BA in Psychology

Shane80

Hi ,

Has anyone here done the BA in psychology at TCD ??? And how long were the class’s ??? . how many days did you have to go to university ??? . What is the course like ??? . What are that mathematics like in it ??? And would you recommend it ???

Time Magazine

I didn't do it but I know a guy who's doing it. To answer your questions as best as I can:

Lectures are an hour long in almost every instance in the university. You have about 20 hours of lectures a week, most likely five days a week. The maths is primarily intermediate university-level statistics, so not too bad.

John

Shane80 wrote:

Has anyone here done the BA in psychology at TCD ???

No but I did the neuroscience degree and shared lots of lectures with the psychology classes.

And how long were the class’s ???

Classes tend to be around 50 minutes but of course most lecturers will go over time but rarely over an hour. Some practical classes would go on longer.

how many days did you have to go to university ???

Depends on what modules you pick but generally psychology students aren't in every day. It changes per term or even during the term as not all modules run for a full term.

What is the course like ???

Doing neuroscience I obviously didn't do all the psychology modules but mostly those that were more clinical/physiological in nature. They were generally enjoyable, most of the lecturers are really good and deliver the information well. Two of my friends did their psychology degrees in TCD and didn't do many of the neuroscience-related modules and they both loved what they were doing.

What are that mathematics like in it ???

You have to do statistics and its taught throughout the degree so they'll start you off easily enough in first year and move on to more difficult concepts in later years. It's not maths like you know it in school and the vast majority of your stats will be done on computers, not with a pencil and a calculator so it's not that scary!

And would you recommend it ???

If you want to do a degree in psychology, all of the universities in Ireland offer degrees of the same quality as they all have to be accredited by Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) and generally they have accreditation from the British Psychological Society (BPS) too. Bear in mind that it's a four year degree in TCD and three years everywhere else. I know it's hard to tell now what you'll be into as regards psychology but each of the different universities will offer different subjects in addition to the basic foundations of psychology. Have a look at the webpages for the departments of psychology in the various universities and see what sounds interesting.

Also, drop by the psychology forum as they give plenty of great advice in terms of courses.

Shane80

John wrote:

No but I did the neuroscience degree and shared lots of lectures with the psychology classes.



Classes tend to be around 50 minutes but of course most lecturers will go over time but rarely over an hour. Some practical classes would go on longer.



Depends on what modules you pick but generally psychology students aren't in every day. It changes per term or even during the term as not all modules run for a full term.



Doing neuroscience I obviously didn't do all the psychology modules but mostly those that were more clinical/physiological in nature. They were generally enjoyable, most of the lecturers are really good and deliver the information well. Two of my friends did their psychology degrees in TCD and didn't do many of the neuroscience-related modules and they both loved what they were doing.



You have to do statistics and its taught throughout the degree so they'll start you off easily enough in first year and move on to more difficult concepts in later years. It's not maths like you know it in school and the vast majority of your stats will be done on computers, not with a pencil and a calculator so it's not that scary!



If you want to do a degree in psychology, all of the universities in Ireland offer degrees of the same quality as they all have to be accredited by Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) and generally they have accreditation from the British Psychological Society (BPS) too. Bear in mind that it's a four year degree in TCD and three years everywhere else. I know it's hard to tell now what you'll be into as regards psychology but each of the different universities will offer different subjects in addition to the basic foundations of psychology. Have a look at the webpages for the departments of psychology in the various universities and see what sounds interesting.

Also, drop by the psychology forum as they give plenty of great advice in terms of courses.

Thanks that was really help full !!

The Black Oil

The undergrad handbook is on the psych dept's website, however it may be internal access only. If you want I could email it to you, drop me a PM if you want. Certain modules/options on the course are only taught every two years.

claire h

Shane80 wrote:

Hi ,

Has anyone here done the BA in psychology at TCD ??? And how long were the class’s ??? . how many days did you have to go to university ??? . What is the course like ??? . What are that mathematics like in it ??? And would you recommend it ???

Started and dropped out... but let's ignore what that might say about it.

First and second year, classes are either an hour (really, 50 mins) or two hours (usually with a break) long. In first year some of the classes you'll take will be first-years only (Intro to Psychology and the Michelmas term section of the aptly-named PMS - Practicals, Methology & Statistics) but most of them will be with second years, as the courses run on a two-year cycle.

For single honours I think it works out to about 4 days a week (10 or 11 hours), on average. The maths (statistics) part of it isn't difficult, though a lot of people really can't stand that aspect of the course - but it's grand, and that module is all continuously-assessed which takes the pressure off a bit.