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Cambridge top in Psychology?
So, according to various league tables, Cambridge seems to consistently rank as the best university in the country to study psychology. ...Why? Cambridge doesn't offer a psychology course, only Natural Sciences or Social and Political Sciences. According to their website, with Natural Sciences, the emphasis is very much on biological and experimental psychology with psychology barely touched upon in the first year. With Social and Political Sciences, the emphasis is heavily on social and developmental psychology. The website makes it sound as though the bare minimum necessary for accreditation is covered on the other side of psychology in both courses.
Now, don't get me wrong, I can see some advantages in this system, but both courses seem to me far too imbalanced to be 'the best in the country' for psychology. On the other hand, I'm not studying them. Can anyone who is shed some light on what they're like and if you think this ranking is deserved?
Now, don't get me wrong, I can see some advantages in this system, but both courses seem to me far too imbalanced to be 'the best in the country' for psychology. On the other hand, I'm not studying them. Can anyone who is shed some light on what they're like and if you think this ranking is deserved?
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I don't do either coure, but i would hazard a guess that it is because the department itself is very highly rated in research or maybe teaching, and isn't actually determined by the courses themselves... maybe...
The department has top marks in research (5A*), along with departments at several other unis. I think a lot of it has to do with the higher entry standards and graduate prospects. I wonder if this is due to the Natural Sciences course being highly competitive. In the league tables, the stats show why it's in that position.
I guess what I'm more interested in is whether it's actually considered the best place to study psychology and if it deserves its rank.
I guess what I'm more interested in is whether it's actually considered the best place to study psychology and if it deserves its rank.
We have so many of the best psychologists in the world, including Michael Lamb, Melissa Hines, Simon Baron Cohen etc.
Through either PPS or Natural Sciences you get an extremely proficient accredited psychology degree and you are taught in close contact with some of the most important psychologists in the world.]
Also within PPS you do a large amount of Experimental in the second and third years.
Through either PPS or Natural Sciences you get an extremely proficient accredited psychology degree and you are taught in close contact with some of the most important psychologists in the world.]
Also within PPS you do a large amount of Experimental in the second and third years.
A few thoughts:
PPS is just as competitive as NatSci. More so if you take a recent (albeit pea-brained) article in the Guardian seriously.
I don't mean to slight other Universities, but the volume of content covered on a Cambridge course is immense. So whether you enter Psychology through NatSci or PPS, your following two years of specialisation still offer other courses a run for their money. And I don't think it is as imbalanced as you suggest. Whichever route you take, in your two years of specialisation you have quite a bit of flexibility to mix and match between experimental and social. In PPS the first year is one quarter Psychology, once again covering alot.
And then there are the benefits that have already been mentioned in the thread.
PPS is just as competitive as NatSci. More so if you take a recent (albeit pea-brained) article in the Guardian seriously.
I don't mean to slight other Universities, but the volume of content covered on a Cambridge course is immense. So whether you enter Psychology through NatSci or PPS, your following two years of specialisation still offer other courses a run for their money. And I don't think it is as imbalanced as you suggest. Whichever route you take, in your two years of specialisation you have quite a bit of flexibility to mix and match between experimental and social. In PPS the first year is one quarter Psychology, once again covering alot.
And then there are the benefits that have already been mentioned in the thread.
Are Cambridge's NatSci and SPS accredited by the BPS?
Promesse
Are Cambridge's NatSci and SPS accredited by the BPS?
Yes, both are.
The West Wing
Yes, both are.
I'm impressed
Craghyrax
Yes. Its PPS now though, rather than SPS.
What does PPS stand for?
Promesse
What does PPS stand for?
Politics, Psychology and Sociology
Whoa, if I were intelligant I think i'd actually apply. Have they always been accredited? I had some people come to my school a few years ago and they said it wasn't (they were drama students though).
Going aside fom the specifics mentioned in the OP, leagues tables aren't really the best things to rely on. They take Student Satisfaction and such into consideration which would, quite rightly, give them a higher rank. The rank in the tables doesn't necessarily correspond to quality of teaching and value of degree though.
I see where you're coming from, in the same sense that I wouldn't wanta University offering Information Technology topping the Computer Science tables, but the Psychology course at Cambridge is at least Psychology related.
I see where you're coming from, in the same sense that I wouldn't wanta University offering Information Technology topping the Computer Science tables, but the Psychology course at Cambridge is at least Psychology related.
I actually take the psychology option within SPS, and it's quite diverse. This year I'm essentially taking social psychology, experimental psychology, a psychological research project, and stats.
What you lack in psychology in year 1, you more than make up for in years 2 and 3. The course is fully accredited, and allows you to direct which areas of psyc you want to specialise in. As also mentioned, we have some of the top people, and really high quality teaching. Plus, the top class people actually get involved with the undergraduates, so you really benefit.
It's a great course - just with a slightly unconvential lead up...
What you lack in psychology in year 1, you more than make up for in years 2 and 3. The course is fully accredited, and allows you to direct which areas of psyc you want to specialise in. As also mentioned, we have some of the top people, and really high quality teaching. Plus, the top class people actually get involved with the undergraduates, so you really benefit.
It's a great course - just with a slightly unconvential lead up...
Long live SPS!DarkWhite
Going aside fom the specifics mentioned in the OP, leagues tables aren't really the best things to rely on. They take Student Satisfaction and such into consideration which would, quite rightly, give them a higher rank. The rank in the tables doesn't necessarily correspond to quality of teaching and value of degree though.
Ok.. how about when for 50% of the areas you learn about, your lecturers' names are the most prominent or frequently repeated names to be found when researching the areas stretching back for a good 20years? And the lecturers supervise you...
Craghyrax
Ok.. how about when for 50% of the areas you learn about, your lecturers' names are the most prominent or frequently repeated names to be found when researching the areas stretching back for a good 20years? And the lecturers supervise you...
Just to play devils advocate a little becuase I often think there is a bit of hubris on this point.
A few things strike me here: lecturers tend to lecture on the areas that they study. (the obvious exception is introductory courses). One only has to go back through past paper guides and see how much the reading lists and lecture series change when there is a change in lecturers. Being the best in their research area doesn't really mean much to me? Best in Psychology? Best in Social Psychology? Best in infant development? best in infant development in single parent households? Best in single parent households in rural Lancashire? Researchers are often the best in some way of defining the field becuase, at the end of the day, often there aren't many people researching that particular area. It is therefore a slightly meaningless statement.
I don't know much about the psych department but I imagine less than half of them are the most prominent or most read in their field if the department is equal to the sociology department. I can pick out one or two in the sociology department who are clearly the top by the definitions you provided but not that many. But many of the rest are national rather than international players at best. That is not to say that these people aren't excellent - but some of them are young (the best research tends to be done by older people) and others never dictated the field but did provide sterling research. You would be hard pressed to find a bad or even mediocre person in the department.
Looking back on my time at cambridge well under half the topics were by the best in the field. However many of the best supervisors and lecturers were not the best in the field either (or were grads, who are clearly not the best in their field). I imagine the correlation between teaching ability and research ability is not perfect (cambridge hire people on the basis of whether their research is any good. if they don't produce decent research they get kicked out. if they don't teach badly they might get some slap on the wrist).
The aspect of your post that should be stressed is that the supervisions are brilliant. The high levels of motivation and intelligence of the students are also very important. There are excellent reasons for choosing cambridge to study. Research quality is not everything (nor nearly everything, if it was then we'd go to LSE or Essex for sociology over cambridge). If Cambridge SPS/PPS really wanted to make teaching even better than it already is they'd just import a tonne of good teachers rather than excellent researchers...
The psychology course is BPS accredited but only if you follow certain regulations (you're required to take modules in certain areas), but it's not difficult to do so.
As for the lecturers - so far this year, all my lectures have been very prominent in their areas, or if not, at least connected to others who are. The psychology research community is not all that huge, so there is a lot of overlap of researchers. And they've all been excellent lecturers too, which I find even more important. I can't say whether it's the best program in the country, but it's certainley a very good one, and very enjoyable too.
As for the lecturers - so far this year, all my lectures have been very prominent in their areas, or if not, at least connected to others who are. The psychology research community is not all that huge, so there is a lot of overlap of researchers. And they've all been excellent lecturers too, which I find even more important. I can't say whether it's the best program in the country, but it's certainley a very good one, and very enjoyable too.
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