psychology courses

burtslimpslon

Hi, i really want to study psychology in college, i do geography,accounting and biology as my options and french as my language, as i said i would like to study psychology at college, level 8 degree i think is what i want not too sure, but my question is are my subjects okay?(i was told they are very mixed) and what psychology courses are out there requiring no more then 450 points, because me pushing id aim for 450, if theres any with less please tell me and lastly if i go to lets say dbs to do psychology not trinity (prosuming dbs is much less points) what difference will this make when applying for a masters which i think is needed for being a psychologist?
sorry for the long post and sorry if i got any terms or spellings completly wrong, thanks to anyone who replies

psychoniamh

Hi there,

I just graduated from Psychology last year year (Applied Psychology, UCC) so I hope I can help you out.

Firstly, there are no specific subjects you need to do for your Leaving Cert in order to get onto a Psychology course (unless a foreign language is required for entry to University - but you have French, so it's fine!) Biology is a great choice - there'll be a good bit of Biology on your course e.g. Lifespan development, genetics.

Don't limit yourself by excluding applying for courses above 450, you never know, you could get on much better than expected in your exams. Whilst most Psychology courses lie around the 500 points mark, there are some below that - check on cao.ie.

You are correct in saying that you more than likely will need to go on to do a Masters, therefore a Level 8 will be the fastest methods in doing so. I just read a bit about the DBS course there, sounds good! Contact their head of department asking them about what are the outcomes for Masters upon completion, just so you have accurate information before applying!

Feel free to ask me any questions, I'd be more than happy to help! In the process of applying for a Masters now myself, so I know how confusing and overwhelming the application and choice process can be.

burtslimpslon

psychoniamh wrote: »

Hi there,

I just graduated from Psychology last year year (Applied Psychology, UCC) so I hope I can help you out.

Firstly, there are no specific subjects you need to do for your Leaving Cert in order to get onto a Psychology course (unless a foreign language is required for entry to University - but you have French, so it's fine!) Biology is a great choice - there'll be a good bit of Biology on your course e.g. Lifespan development, genetics.

Don't limit yourself by excluding applying for courses above 450, you never know, you could get on much better than expected in your exams. Whilst most Psychology courses lie around the 500 points mark, there are some below that - check on cao.ie.

You are correct in saying that you more than likely will need to go on to do a Masters, therefore a Level 8 will be the fastest methods in doing so. I just read a bit about the DBS course there, sounds good! Contact their head of department asking them about what are the outcomes for Masters upon completion, just so you have accurate information before applying!

Feel free to ask me any questions, I'd be more than happy to help! In the process of applying for a Masters now myself, so I know how confusing and overwhelming the application and choice process can be.

thanks so much, that was a really detailed answer and good advice, thanks a lot

lajoie

Hey OP,

My biggest advice is make SURE the course is accredited by the PSI. If it's not, it won't be eligible to get you onto a masters further down the road.

And also, don't forget that even if you don't get the points there are ALWAYS other routes. I did an Arts degree and then a conversion course (HDip) and now I'm a postgrad in psych - and still early 20s so it's definitely do-able!!

Best of luck!

burtslimpslon

lajoie wrote: »

Hey OP,

My biggest advice is make SURE the course is accredited by the PSI. If it's not, it won't be eligible to get you onto a masters further down the road.

And also, don't forget that even if you don't get the points there are ALWAYS other routes. I did an Arts degree and then a conversion course (HDip) and now I'm a postgrad in psych - and still early 20s so it's definitely do-able!!

Best of luck!

thanks for the reply, that's a relief because the points was my main worry

mymy88

Can someone tell me what psychology is like in University, I have done an Earth Science degree, I know its completely different, but thinking about doing a HDip in psychology not a masters. I can use the back to education scheme if i do a HDip.

I heard before its a really difficult course and it takes years to get anywhere with it? What are your view s on that?

innad

You might find the Psychology forum helpful

Psychology as a subject I don't think is particularly difficult, some parts might be more challenging than others depending on your interests, but if you do the work it shouldn't really be a problem. As far as the course taking years, the HDip is two years. After that, it really depends on what sort of work you're interested in, but if your aim is to work as a "Psychologist" you will need to do at least a Masters, or in some cases (e.g. Clinical) a Doctorate.

Edit: I should add that I don't have any personal experience of the HDip, I am basing the above on having done a four year undergrad in psychology.

NeonCookies

innad wrote: »

You might find the Psychology forum helpful

Psychology as a subject I don't think is particularly difficult, some parts might be more challenging than others depending on your interests, but if you do the work it shouldn't really be a problem. As far as the course taking years, the HDip is two years. After that, it really depends on what sort of work you're interested in, but if your aim is to work as a "Psychologist" you will need to do at least a Masters, or in some cases (e.g. Clinical) a Doctorate.

Edit: I should add that I don't have any personal experience of the HDip, I am basing the above on having done a four year undergrad in psychology.

Educational Psychology in UCD has changed to a professional doctorate too. "In line with international practice" according to their website. I'd begun an application to the Masters programme about a month ago, and got a shock when I opened it to continue it on Saturday!

NeonCookies

Sorry for the double post - I forgot to answer the question here

mymy88 wrote: »

Can someone tell me what psychology is like in University, I have done an Earth Science degree, I know its completely different, but thinking about doing a HDip in psychology not a masters. I can use the back to education scheme if i do a HDip.

I heard before its a really difficult course and it takes years to get anywhere with it? What are your view s on that?

Personally I didn't find the course overly difficult. There were difficult parts of course, but once you kept on top of things it was fine. There are many different subjects so you may find some very easy because they're interesting e.g. child development or neuropsychology, and you may find some parts more boring and difficult e.g. statistics. Or you could be mathematically minded and be the other way round! I loved the course, it shows you all areas of psychology. Again, I'm basing my experience on the undergraduate course but the HDips joined our class for the last two years and did the same modules as us.

If you want to go down the "Psychologist" route, innad is correct that you need a Masters or a Doctorate depending on the area, so in that sense it does take years to be fully qualified - especially as the Doctorates in particular are impossible to get on to without having built up experience in your chosen area first. I think there are moves being made by the PSI Early Graduate group to try and improve the situation for those who want to build a career in Psychology but at the moment there's very little paid work to build up the experience you need.

If you don't want to become a psychologist but are looking for something to develop your skills or knowledge then it's a great course too. I'm guessing since you mentioned BTEA that you are not working at the moment so maybe looking to expand your options? You gain a lot of transferable skills (research, writing, problem solving, critical thinking to name but a few) which will be valuable to many work places.

HiGlo

lajoie wrote: »

Hey OP,

My biggest advice is make SURE the course is accredited by the PSI. If it's not, it won't be eligible to get you onto a masters further down the road.

And also, don't forget that even if you don't get the points there are ALWAYS other routes. I did an Arts degree and then a conversion course (HDip) and now I'm a postgrad in psych - and still early 20s so it's definitely do-able!!

Best of luck!

I see this original post goes back a bit, but seeing as CAO stuff is around now, hopefully I'm not too late....

The course in DBS is indeed PSI accredited and that's important as mentioned here. I'm currently doing the course and find it pretty good. It's heavy on psychoanalysis though (be warned! Hahaha)
There is an option of further study (Masters/Doctorate) in TCD so if you don't start there, you can still end up there...
Also, as said, you can do a general arts degree and then go on and do a postgrad in Psychology.
At the end of the day, to get the necessary qualification to work you're looking at a minimum of 5 years study, but quite likely 7 years.

I'm doing it part time & I'm currently in year 4 of 8.

drumcart

Also applying for the doctorate. Would love to get it this year. Any idea how much the fees are and how many places are available?

HiGlo

drumcart wrote: »

Also applying for the doctorate. Would love to get it this year. Any idea how much the fees are and how many places are available?

The Doctorate in Counselling in Trinity?
Fees are €12k and there's 12-14 places per year. You need to have an undergrad qualification that is PSI accredited.

drumcart

Ed Psych doctorate in UCD! thanks for the info though

NeonCookies

drumcart wrote: »

Ed Psych doctorate in UCD! thanks for the info though

I got an email from them saying fees for the full time course are €9880 per year. For part time (5 years, 2 days a week) they're a little over half that per year. I can't find any information about places!

So nerve-wrecking putting together the application! Is this your first time applying?

Edit: I'd asked them if it would be a similar structure to England i.e. paid a "salary" while doing the course, then required to work as an Ed Psych in England for a set number of years to "pay it back". Wishful thinking of course..no funding provided.

drumcart

Just PM'd you Neon Cookies