BA ( Psychology) (1 Viewer)

[ahen]

just wondering, those who do it, is it what you expected? i've heard that there isn't very much science or maths in this degree as compared to B Psychology.
also just wondering, after you finish the course what careers are you guys thinking of persuing?
thanks

 

[trolloutaface]

just wondering, those who do it, is it what you expected? i've heard that there isn't very much science or maths in this degree as compared to B Psychology.

that's true.

I do like 3 social science/humanities subjects, and only one psych subject. There is a lot of science (e.g biology science), but not much maths (only things like statistics/data).

also just wondering, after you finish the course what careers are you guys thinking of persuing?
thanks

3 years of arts/psych, 1 year of masters (in psych) and then 2 years of practical work.

then I get registered as a professional psychologist and look for a job ;'(

 

[666_blessings]

You'll have to do 2 psych subjects per sem second year but you can do pretty much whatever else you want with the other units. Considering doing honours/PhD in psych then work as a research assistant or something that doesn't count as 'real work'.

 

[grk_styl]

From what I've heard the good thing about this degree is, like the Bach Psych, you get to choose electives after 3rd year. That way you can spend the first 1-3 years in all the intro psych subjects, figuring out which path you want to take.

It's only new isn't it? I'm not sure on the details, but if you want honours you have to get a certain avg. With the Bach Psych kids you need a Distinction avg (75 - 84). I'm not too sure if that's the same for you guys.

Just a word for warning to anyone going into a psych related degree. Don't expect to finish your degree and be recognised as totally qualified. There's A LOT more shit you have to do after. There's masters or graduate diplomas, PLUS work experience. It ain't just fun and games...

 

[666_blessings]

It's certainly not a game, but it's a lot of fun none the less.

 

[ahen]

another question that just popped into my head (thanks for your answers by the way )
what's the difference between BA (psychology) and BA majoring in psych? i've heard that you can become qualified through either path ( obviously you have to do that extra year but yeah..) so why did they bother making another course?

 

[Triangulum]

another question that just popped into my head (thanks for your answers by the way )
what's the difference between BA (psychology) and BA majoring in psych? i've heard that you can become qualified through either path ( obviously you have to do that extra year but yeah..) so why did they bother making another course?

I may have said this somewhere else, but as far as I can see the only difference is that in the BA (Psychology) you can do one more senior Psych unit than in the normal BA. But as that isn't required for the major or for honours it's not really that big a deal.

As to why they bothered making another course ... God knows. Maybe to advertise more clearly to the hordes of people who want to do psychology that you can do it within an Arts degree.

 

[666_blessings]

They probably made another course so they can say "look, we offer more courses than those wankers at unsw" =P. In other words, just because they can.

 

[m0ofin]

I may have said this somewhere else, but as far as I can see the only difference is that in the BA (Psychology) you can do one more senior Psych unit than in the normal BA. But as that isn't required for the major or for honours it's not really that big a deal.

As to why they bothered making another course ... God knows. Maybe to advertise more clearly to the hordes of people who want to do psychology that you can do it within an Arts degree.

So just to clarify, because I'm finding this very confusing, both courses are basically the same except you do one more unit in the BA (Psychology) and that that unit itself isn't at all important in becoming a proper psychologist?

That said, would either course prove disadvantageous or advantageous in comparison to the other?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Triangulum]

So just to clarify, because I'm finding this very confusing, both courses are basically the same except you do one more unit in the BA (Psychology) and that that unit itself isn't at all important in becoming a proper psychologist?

That's about it, yeah. You don't need the extra unit to go on to honours, which is the next step towards becoming a qualified psychologist, so in career terms there probably isn't too much difference between the two.

As to advantageous or disadvantageous, no idea. Don't know much about Psych. Presumably there are other people around who can help out with that.

 

[veridis]

there's also the fact that BA(Psych) and B Psych kids get into honors just by keeping a D average, but and the general BA and B Sci kids have to compete for a limited number of spots. normally the cutoff isn't higher than a D avg anyway so it doesnt matter but the BA(Psych) and B Psych kids have the advantage of being 100% sure a little bit earlier

 

[m0ofin]

Oh wow, thanks for the helpful comments guys. (Sorry, Ahen for stealing your thread for a tick)

I've tried Google but it sort of muddled things up. Would it be safe to assume that both courses are of similar duration? If one doesn't get into honours first go, what does it mean? Would you go and do the 2 years work experience instead? Why would one want to go on to do honours?

 

[666_blessings]

You'd do honours because it just looks freaking awesome on your resume. Oh, and because you get to do funky experiments on clueless first year psych students ^^

 

[ahen]

lol no problem m0ofin, you asked the questions i was going to ask anyway
so basically it doesn't matter if you get a UAI of 85 or a UAI of 98, you can still do psych? oh my god, that is so bloody annoying
its cool yet its retarded i don't know, if what you guys are saying is correct then that's just so..URGH
don't mind me right now, am stressing about the immense number of assessments due next week

 

[m0ofin]

so basically it doesn't matter if you get a UAI of 85 or a UAI of 98, you can still do psych? oh my god, that is so bloody annoying

I actually think that it's awesome rather, just because I won't be getting a UAI of 98, ha.

Good luck with your assessments.

 

[ahen]

yeah true that ay
and thanks
haha maybe i'll see you around next year

 

[veridis]

lots of psych kids is a good thing, having all the 85s in the course means you can get HDs without too much effort. of course it means they drop to Ds second year when half the 85s drop out but still good value for effort. if you get 98 you should be set for getting into honours, and that's the real part of the psych degree, the major alone is kinda useless(as stated above)

 

[emozlie]

Haha this feels like a stupid question, but i'll ask it anyway... is the BA (psychology) be the same if you did a double degree with arts and psychology? and can you do a double degree in those subjects? I'm really interested in psychology, but i love what you could do in an arts degree... haha sorry if that seems like a silly question!

 

[ahen]

i don't think you can do a double degree BA/B psych, as far as i know it doesn't exist, um but yeah from my understanding its essentially the same thing, only without the whole maths/science prerequisite thing. also you'd have to go on and do further education for recognition as a psychologist in the BA which i don't think you'd have to do in the B psych, but someone correct me if i'm wrong because i'm not 100% sure.

 

[veridis]

ok so you want to do and arts degree and have a psych major(psych for most people is just a major not a degree so you can do it within heaps of other degrees), there's a few things you can do.
BA - thats right you can do a plain old BA, but psych will have to be your second major as you need an arts major first up. means you'll have to plan everything well right from the start and wont have any spare units to fill up with random fun subs, and that's half of what a BA is for
BA(Psych) - pretty much the same as a BA, but you can have psych as your first major, meaning a lot of space for random fun units, BUT you need to maintain a D avg in psych units or you're dropped down to BA. thats important BA(psych) people get direct entry into honours while everyone else(except B.Psych kids) have to apply and compete for a limited number of spots(i think this is what ahen means about further education to register. B.Psych and BA(Psych) have the honours year integrated while everyone else has to do it after they finish their degree)
BA/B.Sc - gives you all the freedom of an arts degree and a science degree to put your psych major in. it is 5 years however and does include some perscribed units(ie 12 CP of junior maths, 24 Junior of Sci, that kind of thing). you'll get to do everything you want but honors entry will be hard and 5 years is a long time
B.Sc - you could just do a plain B.Sc. if you have a psych major that'll dominate your time in senior years anyway and you are allowed arts filler. so if you dont want an arts major this isnt too bad. has the same prescribed units as the sci part of BA/B.Sc
B.Psych - a B.Sc with the same D avg honours entry as BA(Psych)
B.LibStudies - If you're thinking of doing a language then this is another option. You have to do a sci major(psych), 24CP of a language and an arts major(which can be the lang). 4 years, so kind of in between palin BA or B.Sc and combined BA/B.Sc. Don't get direct honours entry.

now it may seem a bit wierd that i'm going on about honours so much but in psych honours is really important for future job prospects. you need honours to register as a psychologist, otherwise you just have a psych major, being a registered psychologist is obviously a lot better. even if you go into a field where registratino isnt needed having the hons is always a big boost.

you can tell that i have essays due this week when i'm procratinating like this ey.