Educational Psychology

Douise

Hi,

Does anyone know what sort of professional experience is required to get into an educational psychology masters? Would experience doing something like ABA count or would it have to be teaching experience in a school?
I have emailed the course administrator in UCD twice to ask about this but havent gotten any reply. I would really appreciate some help with this as i want to start looking for relevant experience but don't want to go for jobs and then find out that they are a waste of time.

The Black Oil

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055068445

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055217153

Douise

Thanks for that. i found those after i posted my question! Thats very helpful. I am going to try to get some experience in ABA as that seems to be the best route to go.

The Black Oil

Trinity has a specific course in ABA. Not sure of the details myself.

http://www.psychology.tcd.ie/ABA/index.htm

Perhaps you could try and see if you could talk to someone who is actually doing the UCD Masters in Ed Psych, they might be able to give you some pointers. Did you email the course director or just the admin?

Douise

yeah i just emailed the administrator. i decided to give them a couple more days before i emailed the director because i dont want to be really annoying! i have been looking for someone who did the masters in UCD but nobody i know has done it.
thanks for the info on the course in Trinity. i will definately look into that as well.

Moobui

Hi Douise,
I think the ABA course and experience in the area would stand to you in making the application. Most of the people who get places on this course in UCD have been working as teachers so teaching experience seems to be important, it is not essential though. Do you have any experience working in the field of Psychology?

Douise

Thanks for that.
I have a degree in psychology and i am currently working as research assistant. my plan for the minute is try to get another job that is more relevant to educational psych and also do some volunteer work with a home work club or something like that if i can get it.

Moobui

That sounds like a good plan. Best of luck with the application. The UCD Ed Psych course will be increasing its intake for next September but I am not sure by how many. They took an extra two this year so 14 place versus 12 last year.

Douise

excellent!
hopefully they will take me in at some point!
Thanks a million for all your help.

arch20000

just finished the MA EdPsych in 2008.

Douise, your research experience is very important to you and may be a big asset in your application. (What teachers have such experience?). I wouldn't be inlcined to go down the ABA route if you want into the Masters as I don't think it'll really help (maybe a little but not as much as experience doing assessments or research experience). If u have been working in psychology as a researcher, u have a good chance.. Some experience or relevent research in the area would make u stand out and glow like a luminous lamp on a dark night!!!!

Also, there are only 12 places so don't get disheartened if u don't get it first time round! Many applicants try and try again.

The Black Oil

Is it true that the course director in UCD won't accept or return calls from people making enquiries about it?

Moobui

I think this is the case The Black Oil. As far as I am aware the rationale behind it is to ensure that all candidates have access to the same information, ie that which is posted on the website.

Douise, I think arch20000 is correct about the ABA not really being a good route to go down with regard to gaining experience for the EdPsych course. I would have assumed that any kind of teaching experience is valid but have learned since that ABA does not really appear to be 'valued' in terms of teaching experience they seem to be more interested in those who have experience in mainstream teaching particularly if there is additional teaching experience in learning support. Having said that you don't actually need any teaching experience to get on to the course and getting experience in the area of psychology along with a postgrad qualification in psychology would be very useful if you don't already have this.

The Black Oil

Aye, that's fair enough, then.

Perhaps proper funding will eventually turn up for more places or courses. Let's hope so, the services need the resources.

Moobui

UCD had been asked to increase their numbers, they did by 2 this year and had hoped to increase more significantly next year but I am not sure if the funding will go ahead now given the general cutbacks. It is a ridiculous situation though, surely it can only get better!

Douise

Thanks Moobui and arch20000, I havent actually gone down the route of ABA experience luckily so its good to know that that would not be a good idea in the future.
The Black Oil, that sounds about right about the course director. when they finally got back to me about the email i send them asking about the course they basically just copied and pasted the info that is on the website. Not much help really when you have read the website and you still have questions! It does seem fair enough tho.
I am going to apply for next september anyway so if i dont get it hopefully they will give me some feedback which will give me more of a chance for the following year.

Princess Fiona

The Black Oil wrote: »

Is it true that the course director in UCD won't accept or return calls from people making enquiries about it?

I can certainly appreciate the rationale behind this but does anyone else think that if this is their policy then they should really have a standard draft email that they send back in response to queries - 'thank you for your recent query, however in the interest of fairness and equality to all applicants,' bla bla bla....

I made an enquiry by phone and the lady I spoke to was extremely rude - I would go so far as to say condescending. Later sent an email and no reply. Very dis-heartening. I know it's dog-eat-dog in this area but honestly, good manners costs nothing!

taztastic

My only experience is in ABA and I am now in the final year of the Doctorate in EdPsy up in Belfast.
I would suggest that if you can cope with the practical difficulties of moving up North for 3-5 years it is an option that I wouldn't forget. It's fully funded and relies much more on interview performance than your experience on paper. At the end of it you have a doctorate in child, educational, and adolescent psychology.