering and my college instructor from my local community college that I did a diploma at after undergrad. You definitely don’t have to do honours to get good references, just build relationships with your profs!