Please help - Masters

honeydrophoney

Hey everyone,

K as the story goes, I have a BA Hon in Philosophy, minor Psychology and I am just after doing my h-dip in Psychology. Both were done in UCC. Now this is my problem, I have applied for the Masters in Applied Psychology in Trinity, Masters in Applied in UCC and the Masters Clinical stream in Psychological science in UL, and I have just been offered all three... Great I know but I would really like some help.

Ok so here we go.... Pro for UL is that its the first year they are running this Clinical stream so I see it as a plus to try and get into the Doc in Clinical Psychology, now problem is that you take 11 modules inc your thesis but only two of these are actually clinical based.

Trinity, they only have 6 modules to take and a thesis that is to be about 8k words. They also have the choice for 4 clinical subjects to take. But this means moving from Cork to Dublin.... even thou it may be possible to commute as the hours on campus are actually very little.

K with UCC the work load is unreal its 10 modules and then a thesis of 15k words, the modules are made up of essays, presentations, exams and portfolios compared to either exam or essay in Trinity, plus in UCC college is Monday - Wed and then Thur and Fri you have work placement, so as you can gather this work placement is a massive bonus.

Now here is where I am stuck. I have worked all throughout college, or else would not have been possible to go, so do I choose Trinity where its very Clinical based - also may actually be able to get a job transfer up there, or do I stay in Cork? If I pick UCC or UL the work load is double, well triple if I pick UCC, I will have to cut my hours working in Cork. But in UCC I have quite alot of contacts and a brilliant supervisor where I may get the chance to work with the area that I love - Obesity, or do I choose a brand new course that may help me get into Doc clinical ( but i do know you need experience too for to apply - dont get this in UL or Trinity), do I pick Trinity that is very clinical based with not such a demanding work load or do i pick UCC and have no life for the coming 12 months?

I know I can only make this choice myself but I really have no one to turn to for guidance as anyone in UCC will tell me 'oh yes stay in UCC its great' and being honest my family and friends have no idea what I am talking about when I explain this to them..... Any help of advice would be greatly welcomed

Oh yes and in the future its clinical that I hope to pursue with my area being in Obesity.

Thanks everyone

chrisipoo8

Firstly congrats on being offered all three places, you must be delighted!

Secondly, If you dont mind me asking would be be able to give me a brief overview of your psychology path as such??...eg) degree, work experience etc...!!!

The reason I ask is because I too applied for the Masters in Trinity and did not get an offer It would be extremely helpful for applying next year to understand briefly what they look for.

Thanks

honeydrophoney

chrisipoo8 wrote: »

Firstly congrats on being offered all three places, you must be delighted!

Secondly, If you dont mind me asking would be be able to give me a brief overview of your psychology path as such??...eg) degree, work experience etc...!!!

The reason I ask is because I too applied for the Masters in Trinity and did not get an offer It would be extremely helpful for applying next year to understand briefly what they look for.

Thanks

Hey there,

Oh so sorry that you didnt get offered a place

Well I done my three year BA in Philosophy but I minored in Psychology so I covered 20 credits there. I then went on and done the 2 year h-dip also in UCC, basically from the two of these I covered every undergrad module that they have in UCC, I am guessing I got it over my CV to be honest, I have presented my work in Psychology conferences, my work is a brand new area here in Ireland - weight loss surgery, and I done the biggest study so far across three different groups in Ireland for people with weight loss surgery (this is to my knowledge anyway as I have found nothing else in the area from the approach i took) my data is also being used in the European Health Psychology conference too. With this I got to work with a patient population so I am guessing this stood to my advantage. I also have worked very closely with the Special Olympics. So i think all this helped me.

chrisipoo8

Wow, I can understand why you got accepted! Your experience is amazing!!

Congrats again...as I have learned in Psychology....not to give up! And I will not be giving up anytime soon The best of luck in whatever course you choose!

nualsnuals

Hi Im currently doing the Applied Masters in Trinity. I completed my undergrad in Maynooth. I went on to do a Cert in CBT and I worked with young ppl in care for a year. So now im just about to sit my final exams for the masters. As you said ultimately you have to make the decision yourself, but here's my view; in terms of clinical i truely believe dublin is the place to be. Through my connections in Trinity I was able to secure a place working with a child psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist on a really interesting study. Moving from Cork to Dublin is dramatic though...i can see your dilema. The work load as you noticed is light enough. You would be able to commute and continue working in Cork while rubbing shoulders in the big smoke :-). Some of my collegues are currently researching obesity for their theses also. Well done anyway on all your achievements thus far... i realise my input may not be overly helpful but It's the first time being on boards that my experience was relevant to a thread :-)

honeydrophoney

nualsnuals wrote: »

Hi Im currently doing the Applied Masters in Trinity. I completed my undergrad in Maynooth. I went on to do a Cert in CBT and I worked with young ppl in care for a year. So now im just about to sit my final exams for the masters. As you said ultimately you have to make the decision yourself, but here's my view; in terms of clinical i truely believe dublin is the place to be. Through my connections in Trinity I was able to secure a place working with a child psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist on a really interesting study. Moving from Cork to Dublin is dramatic though...i can see your dilema. The work load as you noticed is light enough. You would be able to commute and continue working in Cork while rubbing shoulders in the big smoke :-). Some of my collegues are currently researching obesity for their theses also. Well done anyway on all your achievements thus far... i realise my input may not be overly helpful but It's the first time being on boards that my experience was relevant to a thread :-)

Thank you so much. It was very helpful. I am wondering can I just ask you a few things, the assessment for the modules are they only made up of one component eg. an essay or else an exam or do some have more then one? Also what days before xmas are you on campus? Are the assessment physically handed up or can it be done via email/turnitin? oh and also do you have a study month in April? Sorry for all these its just these will either allow me commute or else move.

Thanks

nualsnuals

Hi again, ok so...before christmas I was in two days until nov then due to the modules I picked it increased to three days. My days were monday tuesday and then fridays from nov. After christmas I was in two days a wk, they were tuesdays and fridays. All of the subjects require an assignment albeit written or presentation based. Some subjects have an exam too. At the end of the yr if u decide to accept the course you will have four exams generally at the beginning of may.The assignments typically need to be sent in two formats;one soft copy to be sent to luisa the dep admin and two hard copies to be physically posted in a designated assignment box. Looking at this yrs timetable(it rarely changes) might be helpful to decide what subjects would suit you in terms of your travel etc...for example ABA is the most time consuming(but still nothing too hectic).....Finally yes April is a study month...altho I fear ive misused it slightly :-) need anymore info dont hesitate to ask.:-)