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Psychology at University - FAQ

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Original post by Wild_flower
Is there someone who already finished his study? I would like to know what you are doing now.
Thanks:smile:

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Do mean someone who has a psychology degree? I do :biggrin:.
Original post by xoxAngel_Kxox
Do mean someone who has a psychology degree? I do :biggrin:.


Yes. Its exactly what I meant :smile: So what are you doing now?

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Original post by Wild_flower
Yes. Its exactly what I meant :smile: So what are you doing now?

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Working as a freelance writer/proofreader :smile:.
Original post by xoxAngel_Kxox
Working as a freelance writer/proofreader :smile:.


Is this what you always wanted to do after finishing your degree?

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Reply 124
Original post by GodspeedGehenna
Bumping cause this should be nearer the top really. Otherwise people are just going to make needless threads.


What uni do you go to? What do intend to do after graduating with your degree
I work at a school for children with autism, with the aim of working as an educational psychologist
Original post by Wild_flower
Is this what you always wanted to do after finishing your degree?

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I've always wanted to be a writer, did a degree because I had an interest in Psychology, and now I write for a lot of Psychology blogs which I wouldn't have been able to do without the degree :smile:.
Reply 127
This post has helped me so much, thank you!
I'm just a bit worried now, as i do a BTEC in Applied Science (Forensics) and the only Psychology units we do are Criminal & Forensics, ive always had a genuine interest in the subject but now i'm thinking would i find it too hard? especially with not doing it as an A-Level, and i panic incredibly at the thought of exams, although the only exams i did well in were Science & Music because i enjoyed them.

:confused:
Original post by Laurenrxo
This post has helped me so much, thank you!
I'm just a bit worried now, as i do a BTEC in Applied Science (Forensics) and the only Psychology units we do are Criminal & Forensics, ive always had a genuine interest in the subject but now i'm thinking would i find it too hard? especially with not doing it as an A-Level, and i panic incredibly at the thought of exams, although the only exams i did well in were Science & Music because i enjoyed them.

:confused:


You don't need to have studied it at A Level, as you will be caught up on the things you need to know. That doesn't mean it won't be difficult, but don't let that be the reason you don't do it. Don't forget the stats too
Reply 129
Hey all! As I am international student and the UK teaching system is something new for me, could you please help me to find good sites where I can find all the theories in psychology that I will need ! It will help me a lot , as I will be 2nd year/ don't ask me how I survived! lol / Going into 2nd year would be really tough and I would appreciate all the help that you can suggest ! Please!
Reply 130
I do Psychology, Law and English Language at A-Level. The unis I've applied to don't require certain subjects (apart from 1 that wants a science but accepts Psychology as a science) but do you think I'll be at a disadvantage for not doing Biology, Maths etc?
Reply 131
Could you guys please complete my survey? I'll do yours in return now or in the future! Psychology courses come with loads of studies in research methods modules so you can't escape these :biggrin: We're in need of many participants at the moment. Thank you!! xx

https://www.survey.bris.ac.uk/ntupsychology/predicstress
Reply 132
Hi there, I am 2nd year Psych/Criminology student in a UK uni :smile: Could you guys please complete my survey for my current project? I'll do yours in return now or in the future! Psychology courses come with loads of studies in research methods modules so you can't escape these :biggrin: We're in need of many participants at the moment. Thank you!! *smile*

Also if you need any help or advice I could give you about what it is like studying psychology at Uni, just ask! x

https://www.survey.bris.ac.uk/ntupsychology/predicstress
subscribing to thread
Reply 134
Hi, I've just started year 13/A2 and I'm thinking of studying psychology at university. I really hated biopsychology at AS as it just bored me and I couldn't get into it. Taking this into account, would I like psychology? Thanks :smile:
Thank you so much really looking forward to it


Nightworld1066
Original post by GodspeedGehenna
I'm pretty bored, so I thought I'd make a "What is Psychology like at University?" thread as I tend to get a lot of PMs about it anyway. It would probably be helpful to say that I'm currently finishing my second year, beginning preps for third year research and what not.

I'll try and break the thread up into sections, maybe include a few slides from some lectures I've had, a few paragraphs from some of my assignments perhaps. So:

Contents

A-Level versus University
Are the statistics really hard?
What do you actually study?
What are the essays like?
What is your timetable like?
What are lab reports?
How much work do you do?
Do you have to do much reading?
What are the exams like?
Multiple choice exams?
Workload and Socialising?
Should I do some reading over the summer in preparation for degree level Psychology?
When (and where) should I buy my textbooks?
What are the best A-Levels for Psychology?
Do I need work experience for Psychology?

A-Level versus University: The jump up
I personally think that A-level Psychology, while worth studying, is not good preperation for degree level Psychology. This is mainly due to the ethos that the course instills in the students; Topic One has x research supporting and x research against, then generic criticisms of both. At degree level, it's just not that simplistic.

At degree level, it becomes very clear that the subject is not just a cluster of isolated theory. Everything is related. The mind is one of the most complex entities in our known world and this is certainly reflected in the theory used to explain it. No theory has clear supporting and opposing evidence. It's not as simplistic or superficial as A-level suggests.

Other notable points worth mentioning is the use of literary searches. Most a-level students would never have used a database like PsychINFO or ever read an actual research paper. It's worth doing as it is a useful skill in searching for and selecting relevant papers. It also helps when you come to find the relevant information in a paper.

Here's an example of a research paper:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=81977&stc=1&d=1267832240

Papers like this is what you will spend the next three years spilling your guts over. Get used to reading them.

Finally, referencing. During the time that you're not getting your head around needlessly complex experimental methods will be spent plucking your eyes out ensuring that every comma is in the right place in your references.



Are the statistics really hard?
Simply, no. If you can use BODMAS (aka PEMDAS) then you can do statistics. Most departments will start from scratch, I'm talking mean, median and mode. It will, however, progress very quickly and you'll soon be doing multiple linear regression in your sleep. The formulas might look complex, but they're essentially just recipes. Don't worry about it.



What do you actually study?
Biological, Developmental, Cognitive, Social Psychology, Research Methods, Statistics, Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuropsychology etc.
Psychology is dynamically broad. As a result, I have lecturers who have hugely competing views and regularly have arguments which is great. Social Psychology and Biological Psychology are just two completely different worlds. Thus, chances are, there are going to be topics you adore and topics you loathe. I don't know many people who enjoy the subject completely. For example, I can go from studying number representation in children to attribution theory to experimental methodology to Rogerian counselling to the functional architecture of the cerebral cortex to principal components analysis to neuroanatomy.

Example of one of our lecture slides discussing activation in the SMA a few seconds before activity in the primary motor areas:




What are the essays like?
Not too bad. They range from 2000-3000 words. To get a 2.1 you need to successfully use the research to support your argument, that means understanding what they did and the implication of their results upon your argument. It needs to be well structured and convincing. In order to get a 1st, it needs to be innovative and creative.

Here's an introduction to an essay titled "Why do people make errors in statistical judgement?" This got a decent 2.1.


The hardest part is actually fitting your essay within the word limit. It takes practice to condense your writing down to present the information efficiently.



What is your timetable like?
Pretty flexible. I essentially have a four day week, each day having 2-4 hours of lectures with the occasional tutorial thrown in. It's pretty independent in terms of the work that you do. This gives you plenty of time to work on your employability through volunteering, work experience, getting involved in departmental research etc. This naturally changes from year to year. In my third year most of my time will be taken up by the dissertation, lectures and essays due every week.



What are lab reports?
Essentially, you have to write a research paper. This would include an abstract, an introduction, a methods section, a results section, analysis and a discussion. You typically conduct an experiment with your year group and you are given the results to analyse and a general topic and asked to produce a piece of coursework ~2000-3000 words long. You tend to do about 3 or 4 of them per year.



How much work do you do?
This year (second year) I have had:
Six essays
Three lab reports
Three statistics assignments
And finally, summer exams.


Do you have to do a lot of reading?
Yeah. After each lecture we're generally given at least 3-5 papers to read, a few chapters in a book perhaps. This can take up a lot of your time.


What are the exams like?
They tend to be essay based and around two hours long. You often have your choice of questions. Here are a few examples from past papers:



Do you have Multiple Choice exams? If so, what are they like?
If you have MCQ exams, they will probably only be in your first year.

They include things like:

A likely cause of Korsakoff's Syndrome is:
A: Alcohol dependency or poor diet
B: Stroke to the right parietal lobe
C: Poor grouping of object variables
D: Epilepsy

or things like

Transfer-appropriate processing is a model of memory:
A: That suggests the most important determinant of memory is how extensively information is encoded or processed when it is first received
B: That suggests new experiences change people's overall knowledge base, altering their understanding of the world.
C: That suggests the critical determinant of memory is how the encoding process matches up with what is ultimately retrieved.
D: In which information must pass through three stages in order to become embedded in memory.

They tend not to be like:

Corbett 1980 did what?
A: Blah
B: Blah
etc



Do you have time to socialise with your timetable and workload?
I would say that you have plenty of time to socialise, or even hold down quite a hefty part-time job.

In the later years this might become more of a challenge, but if you plan out your assignments in advance then you will have absolutely no problem. Come the last half of your third year (i gather), however, I don't think you will be seeing daylight because of the workload.

But in general, you have plenty of spare time that you can dedicate to reading, working, socialising, volunteering etc.



Should I do some reading over the summer in preparation for degree level Psychology?
Sure, if you would enjoy it. It certainly isn't required and wouldn't give you an advantage per-say as you probably won't cover common topics. If you think you would enjoy it, there certainly isn't any harm in picking up a general textbook to get a feel for the subject. I would recommend something broad like: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Psychology-Henry-Gleitman/dp/0393973646/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268002781&sr=8-2 Psychology by Gleitman. It covers a lot of topics very generally. Naturally, there are more specific books out there, but it depends on what you're interested in. Other good books include:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cognitive-Neuroscience-Michael-S-Gazzaniga/dp/0393977773/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268504215&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-Statistics-Psychology-Dennis-Howitt/dp/0132051613/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268504246&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biological-Psychology-Introduction-Behavioral-Neuroscience/dp/0878937056/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268504263&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Social-Psychology-Student-Access-MyPsychKit/dp/1405893648/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268504298&sr=1-1

Other good reading includes The Psychologist magazine found here:
http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/ This includes a free digital taster on the right, and the editions can be bought online very cheaply.


When (and where) should I buy my textbooks?
AFTER you have started and as you need them! Secondly, ignore the lecturers who try and convince you to go out and buy this 20 long list of textbooks that will cost you hundreds of pounds. Chances are, you will only open them once. 99% of your resources will be online research journals. Textbooks are only good for general overviews which are good for starting an essay on unfamiliar grounds.

If you ARE going to buy textbooks, the Amazon Marketplace is your friend. I've picked up next to new textbooks for pennies. Don't buy them brand new. OR, you can buy them off previous year groups. When you get your uni email account, you will be spammed by second and third years trying to sell their textbooks.


What are the best A-Levels for Psychology?
Firstly, consult your chosen universities to ensure they don't have any specific requirements. Secondly, I strongly recommend
Psychology, Biology and Maths (Or even better Statistics). This is THE best combination for Psych. You cover the fundamental basics, you have a good foundation for neuroscience, and you're introduced to the fantastic world of statistics. You're also given basic essay writing skills from Psychology. Your fourth choice can be whatever really.



Do I need work experience for university?

Simple answer is no. It's not expected as a requirement. That said, if you are considering applying to the competitive universities, e.g. Bristol/Oxford for example, it might be worthwhile. The kind of work experience available to you as an a-level student, however, is limited. At best, you can obtain voluntary positions in a caring environment, for example a hospital befriender or an volunteer assistant in a neurorehabilitation centre. The best website to use for finding these is http://www.do-it.org . There is an alternative called vinspired, but it is literally the same content.

Voluntary positions such as these are typically involving vulnerable people and thus require a criminal records check (CRB). It is the organisation's responsibility to provide you with this application and for voluntary positions, it is free to you. These can take at least 3-4 weeks, but can take much longer if it is your first one, of if it is a busy period.


I can't really think of any other questions, so if you have any feel free to ask and I'll add them to the thread.


Hi, I read through parts of the original post and I have a couple questions I hope you'll be able to answer.

1. I'm an International student who did not do A-Levels (I did a Foundation Year in a Marketing and Communications related course instead, due to family and financial constraints) and am trying to decide whether it would be a good idea for me to take up Psychology as a degree. I have some interest in the subject but my maths/stats isn't too good and I didn't do Biology in school. Overall, I'm not optimistic about my chances of making it through this degree, but I would really appreciate some input. Any additional advice would also be greatly appreciated.

2. What do students normally study during their first year?

3. In the event that I do take Psychology, I plan on transferring to a UK uni for my second year and have looked at and done some research on University of Sheffield, Portsmouth, UWE and Bangor. They seem to be rather alright choices, but I would appreciate some extra input.

Thanks for reading and thanks for your time!
(edited 9 years ago)
That is an excellent overview of what an undergraduate student can expect from a Psychology degree: accurate and informative in terms of range, depth and difficulty of topics studied, and on the way they're likely to be assessed.

Aspiring students do please note that though some of the material cited looks demanding, your first year's work will give you the grounding and confidence to handle it.

If some of the topics still seem daunting, do some detective work in the details of what different Universities offer. Although the bulk of the material is common (if only to ensure approval of the course for BPS recognition), there is a certain amount of variation.

A lecturer.
I have a question that has been playing on my mind. Due to rigid option blocks when choosing A levels, I wasn't able to take any science or maths and so have taken english literature, psychology, geography and history. Considering this, will it hinder my chances of getting into a higher regarded psychology course even if I do particularly well overall at A level?
Original post by KateClarke
I have a question that has been playing on my mind. Due to rigid option blocks when choosing A levels, I wasn't able to take any science or maths and so have taken english literature, psychology, geography and history. Considering this, will it hinder my chances of getting into a higher regarded psychology course even if I do particularly well overall at A level?


Hey :smile:
I think depending on which university/other etc. you want to go to, it shouldn't matter as long as you have the right grades to get in. I went to college and did Health and Social Care and now I am currently in uni doing psychology now :smile: Hope this helps :smile:

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