Studying in Holland and how it effects UK employability (especially psychology)

Hi gang. So I've just finished college and am embarking on my planned gap year but college did not conclude as I would have liked - BBD, the D being in maths.

I wanted to do medicine but went off the idea over the course of my A levels (although it was nothing to do with my academic performance. My grades are not really a reflection of my potential sadly...). Now I want to study psychology.

Groningen really appeals to me as a second chance - they won't penalise me massively for not having AAA and the first, probationary style year where you have to work or be kicked out is exactly the kind of treatment I need after the shall-we-say 'relaxed' attitude of my college. From what I have gathered with my initial research, Groningen is a well respected uni for social sciences and is one of the top ones in Holland (I would very much welcome being corrected on that if it's not true).

My parents are concerned that having a degree from a non-UK university would damage my employability against those with UK degrees if I was looking for work in the UK. Can anyone well placed to answer verify/refute this?

I'm sure Groningen is lovely and that I would enjoy studying there. What I'm interested in is whether it would hurt my job prospects in the UK significantly.

Thanks in advance.

Reply 1

Alexgadgetman

3

Original post by greatcarbuncle

Groningen really appeals to me as a second chance

Just to put it out there - Maastricht is another option. Though I have only been here 3 weeks its pretty awesome :absinth:

.

As for employability, I cant say specifically but when i write that i went abroad for 3 years and hopefully that I learned at least 1 other language i think it will go down pretty well :wink:

Reply 2

iammichealjackson

18

Original post by greatcarbuncle

Hi gang. So I've just finished college and am embarking on my planned gap year but college did not conclude as I would have liked - BBD, the D being in maths.

I wanted to do medicine but went off the idea over the course of my A levels (although it was nothing to do with my academic performance. My grades are not really a reflection of my potential sadly...). Now I want to study psychology.

Groningen really appeals to me as a second chance - they won't penalise me massively for not having AAA and the first, probationary style year where you have to work or be kicked out is exactly the kind of treatment I need after the shall-we-say 'relaxed' attitude of my college. From what I have gathered with my initial research, Groningen is a well respected uni for social sciences and is one of the top ones in Holland (I would very much welcome being corrected on that if it's not true).

My parents are concerned that having a degree from a non-UK university would damage my employability against those with UK degrees if I was looking for work in the UK. Can anyone well placed to answer verify/refute this?

I'm sure Groningen is lovely and that I would enjoy studying there. What I'm interested in is whether it would hurt my job prospects in the UK significantly.

Thanks in advance.

In order to get a job as a clinical, educational or occcupational psychologist, you need a degree which is accredited by the British Psychological Society. To my knowledge, most international degrees are not. However,this would not affect most graduates since only a small percentage of graduates go on to further training. Most grads use their psychology degrees for other stuff.

Reply 3

Mufasaa

I know quite a few employers (some of whom are extremely high-flying) and they all echoed the same thing - if you get a good enough degree (2:1) it will be outstanding for you.

I'm studying Psychology in Groningen in the moment, it is accredited by the Dutch psychological association and is mostly working off an American syllabus, but I am of the understanding that you can do a year long top-up in the UK to make it accredited by the BPS. Looking purely at the uni experience, I can't recommend it enough, the city is amazing and so far the content hasn't been bad. Although we've only been studying a week already, the workload seems quite low compared to other courses, we've only had reading to do so far whilst others have had long essays to complete.

Reply 4

iammichealjackson

18

The above is true, although you'll probably be bored as hell coming back to the UK to study a year of what you already know, which could be spent elsewhere.

Reply 5

greatcarbuncle

OP

Original post by Alexgadgetman

Just to put it out there - Maastricht is another option.

Maastricht do not offer an English-taught psychology BSc course.

Original post by iammichealjackson

In order to get a job as a clinical, educational or occcupational psychologist, you need a degree which is accredited by the British Psychological Society. To my knowledge, most international degrees are not. However,this would not affect most graduates since only a small percentage of graduates go on to further training. Most grads use their psychology degrees for other stuff.

Hmmmmmm. Not exactly what I was hoping to hear. I've done further digging on this and found that "The Society does not accredit any overseas qualifications, so all non-UK applications are assessed individually to determine eligibility for graduate membership and the GBC". The assessment looks at standard of the BSc held, whether it was attained from a recognised university and whether the degree includes at least 50% psychology.

I'm emailing the GBC membership team to get their thoughts on Groningen. Given those criteria I would say that it's quite likely that a conversion course would not be necessary for me, and that I could go straight on to do a doctorate of clinical psychology and be qualified and working in the NHS after six years of study. This is starting to feel a lot like medicine did lol.

Original post by Mufasaa

so far the content hasn't been bad. Although we've only been studying a week already, the workload seems quite low compared to other courses, we've only had reading to do so far whilst others have had long essays to complete.

"hasn't been bad"? Is that dubious or is it just too early to tell? Would it possibly be okay for me to have your email? You're the first person I've spoken to actually studying the very course I'm interested in. Also, do you expect to be able to finish the BSc within three years? I've heard that that's quite a feat over in Holland.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 6

Mufasaa

Original post by greatcarbuncle

"hasn't been bad"? Is that dubious or is it just too early to tell? Would it possibly be okay for me to have your email? You're the first person I've spoken to actually studying the very course I'm interested in. Also, do you expect to be able to finish the BSc within three years? I've heard that that's quite a feat over in Holland.

I think it's too early to tell to be honest, but so far I've literally only had to read some articles and my textbook. I should be able to finish in 3 years, the biggest hurdle seems to be surviving the first year but after that it doesn't seem too bad.

I'll PM you my e-mail.

EDIT: Unless it's changed only Groningen offers the normal Psychology Bsc in English, but quite a few places offer similar degrees with odd names.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 7

greatcarbuncle

OP

So the GBC team got back to me with an excellent response which I've put below for anyone with the same concerns as me.

"Dear Bruce

In the 9 years working on these type of applications I don’t recall ever having rejected an applicant with a Dutch psychology degree.

When looking at any non-UK applicant we look to see that the applicant has a degree from a recognised university – this is fine; that the qualification is to at least British Bachelor 2:2 level – invariably this is fine with Dutch degrees; that the qualification is at least 50%psychology – again not usually a problem; and finally that it covers the core areas of psychology we require, these are:

Cognitive psychology
Psychobiology
Social Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Individual Differences
Conceptual and Historical Issues
Research

As long as you cover all of the above area and meet the other requirements you should be fine."

So, basically, Dutch psychology degrees are kosher in the UK.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 8

JamoRoche

Did you go on to Study the Psychology in Groningen?? I'm looking to study Psychology there too!! Do you like it there?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 9

RLangenh

Being Dutch myself I am probably biased, but Groningen is a good university. However, I am not certain your A levels will be high enough to be accepted, for psychology is quite a popular course and Groningen is one of the top universities of the Netherlands regarding this subject. I wouldn't count on 'just getting accepted because you aren't good enough for a proper British university'.

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Reply 10

Anniepants

Hi everyone, I'm dutch myself so I wouldn't know about employability in the UK, but you could look at other universities as well. I know Nijmegen, Utrecht and Tilburg offer Psychology for sure, I'm just not sure whether they offer it in English.

Reply 11

Mishka1984

1

Original post by iammichealjackson

In order to get a job as a clinical, educational or occcupational psychologist, you need a degree which is accredited by the British Psychological Society. To my knowledge, most international degrees are not. However,this would not affect most graduates since only a small percentage of graduates go on to further training. Most grads use their psychology degrees for other stuff.

And what if I hv a bsc in psychology from a uni not accredited by bps and still want to continue with further specialisation to become a clinical psychologist with a dclinpsy, how would I achieve that?

Studying in Holland and how it effects UK employability (especially psychology)

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