Social Sciences vs. Psychology

elseanino

Hey all,

I've been offered a place in Social Sciences in Ucd starting in September and really looking forward to starting the course.
I have Psychology in Ucd down as a higher up choice on the cao, but haven't heard from them yet.

Just interested to know if anyone has any thoughts or views on either of these subjects, or any recommendations as to which would be a better choice and why.

Thanks in advance,

Sean

Musefan

As a psychology student, I would see the possibilities of employment (you have to do well of course!) as slightly better. Not only are we trained in all the research skills which the social science students are, we get to design and carry out our own piece of independent research (with participants, ethical applications etc.) which can lead to a publication. Also after a psychology degree, you can go on to further study to become a clinical or educational psychologist, or you can work as an ABA tutor or social care worker for a while if you like. You also get to present your research at a student conference.

spudington16

The career path to become an accredited, professional psychologist is quite long (typically eight to 10 years). You first need to complete an accredited bachelor's degree, then typically progress to a professional master's (e.g. health or sports psychology) or doctoral programme (e.g. educational, clinical, counselling). Access to the latter is contingent on gaining experience after your bachelor's degree - typically work experience (paid or voluntary) for two to three years, and/or a master's to gain more skills. It's a long road, but very rewarding if it's a field you're interested in.

As the previous poster stated, a bachelor's degree in psychology can permit you to move sideways into a range of careers; former classmates of mine are now working in HR, advertising, market research, as classroom assistants (SNAs; the Department of Education no longer hires ABA tutors, per se). There's a lot of scope for work because you are trained in critical thinking, research skills, group-work and report-writing as well as oral presentations.

UCD's BA in psychology is a great programme - I'd highly recommend it. Check out the Psychological Society of Ireland's website (http://www.psychologicalsociety.ie/accreditation) for more information on career choice and options, and the best of luck with your decision!

dyl10

I think if you have the determination to make a direct career out one, then you can out of the other.

I would advise:

-Check how many quantitative classes you get in the each. Psychometrics has been strong for a long time, so maybe you might have more options for these in psychology than in the social science programme but I don't know? you at least want to have the option to take them.

-I would say in social science, you will get more exposure to a broader range of topics/literature and may be more likely to find what you 'love' - so that could be a bonus.

-As mentioned before, you get the basic accreditation from the psychology degree, which could potentially be very important and mean that should you want to be a clinical psychologist later, you won't have to go back and do a hdip later.

-Social science is broader in its range of topics than psychology as its more multidisciplinary but psychology is huge also. So, if I were you and I didn't have a clue, I'd take social science - if you've any inclination toward psychology then go with that.

elseanino

Hey,

thanks for all the replies. Very useful and helpful

I haven't heard from the psychology dept yet but I think I'll leave psychology as my higher choice for now and wait to hear from them before making any changes. It will still be a tough choice for me as I'm very interested in both subjects. My first choice on the cao was psychology/sociology TSM in Trinity but I wasn't accepted by the psychology dept there which meant I was ineligible for the TSM. Still very much looking forward to going to Ucd (more so even!) and maybe my decision will be made for me by the Ucd psycholgy dept!

Thanks again!

Sean