A few psychology questions!

fiestapower

Hey guys,
I was thinking of studying Psychology at college and am just wondering ROUGHLY what points would be neccessary?
And what subjects I would have to do for 5th year to get into a course.

And again what would be the best colleges and what careers could I take on because of this?

Thanks!

SupaDupaFly

Stay away from Waterford I.T the psychology course there is just complete rubbish. I'd recommend NUIG.

JuliusCaesar

Do you have any reasons to back up your statement? What makes you think the NUIG course is superior? There's no value to unsubstantiated opinion.

All undergrad courses will cover roughly the same stuff.

SupaDupaFly

My fiancé studied in WIT and has actually dropped out of the course due to the lack of organisation, the lack of information and support, and also the lack of qualified committed lecturers. The course is up for accreditation this summer but will almost certainly not get it. That's my experience of the place anyway. WIT is never going to reach university level so therefore I think you'd be much better off studying in NUIG as it offers the most choice within a psychology course.

JuliusCaesar

SupaDupaFly wrote: »

I think you'd be much better off studying in NUIG as it offers the most choice within a psychology course.

As opposed to the other universities?

SupaDupaFly

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

As opposed to the other universities?

WIT is not a university! That's my point.

JuliusCaesar

SupaDupaFly wrote: »

WIT is not a university! That's my point.

Jeez.. I'm asking why you recommend Galway over the other universities (UCD, UCC, NUIM etc) which offer psychology as an undergraduate subject.

Genevieve

Hi,

I have just finished my psychology degree in WIT. As with any new degree set up in an institution, there are often difficulites to start with. However, the college have certainly orgainsed this degree thoroughly, have put alot of time and effort into it and the lecturers are in fact fantastic and very dedicated to their work.

It is always a gamble doing a degree that is in the process of application for accrediation. However, for me it was a gamble I was willing to take. At the time due to my location and the fact that the motorways were not completed, it made it alot more difficult to commute to either Dublin or Cork, which would have been my first options. This being said, I was plesantly surprised with how good WIT is (especially having heard alot of negativity about IT's over the years). The small group of us that finished this year (about 28) were very pleased and believe me the insitute didn't award us all with 1st class honours.... just like anywhere else you have to work extremely hard in order to gain a good final result. I was pleased with my 2:1....

Returning to the initial question, as in what to topics to take on for the LC. Well, get practising with your statistics to start with. May Biology or Social and Scientific would other choices.

The colleges to apply for first would be the main universities, then the ITs. If you want a career in clinical or educational psych, well it is necessary to apply to a college that has accreditation with the PSI.

I think the LC is probably one of the most difficult exams and sometimes it is very hard to get the points required for entry. If you are in this position when you have completed the exams, don't be put off by doing a psych. degree in WIT or another IT. It is what you do after your undergrad. that matters (in my opinion). Also many people that have studied psychology do not necessarily go on to work in psychology and it is an opener for routes into social work and many other areas.

Also, there are conversion hdip programmes in some universities, where people that already have a degree in a different area can apply to do a two year conversion in psychology and these are accredited (currently).

Finally, there is also the UK

CiaranMT

fiestapower wrote: »

Hey guys,
I was thinking of studying Psychology at college and am just wondering ROUGHLY what points would be neccessary?
And what subjects I would have to do for 5th year to get into a course.

And again what would be the best colleges and what careers could I take on because of this?

Thanks!

Currently doing Psychology and Sociology in UL, where the points my year were 505. It's come down to about 470-480, since the new Psychology degree was introduced last year (which itself was around 500+).

Our dept is a Social Psychology one, where you'd learn about identity, groups, society and it's impacts on people's minds (etc etc yada yada!).

If you wanted a more applied course with specific relevance to a more clinical side, I'd say Cork'd be a good bet. Galway (as yer man above mentions) would be a very well established course, but the points are a bit higher. Dunno much about other colleges around the rest of the country.

Hope this helps.

fionav3

Apologies to anyone if I'm hijacking this thread, just a quick question for Ciaran. I just got offered a place in the Bsc in Psychology in UL and I'm over the moon about it. The course seems really well layed out and well run. What are your experiences of the Ba in Psychology and Sociology? Is it well layed out and interesting?

Again, sorry for hijacking, just curious.

CiaranMT

fionav3 wrote: »

Apologies to anyone if I'm hijacking this thread, just a quick question for Ciaran. I just got offered a place in the Bsc in Psychology in UL and I'm over the moon about it. The course seems really well layed out and well run. What are your experiences of the Ba in Psychology and Sociology? Is it well layed out and interesting?

Again, sorry for hijacking, just curious.

I'm heading into my 3rd year of the course and yes, it is well laid out. You know when everything is happening. As regards it being interesting, you'd want to find Social Psychology and that kinda thing interesting (it being a Social Psychology Dept). Personally I find it fine, but I dunno if it's to everyone's taste. You'll have less Sociology Modules in the pure Psych degree. The work experience Co-Op (currently doing mine) and Study Abroad programmes are great ideas I think too.

PM if there's anything specific ya want to know.

TaraLo

fiestapower wrote: »

Hey guys,
I was thinking of studying Psychology at college and am just wondering ROUGHLY what points would be neccessary?
And what subjects I would have to do for 5th year to get into a course.

And again what would be the best colleges and what careers could I take on because of this?

Thanks!

I didn't get the points for denominated psychology(500<..) but I got enough for Psych through sci in NUIM(480 last year ).. the college is awesome and the psych dept. is great. I love it and am actually really gald that I didn't get the points for the likes of UCD now.
If you want the option of getting psych through science then I think you need 1/2 science subjects.... if you check the nuim website it'll tell you.
hope this helps a little

istatit

"Hi,

I have just finished my psychology degree in WIT. As with any new degree set up in an institution, there are often difficulites to start with. However, the college have certainly orgainsed this degree thoroughly, have put alot of time and effort into it and the lecturers are in fact fantastic and very dedicated to their work. "


Hey all,

Just read the post there about WIT, n I thought I put in my tuppence worth after getting talking to a group one nite, who were actually in the final year of Psychology in WIT, when down visiting mates in Waterford before Summer.




Firstly while I don't doubt some of the lecturers were "fantastic", some need serious explaining as to why they are lecturing! I was told of a lecturer, coping her on line lecture notes from a site ( the students found this site she had copied from when u googled it!!) and also watching videos in double lecture, when a lecture should have been taking place, and only giving a quick lecture every week in a 3/4 hour tutorial...... !!

While not knocking WIT, I do think to say that people on the course were " really pleased" , is stretching honesty a bit .... I was also told of people, who wit one lecturer who had broken down crying in lectures when they were trying to get answers to likely topics of questions to be asked in exams and even reading materials to prepare themselves for the module, which they never got answers too from the lecturer......!! the list goes on, but the students on this course don't seem to have gotten a fair shot, so to do well, I think you have to get lucky on this course,,,, and it seems alot of people weren't lucky...

Genevieve

istatit wrote: »

"


Hey all,

Just read the post there about WIT, n I thought I put in my tuppence worth after getting talking to a group one nite, who were actually in the final year of Psychology in WIT, when down visiting mates in Waterford before Summer.




Firstly while I don't doubt some of the lecturers were "fantastic", some need serious explaining as to why they are lecturing! I was told of a lecturer, coping her on line lecture notes from a site ( the students found this site she had copied from when u googled it!!) and also watching videos in double lecture, when a lecture should have been taking place, and only giving a quick lecture every week in a 3/4 hour tutorial...... !!

While not knocking WIT, I do think to say that people on the course were " really pleased" , is stretching honesty a bit .... I was also told of people, who wit one lecturer who had broken down crying in lectures when they were trying to get answers to likely topics of questions to be asked in exams and even reading materials to prepare themselves for the module, which they never got answers too from the lecturer......!! the list goes on, but the students on this course don't seem to have gotten a fair shot, so to do well, I think you have to get lucky on this course,,,, and it seems alot of people weren't lucky...

Funny, I was there everyday and never had those experiences :cool:

Old Perry

:eek: Just started this course and was over the moon to have gotten a place, as most other psych courses wouldn have been an option with points being so high......but you lot are really after killin the buzz.

Lil Kiddo

Old Perry dont worry. I'm in 2nd yr at the moment and we have just got psi accreditation, the course is only going to get better as the years go by. I love the course and the lecturers are brilliant.