Will i learn about autism as part of the psychology course in uni?

... because for my PS for psychology i've written about autism for my 'books/lectures' part :/ is this wrong to do?

thanks for your help :smile:

Reply 1

Interrobang

You will almost certainly cover it a bit over the first two years at some point. It may not be in great detail tho, but it's certainly something you can mention in your PS :smile:

You may find that some unis (York for example, I know definitely do as I went there) cover it in more detail in 3rd year optional modules. Best check the course outlines of the unis you're interested in (not just optional modules, but core ones too :smile:

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(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2

jjy

Thank you very much!
But thing is, i've not only just 'mentioned' it i've kind of just talked about the book i've read about autism and talked alot about it probably 1/2 of my PS :/ do you think i should remove bits of it ??
i wanted to apply to York but it's too far from where i live :frown:

Reply 3

cat_2002_12

At Warwick in 2nd year we spent about 1/4 of one lecture talking about it in our Developmental. Which was 1 of 8 modules. Think it'll come up a bit more in 3rd year though. And I think it will be fine. Many people who do Psychology want to go into working with people with special needs and it is definitely relevant, particularly if you want to do a project in it or go into it later on

Reply 4

jjy

oh okay thanks! Do you think i should mention that i would want to do something developmental for the 3rd year research project?
also for some uni's i'm applying for a Psychology and Neuroscience joint degree, do you think i should mention neuroscience in my PS although other universities who read it might get confused as they only offer a Psychology degree?

sorry i worded that really badly :/

i am also having difficulty linking my subjects to psychology since i do biology, maths, geography and economics. i only managed to link biology by saying i enjoy conducting the experiments and that it has given my skills which will aid me when i do the psychological experiments at uni, do you think this is relevant?

thank you so much!

Reply 5

cat_2002_12

I think mentioning that developmental would be a particular research interest to you would be good.
I personally would keep the mentioning of Neuroscience low but definitiely mention it at some point
Right the linking of subjects;
Biology - SO SO RELEVANT!!! Lots of modules about human biology especially the nervous system so anything about that is great. And as you say the experiment stuff
Maths - Talk about stats!!! Maths A Level is great because you'll have no trouble with stats modules which most people can't stand. If you're taking any stats modules then I would mention how much you've enjoyed them

Geography - don't know anything about it. Dyu have to write essays? If so could mention that.

Economics - a surprising amount of psychology has links to economics actually, especially in our 1st year visual search work. But tbh the analysis skills and essay skills I imagine you need for this subject would be great to mention

Reply 6

Interrobang

Answers in bold

Original post by jjy

oh okay thanks! Do you think i should mention that i would want to do something developmental for the 3rd year research project?

You certainly don't need to mention it for a possible research project (with ethics, it may be difficult to do anything concerning children without piggybacking a study the department is already conducting), but if you talk about it then it'll show you have an interest in that area. Very few people know what they want to do theirs on at this stage!

also for some uni's i'm applying for a Psychology and Neuroscience joint degree, do you think i should mention neuroscience in my PS although other universities who read it might get confused as they only offer a Psychology degree?

focus on biological (brain areas) psychology for some of your PS? A lot of unis will cover this stuff anyway even without being a joint degree

sorry i worded that really badly :/

i am also having difficulty linking my subjects to psychology since i do biology, maths, geography and economics. i only managed to link biology by saying i enjoy conducting the experiments and that it has given my skills which will aid me when i do the psychological experiments at uni, do you think this is relevant?

You don't have to justify all your A Level choices - just talk about them if they're relevant. Extra reading is far more important tho

thank you so much!

Reply 7

jjy

thing is i just started my A2 so i haven't learnt nervous system yet and our school wants the PS done by friday! so i will have to leave it out for now

do you learn about cell organelles/evolution/ mutation/ proteins/enzymes for biology?

yeah i do stats! but i absolutely hate it :/ what part of stats...like regression etc for analysis of data ? but if i write i love stats it may seem a bit fake because i can't possibly love every part of psychology and it may seem like i've researched loads into the course

do you think it'll be too wrong to lie that i love it? :|

oh yeah i could write about the analysis skills/essay skills but i'm actually thinking of dropping economics next year for A2

you have been so helpful!

Reply 8

cat_2002_12

No problem :smile:

Don't lie if you really hate them cus they might bring it up in an interview.

Mainly we learn about action potentials, generator potentials, various pathways through the brain, bits of the brain and what they do, and then how this relates to different areas of life such as reproduction, sleeping and homeostasis

Reply 9

BeautifulArmour

I've just finished my first year and I don't remember learning a significant amount about autism.

I wouldn't worry on the PS front though, I wrote a paragraph on my interest on psychology and eating disorders and that definitely didn't do any harm :smile: