Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body (Dalhousie University)
Authorized form of name
Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science. Department of Psychology (1988-1912)
- Dalhousie University. Faculty of Arts and Science. Department of Psychology (1948-1988)
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1948-
History
The Department of Psychology was established in 1948, the year that long-serving psychology professor Francis Hilton Page was appointed as its head. However, Thomas McCulloch taught moral and mental philosophy at Dalhousie College as early as 1838. When Dalhousie reopened as a university in 1863, William Lyle taught a class in logic and psychology. Lyle also wrote the first basic psychology text to be published in Canada and in 1884 became Munro Professor of Logic and Psychology. Throughout the first decade of the nineteenth century, the "Junior Philosophy" class offered in the Faculty of Arts was taught within the short-lived Faculty of Science as "Mental Science"—and closely aligned with its course in education. Psychology continued to be taught in the philosophy department until it was granted its own departmental status in 1948. In 2012 the department added neuroscience to its name to reflect the significance of that program, which had been under its auspices since its inception in 1988.
Places
The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is located in the Life Sciences Centre on Dalhousie's Studley Campus.
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience offers undergraduate programs leading to a Bachelor of Science (BSc) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree with majors in Psychology or Neuroscience with a range of options, as well as MSc and Phd degrees in Psychology and Neuroscience. The department also offers programs leading to certificates in Animal Behaviour; NeuroTechnology Innovation; Leadership and Science Communication; and Innovation and Entrepreneurship. It is part of the RADIANT (Rehabilitative and Diagnostic Innovation in Applied NeuroTechnology) program that offers training to undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, which helps scientists to integrate their research skills with innovative design thinking to bring to the commercial world.
Mandates/sources of authority
The basic statute relating to Dalhousie University is Chapter 24 of the Acts of 1863. This statute replaced earlier statutes, and the 1863 statute itself has been amended and supplemented several times over the years. The provisions of these various statutes provide for the establishment and regulation of the university, the membership of the Board of Governors and its rights and powers, the authority of senate for the internal regulation of the university (subject to the approval of the board), and various other matters.
Internal structures/genealogy
The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is within the Faculty of Science and is headed by a limited-term chair appointed from among its faculty. In 2021 the department has 37 primary faculty members, including professors and instructors, supported by a dozen technical and administrative staff members. The department also has a large number of adjunct and cross appointed professors, clinical associates and post doctoral fellows.
General context
Relationships area
Related entity
Dalhousie University. Faculty of Science (1988-)
Identifier of related entity
Category of relationship
hierarchical
Dates of relationship
1988-
Description of relationship
The Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is within the Faculty of Science.
Related entity
Dalhousie University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Department of Philosophy (1925-)
Identifier of related entity
Category of relationship
hierarchical
Dates of relationship
1925 - 1948
Description of relationship
Psychology was taught within the Department of Philosophy until 1948.
Related entity
Page, Frances Hilton (1905-1989)
Identifier of related entity
Category of relationship
associative
Dates of relationship
1948 - 1962
Description of relationship
Frances Page was the first head of the Department of Psychology and taught in the department between 1948-1962.