psychology in universities

i have a few queries.

1. which 3 universities are seen as the best to study psychology in?

For A levels, i am going to study chemistry, biology and psychology. I will study a fourth, but only as an AS. I've heard there's a lot of statistics involved in pyschology. As well as this, you require good english language skills as you apparently write lots of reports. so,

2. what would be best to study as an AS, maths, or english?

thanks

Reply 1

smartieskittle

I take psychology A-levels and the only type of statistics you have to learn is percentages really. And you can round them up if you want.
I got my worst GCSE grade in English yet I'm at an A in psychology at the moment. You only write essays in A2, and even then you don't have to be good at english.

Reply 2

wasting-time

2. I'd go for maths as you have to do stats and stuff (at uni not in psyc a level), and also it will help you with A2 chem.

1. oxford, york, ucl and others like that

Maths.

I've heard Birmingham is top for Psychology, but that's just by word of mouth, not by league tables or whatever.

I also think Loughborough's pretty good for it too.

Reply 5

xoxAngel_Kxox

Original post by smartieskittle

Well, that's wrong for a start. I assume you're meaning you only have to remember percentages in studies like "40% of orphans have personality disorders" or something. That is A LOT of what A Level is, memorising facts, but..

Even at A Level you have to do your own mini research project as coursework, and you're required to do stats which are relatively complicated if you've never studied them before. I had to do a Spearman's by hand which was okay for me as I did stats, but other people really struggled with it.

With regards to degree level, a HUGE part of it is statistics. Anyone who does psychology will tell you that SPSS, the statistical software that a lot of unis use, is basically a swear word to them. But as someone who learned to do most of these tests by hand I worship the software as it really does save a lot of time once you've got your head around it.

ANYWAY back to your question. One of the most important things you need to consider with Psychology is whether it's accredited by the British Psychological Society. If you're going for a career in Psych, an accredited degree will give you a massive advantage over people who don't have it. League tables are all well and good, but with Psychology it's important to consider what kind of research facilities your uni has. I go to Liverpool Hope, and I was told by practically EVERYONE not to go there because it was a "rubbish uni".. but it's an accredited course, and their research equipment is great so I'm glad I took my own advice instead of everyone else's. Plus I've managed to sort out a post grad course for myself after I've taken a year out to save up for it- and have a job for my year out! So never rule out places just listening to other people's opinions.

Reply 6

catoswyn

Original post by jodie.irwin27

2. Maths would be good as Psychology itself has essay skills in it and maths is useful for psychology. There are a lot of stats at university level but most people don't have A level maths and cope fine.

1. It is impossible to put the 'best three' as that varies according to what 'house style' you would prefer and your end aims. For example Cambridge is no good at all if you want to go into clinical psychology. Oxford, Bath and Bristol are top for 'experimental psychology' which is very science orientated, Exeter is superb especially for clinical, and offers animal studies too which is now unusual, Cardiff, Bath and Kent all have one year placements built into their courses which are incredibly useful if you want work afterwards. UCL, Sheffield and York are excellent general courses etc etc.... You can usually tell how popular a course is by the fact that they ask for the top grades.You need to do a lot of research and reading. Work out what your aims might be and your own particular bent and how best that fits with the various courses available. They alll cover the basics but vary as to the emphasis. Make sure the courses you look at are BPS accredited. Also read up on careeers in psychology at the BPS and other sites. Have a look at the league tables for a general feel of what comes where in terms of departments but don't take them as gospel. (see Guardian Guide to Universities subject tables on line or the Good University Guide. There are more.)

Good luck.

:smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

Noodlzzz

1. Oxford, UCL and Cambridge if you enjoy social sciences more broadly as you study it alongside politics/sociology/anthropology etc. or through natsci. Bristol and Bath are also very good.

2. Maths for shizzle. Lab reports aren't 'flowery'. No use of adjectives or flowing sentences and essay techniques that english teaches, in fact it's a very different way of writing compared to how you're taught at school.

Reply 8

catoswyn

Original post by Noodlzzz

Just thought I'd clarify for the OP as the first sentence reads as if Oxford and UCL are included with Cambridge as courses that include the social sciences. Only Cambridge with its PPS course does so. Oxford offers psychology with linguistics or philosophy as a joint degree but their psychology course itself is very scientific 'experimental psychology'.

:smile:

Reply 9

alexmagpie

Maths might be more useful but you don't need either - I did Psychology, Biology and French at A-Level and I'm doing just fine in Psychology at York.

However, you do need to be comfortable enough with statistics to succeed at degree. Something like 25% of my degree is meant to rely directly or indirectly on statistics. Likewise, you don't need an English A Level, but you need to be able to express yourself clearly and articulately in essays and reports to get good grades at uni.