Public and Social Policy

beirne83

Hi all
Just wondering if anyone studying this course could give a little insight into first, second and third year timetables, modules, is it a worthwhile course?
Any past students proceed to do the masters in social work after completing this degree?
All info would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

musical.x

hey,
this is an old enough thread but some of the replies may be of some help to you
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055560951

Skopzz

I'm not trying to demoralize you but there's no point doing a masters because it's not a magical shortcut to a job. I wish you all the best but I'm unlikely to be convinced there will be many Gov't jobs in the future.

LadyMayBelle

From what I remember about my MSW, students who had done the Public and Social Policy degree got into Community Development easier..we didnt have any from the Pub Soc pol degree in my year anyway

paperpackages

Sorry I hope this reply isn't too late! I know from last year just how hard it is to get info on PSP.

I'm just finished 1st Year Public and Social Policy and must say I personally love it!
The 1st Year timetable is very agreeable. We had 12 hours a week (10 hours of lectures and 2 hours tutorials) for the first semester and the second semester there were 15/16 hours a week (2/3 of those hours were tutorials).
Lectures are split between modules in Economics, Soc and Pol, Legal Studies and Public and Social Policy. Economics lectures are large as they are shared with Commerce International, Arts and Business Information Systems students as are Soc and Pol lectures which are shared with Arts students. In the second semester one of the law modules is also shared with Arts students.

In 1st Semester we had 4 modules - Microeconomics, Soc and Pol, Public and Social Policy and Legal Studies. The grades for Economics and Soc and Pol were based on both assignments and exams, while the other two were assignment based.
In 2nd Semester there were 5 modules - Law and Social Policy, Key Issues in Law, Public and Social Policy, Macroeconomics and Soc and Pol. There were end of year exams for each module and like 1st Semester, assignments contributed to the Macroeconomics and Soc and Pol grades.

Is the course worthwile? Absolutely. The biggest benefit is the small class size (60, although majority of these don't turn up!) which helps learning and also getting to know people. Lecturers are extremely dedicated, particularly the course co-ordinators who are very helpful. Tutorials are provided in Economics, Soc and Pol and Law and Social Policy to help you understand lectures in groups of about 15 usually. Assignments are very manageable.

I'll be honest and say a lot of students doing this course have taken it as a last resort and a lot don't like it (or are quite indifferent towards it) as a result. There are no optional modules in 1st Year so be sure you can manage all aspects of the course - many students find the economics side difficult but the assignments and exams for it are repetitive so anyone can manage if they put in a bit of work If you aren't interested in the policy side of things I would recommend doing General Arts instead, as you can do most of the same subjects without the policy modules. However the best thing about this course is that everything interlinks and it's all very useful knowledge to have as it's all topical.

So overall I would highly recommend doing it! It's very laid-back for the 1st Year and if you put in even a bit of work you will do great. Please don't hesitate to ask any more qs about it and best of luck!

Princessxx

I'm hoping to this course next year as well and unlike a few people I know I don't have this down as back it's my first choice

paperpackages I was wondering what do people usually do on to do after this course? What seems to be the most popular option?

paperpackages

Princessxx wrote: »

paperpackages I was wondering what do people usually do on to do after this course? What seems to be the most popular option?

Well like I said I've only finished 1st Year and to be honest the majority don't really know where to go from here yet! But definitely the majority would go on to do the LLB (Law Postgrad) and go into careers in law or law reform commission, etc. I've also heard of many getting advisory jobs in banks.
On the other side, I know a few people who aim to go into social work afterwards or something along those lines. Personally I've always had the goal of going into journalism afterwards. I think a postgrad of some sort is on the cards for most PSP students with the way things are and the way the course is structured!