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2 undergraduate degrees or 1 and a masters?

Hi,

I'm currently studying for a BA Social Work, which is going well. To cut a long story short, prior to this degree I studied 4 years of Psychology with the Open Uni. When I graduate from my SW degree it was my intention to complete my final year with the OU and have 2 undergrad degrees.

I'm not due to graduate for another 2 years yet, but I like planning ahead hence my question. (I also need to save a lot!)

I am unsure wether or not to complete the BA Psychology or to do the masters conversion course? Both will cost me about £5000 and I can work alongside studying both courses. Also, both would give me my professional registration.

I'm swinging towards the MA conversion course due to it being a higher level and will hopefully give me the opportunity to complete a PHD at some point in the future, but I am unsure if employers would favour the 2 ungrad degrees as opposed to a conversion MA. As the Ma is only 1 year and the BA 3 years, it stands to reason that having a deeper knowledge of psychology would be more beneficial to them?

Any ideas or thoughts are welcome,

Thank you Steph

Reply 1

edjunkie

Get the MA after you complete the SW, you already have 4 years of OU, so it will be easy for you to demonstrate the depth of knowledge. Plus there are some roles that require MA level qualification.

An MA should have the majority of the modules at level 7, you need 180 credits to get the MA and typically a pass is 50% or higher. Compared with a degree, where typically only 120 credits of the total 360 required are at level 6, with a minimum pass of 40%. So I would not worry about depth of knowledge.

From an employers point of view, there is probably a degree of overlap between SW and psychology, so two BA/BSc level qualifications in the same broad area won't necessarily be seen as more attractive. Some employers may also discount you as being too academic with two undergraduate degrees. The MA gives you a route to completing a PhD you are considering at a later date.