Psychology in UL

CColreavy · 21-12-2014 8:55pm #1

I'm in 5th year and I already know I want to do this degree, as of now.
Reading threads, I see it's 'hit and miss' as to whether one would like it or not.
I'm just looking for some extra info here like; what are the non-psychology modules to choose from?
If I have a curious mind and am willing to work, will I enjoy it?
A few slides/tasks from the First Year and a very brief overview of what a student does throughout the course would be extremely helpful!
Thanks in advance!

neil_ · 24-12-2014 2:14am

I graduated from it this year.

I found it to be extremely biased towards sociology and social psychology. There was relatively little material on psychological disorders and individual psychology. There was almost nothing (in fact it might have been nothing at all, not sure) that would prepare you for the actual clinical practice of psychology in any way.

As far as I know they have changed the program structure a bit since I started to introduce more individual psychology and things relating to clinical practice, but honestly if that's the part of it you're interested in I'd consider studying somewhere else. If it's the social side of things you like you'll be right at home.

Most of the work we did was in the form of writing either reports or essays (by a report I mean a report of a study or experiment, like you would find in a scientific journal) and studying for exams of course. There was also the odd curveball in the form of book reviews, group poster assignments, debates etc. but overall they didn't make up a huge % of our grades. The workload was not huge in comparison to e.g. engineering, but still if you want a 1:1 you will need to put in a fair amount of hours.

Do you have an idea of you would like to pursue a career in? Or is there any specific aspect of psychology you're curious about?

CColreavy · 07-01-2015 10:10pm

neil_ wrote: »

I graduated from it this year.

I found it to be extremely biased towards sociology and social psychology. There was relatively little material on psychological disorders and individual psychology. There was almost nothing (in fact it might have been nothing at all, not sure) that would prepare you for the actual clinical practice of psychology in any way.

As far as I know they have changed the program structure a bit since I started to introduce more individual psychology and things relating to clinical practice, but honestly if that's the part of it you're interested in I'd consider studying somewhere else. If it's the social side of things you like you'll be right at home.

Most of the work we did was in the form of writing either reports or essays (by a report I mean a report of a study or experiment, like you would find in a scientific journal) and studying for exams of course. There was also the odd curveball in the form of book reviews, group poster assignments, debates etc. but overall they didn't make up a huge % of our grades. The workload was not huge in comparison to e.g. engineering, but still if you want a 1:1 you will need to put in a fair amount of hours.

Do you have an idea of you would like to pursue a career in? Or is there any specific aspect of psychology you're curious about?

Thanks for this reply by the way, I'm only in 5th year yet but I do want to study Psychology somewhere but my preferences were cognitive, clinical and sports psychology because I want to have a job as a psychologist or anything that will put this practice to work. Work hours isn't a massive problem, I only have work and sports to worry about apart. What was the work experience like if you weren't relating to clinical practice? And finally have you heard what Psychology in other Universities is based towards? In terms of sub-categories..
Limerick is my preference because of relatively cheap accommodation, well situated and the sports looks very well organised, the course is preference though, obviously.
Thanks in advance

Lyra Fangs · 07-01-2015 10:22pm

Just to let you know that if you embark on psychology it will be long and difficult path.

You'll spend four years getting your undergrad, 1-2 years getting your masters (and potentially a year of volunteering before that to increase the chance of getting a place if you don't get a 1:1 degree) then another few years trying to get assistant psychology/research assistant experience to then do a doctorate for four years at least.

You might know this already but I didn't realise how difficult it would be and would have loved someone to tell me.

CColreavy · 09-01-2015 7:50pm

Lyra Fangs wrote: »

Just to let you know that if you embark on psychology it will be long and difficult path.

You'll spend four years getting your undergrad, 1-2 years getting your masters (and potentially a year of volunteering before that to increase the chance of getting a place if you don't get a 1:1 degree) then another few years trying to get assistant psychology/research assistant experience to then do a doctorate for four years at least.

You might know this already but I didn't realise how difficult it would be and would have loved someone to tell me.

Nobody told me, I thought you'd get the four years done and optional masters degree. Provided I get a 1:1 I thought my lecturer would have links to work.. That's what my Career Guidance teacher told the class?

Subutai · 10-01-2015 7:43am

CColreavy wrote: »

Nobody told me, I thought you'd get the four years done and optional masters degree. Provided I get a 1:1 I thought my lecturer would have links to work.. That's what my Career Guidance teacher told the class?

Your career guidance teacher is full of it. An undergrad in psychology qualifies you for nothing. In order to practice in any field (or even do academic work) of psychology you'll need a masters. For clinical psychology, which is where many entrants want to go, you'll also need a doctorate.

I know people who graduated from psych degrees over 4 years ago now. Few are still in the field, many just got jobs with various firms who hire grads from all disciplines (the likes of Lidl or PwC). Others did masters degrees and are now working as JobBridge interns trying to get experience as Assistant Psychologists on fifty quid a week plus dole. Those who got 1:1s are finishing up PhDs in some cases, but there's no guarantee of any work even after that.

It's a **** hard field to get into, and to be honest I'd advise you to steer well clear unless you have family who are already involved, or you can afford not to make any money till you're in your thirties.

CColreavy · 11-01-2015 7:47pm

Subutai wrote: »

Your career guidance teacher is full of it. An undergrad in psychology qualifies you for nothing. In order to practice in any field (or even do academic work) of psychology you'll need a masters. For clinical psychology, which is where many entrants want to go, you'll also need a doctorate.

I know people who graduated from psych degrees over 4 years ago now. Few are still in the field, many just got jobs with various firms who hire grads from all disciplines (the likes of Lidl or PwC). Others did masters degrees and are now working as JobBridge interns trying to get experience as Assistant Psychologists on fifty quid a week plus dole. Those who got 1:1s are finishing up PhDs in some cases, but there's no guarantee of any work even after that.

It's a **** hard field to get into, and to be honest I'd advise you to steer well clear unless you have family who are already involved, or you can afford not to make any money till you're in your thirties.

Thanks for that, I'm completely off the idea of Psychology.. Do you know anything about Speech and Language Therapy? That was my second choice

Psychology in UL

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