What do psychologists study in college??

life_is_music

Hey
What's involved in a psychology course??? (like Applied Psychology UCC)

What exactly do you study?? Subject areas etc...

Also is it easy to find work as a psychologist???
With the apparent downfall in the economy would a psychology degree be a good one to have??

I'm just finished the lc btw and I have 2 weeks to decide what I want to put down on CAO

The Black Oil

Don't know about UCC but info on TCD's undergrad programme can be found here: http://www.tcd.ie/Psychology/jf.html

I don't know about it being easy to find work when you're fully qualified, but given the number of places and competition available for postgrad training in the country, it's probably not easy to get qualified.

Hope the exams went OK. I'd say psychology is a good degree to have irrespective of the current economic climate.

eth0_

life_is_music wrote: »

Also is it easy to find work as a psychologist???
With the apparent downfall in the economy would a psychology degree be a good one to have??

I'm just finished the lc btw and I have 2 weeks to decide what I want to put down on CAO

There are lots of psychologist jobs in Ireland. Unfortunately, most of them require either a Phd or a masters and a lot of experience.

Why would you commit to a degree knowing nothing about the subject? It sounds to me like this is just something you're thinking of on a whim, and isn't what you really want to do.

Why don't you take a gap year if you don't know for sure what degree you want to study?

jaffa20

Firstly it would be very scientific so if you don't like science don't do it.
Then it would become very sociological, concentrating on behaviourial aspects but it's way too broad to get into that here.

eth0_

Yes its a very broad course. Personally I dislike the social psychology aspect of it, and the statistics stuff can be quite tough as well.

life_is_music

I have no problem with science, maths etc...

Another question: Would it be a good career choice to become ridiculously rich??:)

ps. It's not a whim i've got. My brother studied psychology and I've always been interested in it!

p.pete

life_is_music wrote: »

Would it be a good career choice to become ridiculously rich??:)

That's probably more of a personality choice - personality is something you can study with psychology - so erm, probably not ridiculously...

The Black Oil

Look around on iTunes, there are podcasts of psychology lectures available for free.

eth0_

life_is_music wrote: »

I have no problem with science, maths etc...

Another question: Would it be a good career choice to become ridiculously rich??:)

ps. It's not a whim i've got. My brother studied psychology and I've always been interested in it!

Rich? You can earn very good money as a clinical psychologist but that would require a PhD and that would mean 7-10 years in university.

If your brother studying psychology in college why aren't you asking him for advice?

I really think you should take more time before deciding on a course - you will only end up failing or dropping out, depriving someone more deserving of a place on the course.

Also - have you seen the points for psychology? Over 500 in many places...

Myksyk

Eth0, I don't mean to be pedantic (but am about to be). Lest the OP be confused, you don't require a PhD to work as a Clinical Psychologist, you need to get on one of the Doctoral Training Courses usually leading to a D.Psych.Sc or equivalent. The difference here is important as the OP might think you have to do a 5yr research-based PhD which is not the case. The Doctoral level training (UL, NUIG, UCD) is a three year placement-based, taught doctorate with a requirement for a significant research piece to be submitted. Your timescale is about correct though as the career path to Clinical Psychologist typically includes: Primary Degree 3-4yrs; Masters 1-2yrs; (include some time period of somewhere between 1-3 yrs gaining practical experience in relevant settings); Doctorate 3yrs. So,depressingly, it can take anywhere from 8-12 years to graduate as a Basic Grade Clinical Psychologist.

TheNibbler

life_is_music wrote: »

Another question: Would it be a good career choice to become ridiculously rich??:)

You can get a well paid job in psychology if you put in the years (ie. Masters, PhD etc) but I wouldn't go in to Psychology if you're looking to get "ridiculously rich". Probably better off doing Law or some sort of financial/commerce degree

life_is_music

eth0_ wrote: »

Rich? You can earn very good money as a clinical psychologist but that would require a PhD and that would mean 7-10 years in university.

If your brother studying psychology in college why aren't you asking him for advice?

I really think you should take more time before deciding on a course - you will only end up failing or dropping out, depriving someone more deserving of a place on the course.

Also - have you seen the points for psychology? Over 500 in many places...

I have asked my brother for adivce... He's only just qualified. He can't tell about life working as a psychologist....

I have put far more thought into course choice than most of my school. The amount of thought i'm giving it is probably why it's so hard to make a choice.

Psychology seems to be an easy course which would lead to a hell of alot more drinking time for me in college and also I'm interested in psychology.

Yes I have heard of this crazy new phenomenon called the points system:eek:

and no I won't end up failing......

The Black Oil

Double post, dur.

The Black Oil

Why are you assuming it's going to be easy, and what is it about it that interests you? A low number of contact hours doesn't mean it's a doddle.

life_is_music

It's going to be easy in comparison to an engineering course! (which is my other option)

TheNibbler

life_is_music wrote: »

It's going to be easy in comparison to an engineering course! (which is my other option)

Having just finished a degree in Psychology I can assure that it is not easy. The low number of contact hours makes Pscyhology an even more difficult course because your work has to be self motivated and you need to spend a lot of time reading books and journal articles to figure things out for yourself.

I can only really speak for the degree course in Trinity but the standard is very high partly due to the number of points required to get into the course in the first place.

Also, my boyfriend just finished a degree in engineering and the amount of work he has had to put in (particularly over the last two years) would be roughly equal to the work that I have done.

Don't want to scare you off Psychology but I wouldn't go into it seeing it as an easy option just because it's technically an Arts degree.

life_is_music

I know it's not going to be that easy but engineering is all maths and physics....

I assume the main leaving cert subject involved in psychology is English??

I'm having serious difficulty in deciding what course to do and I only have till Friday!!!

Energy Engineering is my other option....

jaffa20

Don't rush into you degree choice folks. if you don't know what to do, take a year out to decide.

The Black Oil

I agree with the previous poster in terms of not rushing into things, however I know this is not always easy shortly after the LC has wrapped and the CAO deadline is looming.

What would help you come to a decision? Are you putting both courses down or just one?

life_is_music

I'm putting both down but I'm not sure which one i want down first!

JuliusCaesar

life_is_music wrote: »

Hey
What's involved in a psychology course???

In a basic psychology undergraduate degree, you will study:

Developmental psychology (childhood, adolescence etc)
Social Psychology
Comparative psychology (animals)
Statistics
History of psychology
Memory & cognition
Emotions
Organisational psychology
Psychophysiology

Anyone care to add to this? It might be useful as a sticky.

After your degree, you can specialise in a Masters / doctorate in various areas - counselling, clinical, health, educational, occupational etc etc

eth0_

life_is_music wrote: »

Energy Engineering is my other option....

Jesus....seriously, what a polar opposite to psychology. It sounds like you have absolutely no idea what you want to do at all.

Why don't you take a year out or do a PLC course so you can decide? If you get into a psychology course and drop out, you'll have to pay full fees if/when you do another 3rd level course. For the first year at least.

The Black Oil

Trinity also likes its neuroscience.

life_is_music

eth0_ wrote: »

Jesus....seriously, what a polar opposite to psychology. It sounds like you have absolutely no idea what you want to do at all.

Why don't you take a year out or do a PLC course so you can decide? If you get into a psychology course and drop out, you'll have to pay full fees if/when you do another 3rd level course. For the first year at least.

yes I know they are opposite ends of the spectrum but a person doesn't have to be confined to having one interest only!!!

Again, I have refined my choice down to 2 courses so I have a fairly clear idea what I want to do. I want to go to college with all my friends and I think taking a year out would be a complete waste.

I most definately won't end up failing and dropping out...


Thanks Caesar for the list! It sounds like an interesting discipline

The Black Oil

Bear in mind most of the modules are fairly detached from how psychology may be practiced in the real world, so to speak. You're not really going to be getting into the nitty gritty of working with clients, at least not in the in the earlier years of your degree. The degree will just give you a 'basic' grounding in the subject but it's still good to have.

p.pete

I've pre-taken on board a lot of the advice on this thread. I was torn between architecture and telecommunications engineering. I got onto both courses (architecture through UCAS), and then decided to do a PLC course for a year to "give me time". Not too much use was made of this time to think about what I wanted to do - but I went for engineering. Several years later and I'm doing psychology and loving it - but not necessarily certain about what I want to do when I finish next year.

It's a tough call. I went through engineering never actually having a picture in my head as to what I'd be doing afterwards - needless to say I was never properly motivated to do well on the course. It's not too hard to get through engineering though (referring to you saying that would be the hard route). Engineering questions tend to be uni-dimensional, there's right and wrong answers. Psychology on the other hand - I'm motivated, trying really hard but not necessarily getting firsts handed to me on a plate. There's different skill sets involved to both courses, hugely different. I'd say that psychology has given me a stronger approach to researching things and figuring things out for myself, there's maybe more room for going off on tangents and exploring things that interest you, or maybe I was also in a poor engineering department.

There's no easy answers - I'm sure you have the course brochures for what you want to do and they tell you the subjects you'd be studying. Perhaps try looking at it from a reverse-engineering point of view - go to the jobs section of a decent newspaper and look at jobs that you'd be interested in doing. Have a look at what they expect candidates to be able to do - are these things you'd like to be able to do, things you'd like to spend your time doing? If you're just finished your leaving cert you've time on your hands - you can't make omlettes without breaking eggs (I can't make omlettes), don't be afraid to get things wrong. And good luck

life_is_music

p.pete wrote: »

I've pre-taken on board a lot of the advice on this thread. I was torn between architecture and telecommunications engineering. I got onto both courses (architecture through UCAS), and then decided to do a PLC course for a year to "give me time". Not too much use was made of this time to think about what I wanted to do - but I went for engineering. Several years later and I'm doing psychology and loving it - but not necessarily certain about what I want to do when I finish next year.

It's a tough call. I went through engineering never actually having a picture in my head as to what I'd be doing afterwards - needless to say I was never properly motivated to do well on the course. It's not too hard to get through engineering though (referring to you saying that would be the hard route). Engineering questions tend to be uni-dimensional, there's right and wrong answers. Psychology on the other hand - I'm motivated, trying really hard but not necessarily getting firsts handed to me on a plate. There's different skill sets involved to both courses, hugely different. I'd say that psychology has given me a stronger approach to researching things and figuring things out for myself, there's maybe more room for going off on tangents and exploring things that interest you, or maybe I was also in a poor engineering department.

There's no easy answers - I'm sure you have the course brochures for what you want to do and they tell you the subjects you'd be studying. Perhaps try looking at it from a reverse-engineering point of view - go to the jobs section of a decent newspaper and look at jobs that you'd be interested in doing. Have a look at what they expect candidates to be able to do - are these things you'd like to be able to do, things you'd like to spend your time doing? If you're just finished your leaving cert you've time on your hands - you can't make omlettes without breaking eggs (I can't make omlettes), don't be afraid to get things wrong. And good luck

Best reply in the thread!!!!

I think i'm going to go with the psychology! I think i'm more suited for a non-science and maths based career!

(and tonight one of my friends flicked a coin for it and psychology won:D)

JuliusCaesar

UCD give a complete list of modules covered in Psychology:
http://www.ucd.ie/students/course_search.htm

In Stage 1 you will be introduced to the fundamentals of Psychology: developmental, biological, perception and cognition. You will also be given an historical basis and shown the first steps to applying Psychology to real-world scenarios.

You will undertake an amount of laboratory practicals in Stages 2 and 3 and your core modules will delve deeper into the different areas of the mind that shape personality, development, language and human behaviour. You will also undertake a research dissertation and receive formal training in quantitative and qualitative analysis procedures, particularly the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
PSY10060 Brain and Behaviour 1 5
PSY10070 Introduction to Children's Psychological Development 1 5
PSY10040 Introduction to the Psychology of Perception and Cognition 2 5
PSY10080 Introduction to Social Psychology 2 5
PSY20010 Biological Psychology 1 5
PSY20020 Developmental Psychology 1 5
PSY20030 Basic Analysis and Design 1 5
PSY20040 Qualitative Research: Design and Analysis 1 5
PSY20050 Laboratory Practicals in Psychology I 1 5
PSY20060 Psychology of Language and Language Acquisition 2 5
PSY20080 Visual cognition 2 5
PSY30100 Intermediate Analysis and Design 2 5
PSY30110 Laboratory Practicals in Psychology II 2 5

Options
Code Title Semester Credit
PSY20130 Introduction to Work and Organisational Psychology 1 5
PSY20100 Introduction to Disability Studies 2 5
PSY20110 Introduction to Health Psychology 2 5
PSY20120 Introduction to History and Theory of Psychology 2 5
PSY30280 Introduction to Counselling Psychology 2 5


Stage 3 (50 Programme Credits, 10 Elective Credits, Area Notes )
Core
Code Title Semester Credit
PSY30040 Lifespan Psychology 1 5
PSY30050 Human Neuropsychology 1 5
PSY30270 Psychology Project Design and Ethics 1 5
PSY40010 Advanced Analysis and Design 1 5
PSY30120 Advanced Cognition and Intelligence 2 5
PSY30140 Advanced Social Psychology 2 5
PSY30250 Psychology Research Project Full Year 10

Options
Code Title Semester Credit
PHIL30100 Philosophy of Science 1 5
PHIL30030 Philosophy of Mind 2 5
PSY20130 Introduction to Work and Organisational Psychology 1 5
PSY30060 Applied Developmental Psychology 1 5
PSY30070 Bereavement 1 5
PSY30200 Culture and Psychology 1 5
PSY30210 Clinical Psychology 1 5
PSY30230 On the Origins of Self Awareness 1 5
PSY30240 Psychology and the Visual Arts 1 5
PSY20100 Introduction to Disability Studies 2 5
PSY20110 Introduction to Health Psychology 2 5
PSY30080 Psychology and Crime 2 5
PSY30150 Advanced History and Theory of Psychology 2 5
PSY30160 Advanced Language Development and Bilingualism 2 5
PSY30180 Recent Papers in Behavioural Neuroscience 2 5
PSY30190 Psychological Trauma 2 5
PSY30260 Practicing organisational psychology: Diagnosing and solving workplace problems 2 5
PSY30280 Introduction to Counselling Psychology 2 5
PSY30290 Applied Health Psychology 2 5


Stage 4
Core
Code Title Semester Credit
PSY30040 Lifespan Psychology 1 5
PSY30050 Human Neuropsychology 1 5
PSY30270 Psychology Project Design and Ethics 1 5
PSY40010 Advanced Analysis and Design 1 5
PSY30120 Advanced Cognition and Intelligence 2 5
PSY30140 Advanced Social Psychology 2 5
PSY30250 Psychology Research Project Full Year 10

Options
Code Title Semester Credit
PHIL30100 Philosophy of Science 1 5
PHIL30030 Philosophy of Mind 2 5
PSY20130 Introduction to Work and Organisational Psychology 1 5
PSY30060 Applied Developmental Psychology 1 5
PSY30070 Bereavement 1 5
PSY30200 Culture and Psychology 1 5
PSY30210 Clinical Psychology 1 5
PSY30230 On the Origins of Self Awareness 1 5
PSY30240 Psychology and the Visual Arts 1 5
PSY20100 Introduction to Disability Studies 2 5
PSY20110 Introduction to Health Psychology 2 5
PSY30080 Psychology and Crime 2 5
PSY30150 Advanced History and Theory of Psychology 2 5
PSY30160 Advanced Language Development and Bilingualism 2 5
PSY30180 Recent Papers in Behavioural Neuroscience 2 5
PSY30190 Psychological Trauma 2 5
PSY30260 Practicing organisational psychology: Diagnosing and solving workplace problems 2 5
PSY30280 Introduction to Counselling Psychology 2 5
PSY30290 Applied Health Psychology 2 5


Be very careful about describing Psychology as a non-science!

The Black Oil

Indeed.

Good luck to ya, life, let us know how you get on.:)

life_is_music

Thanks everyone!!!!!

Caesar, I know psychology is a science but it's not based on formula's and maths like engineering will be.

I'll let ye know if I get the course

Stef1979

Hey Life is Good,

Just read this thread and am curious how you got on in your CAO choices / LC results??

Genevieve

TheNibbler wrote: »

You can get a well paid job in psychology if you put in the years (ie. Masters, PhD etc) but I wouldn't go in to Psychology if you're looking to get "ridiculously rich". Probably better off doing Law or some sort of financial/commerce degree

Actually, I'd avoid law like the plague if you want to become "ridiculously rich" because I'm afraid that will never happen especially if you become a barrister :pac: Actually, If you go into any job thinking that you are going to become ridiculously rich you might get a hard slap back to reality. However, you could go into a job in law or psychology for all thinking that you can earn a comfortable living with a bit of hard work .