Application Steps & Requirements

See the overview of the academic credential evaluations on the Introduction & Overview page.

See below for the steps to follow to have your academic credentials evaluated by CAP. Application requirements and instructor credentials requirements follow.

Applicants are responsible for reading the information and resources, including the FAQs, provided on the CAP website before submitting an Application for Evaluation of Academic Credentials. Any questions you may have after reading this information can be sent to credentials@cap.ab.ca. 

If you are an internationally trained psychologist, see here.

If you are registered as a psychologist or equivalent in Canada or the USA, see here.

Throughout this page "Criteria" refers to the Criteria for Evaluating Academic Credentials.

Any original documentation submitted to CAP will be scanned, uploaded to your electronic file, and the originals will be securely destroyed in accordance with CAP's scanning policy.

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Please review the following steps for having your academic credentials evaluated.

To ensure greater clarity and success on your part, read through and follow the steps below.

Step 1: Familiarize yourself with all of the information relevant to your application, including:

Step 2: Complete and submit the Application for Evaluation of Academic Credentials through the MyCAP Login:

  • Create an account via the MyCAP Login. You will receive an email from Softworks/Alinity to confirm your account.
  • Complete the online Application for Evaluation of Academic Credentials (hereinafter referred to as the "Application"), ensuring that you have included the minimum required total credits as well as required credits in each of the Core and Substantive Content Areas, as described in theCriteria.
  • Submit your complete Application by the deadline date (see deadline dates here). An incomplete Application will be returned to you, and you may be required to resubmit it for the next deadline date. No additional fee is required to resubmit an Application.
  • All official digital transcripts and supporting documents must be sent to credentials@cap.ab.ca. All official physical/paper transcripts and supporting documents must be mailed to the CAP office in Edmonton (see address at the very bottom of this page).
  • Your official transcripts and other supporting documents will be attached to your Application by CAP staff. If they are not received by the deadline date, you will receive an email that your documents were not received. You will be asked to resubmit your Application by the next deadline date.
  • Once you pay the Application fee, you will be able to see if CAP has received and uploaded your transcripts and other supporting documents (via the MyCAP Login). The information icon will provide details as to which documents were received.
    • NOTE: Generally, CAP does not accept documents from applicants; they must be sent directly to CAP from an institution or organization. Please ensure that the documents are sent in PDF format. The only academic documents that applicants can send directly to CAP are documents sent through MyCreds or Parchment and, if applicable, a copy of a full thesis. Any orginal documentation provided to CAP will be scanned and saved electronically, and the original documentation will be securely destroyed in accordance with CAP's scanning policy.
  • Ensure that you select the correct Application pathway. You may have completed a CAP approved program, but to be eligible to apply through the CAP approved program pathway, the university must provide your name to CAP. Please contact your university. If they are unable to provide your name on a list of eligible graduates, choose the “other” pathway. Failure to select the correct Application pathway will delay processing your Application.
  • To understand what happens to your Application after you submit it, read about it here.

Step 3: Receiving a decision from the Credentials Evaluation Sub-Committee (CESC):

  • After your Application is reviewed by the CESC and the adminstrative team has prepared your decision letter, you will receive an email indicating a decision. The approximate timeline to receive a decision can take up to 90 business days from the deadline date. There is no guarantee that decision letter timing will correspond to deadlines for the next Registration Approvals Sub-Committee (RASC) meeting. To understand wait times, please see Application Deadlines & Stages.
  • The potential outcomes from an academic evaluation include:
    • APPROVAL: Once you have received written confirmation from CAP that your academic credentials have been approved, you will have one (1) year to apply for registration as a provisional psychologist. Your credentials approval will allow you access to the "Application for Registration as a Provisional Psychologist" and the "Hours of Supervised (Evaluated) Practice Form" in the MyCAP Login. If you have not applied for provisional status within one (1) year from the date your academic credentials were approved, you will have to reapply to have your academic credentials evaluated and submit a new payment as per CAP's fee schedule. Application information, resources, and supervision standards are available here.
    • DEFERRAL: If your application is only missing six (6) semester credits or fewer, your application will be deferred. There are two deadlines for applicants to provide additional information for evaluation following the deferral of their application:
      • You will have a period of up to four (4) months from the date of the initial deferral decision to request and provide supporting documentation for re-evaluation of existing courses (i.e., courses you already completed at the time your application was initially evaluated).
      • You will have a period of up to one (1) year from the date of the initial deferral decision to correct the noted deficiency, provide CAP with original official transcripts, all supporting documentation, and request a re-evaluation. 
      • If the required documentation and request for re-evaluation is not provided within the timeframes described above, you must reapply to have your academic credentials evaluated and submit a new payment as per CAP's fee schedule.
    • DENIAL: If your application is missing seven (7) semester credits or more or a required application component (such as a graduate degree in psychology or equivalent), your application will be denied.
      • You will have a period of up to four (4) months from the date of the initial deferral decision to request and provide supporting documentation for re-evaluation of existing courses (i.e., courses you already completed at the time your application was initially evaluated). Courses completed after the initial decision was made will not be considered at this stage.
      • If the required documentation and request for re-evaluation is not provided wihtin the four (4) month timeframe as described above, you must reapply to have your academic credentials evaluation and submit new payment as per CAP's fee schedule.
  • Check your junk/spam folder as well as your inbox if you have not received your decision letter within 90 business days.
  • If you have any questions about outcomes or next steps, see the FAQs.

Step 4: Seeking modifications to the decision received:

If you want to have an application decision modified or updated, there are several next steps you may take:

  • If your decision letter indicates that some information was missing from your application, you may wish to provide that information to have your decision updated.
  • You may have left certain courses that you already completed out of your Application that you now wish to add for evaluation. 
  • If you received a deferral decision, you may take new courses and submit information to have those evaluated (within one (1) year of the initial decision letter). 
  • You may believe there are grounds to request a review of your decision.
  • Please read about all of these next steps at the webpage here.
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Application Requirements

Please read the following carefully BEFORE submitting your Application.

CAP must receive the following on or before the posted deadline date in order to process your Application for the next scheduled meeting:

Required with all Applications:

  • completed online Application
  • non-refundable Application fee, as per CAP's Fee Schedule
  • official transcripts sent by the applicable academic institution(s)
    • only courses on transcripts taken at the issuing institution will be considered (i.e., transfer courses will not be considered unless transcripts are submitted for each original host institution)

If applicable:

  • academic and licensure credentials of course instructors
    • most Applications require these; see the section below on Course Instructor Requirements, including the form CAP requires from the issuing institution(s)
    • expect to submit these if you took graduate courses from a program outside the CPA/APA accredited doctoral pathway or the CAP approved pathway
  • official course syllabi/outlines
    • expect to submit these for all courses taken at the graduate level outside CPA/APA accredited doctoral programs and CAP approved programs
    • expect to submit these for undergraduate or graduate courses taken at institutions outside Canada, that are less familiar to CAP but within Canada, or for any courses that are not clearly in psychology or clearly named
    • if your transcripts are in a language other than English, they must be translated into English by a certified translator, and notarized at your own cost.
  • thesis/doctoral dissertation (in full)
    • expect to submit this if there are any questions about differentiating your thesis from a project, if your transcript does not indicate completion of a thesis, if the thesis topic or degree is not clearly in professional psychology (i.e., clinical or counselling), or if your graduate degree comprised fewer than two (2) years full time study.
  • Specialized Assessment of coursework from International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) or Course-by-Course Assessment of coursework from World Education Services (WES) Canada
    • required if you completed a degree or courses relevant to the application at an institution outside of North America.
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Test Report Form (Note: if you have completed a similar test of English language proficiency, please enquire regarding whether it can be accepted instead of the IELTS Test Report Form)
    • required by internationally educated applicants unless their highest degree was obtained in English OR they have a high school diploma or minimum of two years of undergraduate education (in any field) in English. 
  • confirmation of degree completion where transcript does not indicate that a degree was granted or conferred
    • if ALL program requirements are complete but your transcript does not indicate degree completion (usually because your conferral/convocation date is in the future), you must have your academic institution submit a letter to CAP confirming completion of all degree requirements and the expected convocation date.

Transcripts, letters, and syllabi must be sent directly from the issuing institution to credentials@cap.ab.ca.

PLEASE NOTE

  1. For information about the application requirements, deadlines, timelines, and so on, please read through all other webpages (and the various linked resources) corresponding to Evaluation of Academic Credentials.
  2. Once you have submitted your Application, CAP staff may send you comments if amendments are required. Please ensure that all comments are addressed in order to complete your Application. Login to the MyCAP Login regularly to check the status of your Application.
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Course Instructor Requirements

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Beginning January 1, 2023 - Requirement for Core Areas of Psychological Assessment & Evaluation and Psychological Intervention & Consultation: Course instructor must be a registered/licensed psychologist (as per 3.3.1 of the Criteria) for courses taken at any time.

Beginning January 1, 2026 - Requirement for Core Area of Ethics & Standards: Course instructor must be a registered/licensed psychologist (as per 3.3.1 of the Criteria) for courses taken at any time.

Course Instructor Credentials

As per CAP’s Criteria, all courses must be taught by instructors holding a graduate degree in psychology. For the purpose of satisfying the Core Areas of Ethics and Standards*, Psychological Assessment and Evaluation and Psychological Intervention and Consultation, courses are to be taught by registered psychologists (registered in any jurisdiction).

The Instructor Credential Form will likely be required as supporting documentation for an Application if one or more of the following applies:

  • The title of your graduate degree does not contain the word “psychology” or the word “psychological”.
  • The Application includes courses which are not clearly in psychology based on their prefix and/or title.
  • You completed courses at an institution with which CAP is unfamiliar.

It is your responsibility to arrange with your academic institutions to provide all required documents for the evaluation of your Application.

*The registration status of instructors of Ethics and Standards courses will be verified in evaluations from January 1, 2026 onward.

Instructor Credential Form

Send this form to your academic institutions if course instructor credentials need to be provided with your application.

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