Psychology BA

Rustyred

Could anyone advise me what is the difference between the B.A. degree (https://myucd.ucd.ie/program.do?programID=37) in psychology in UCD and the B.Sc degree available in other colleges. My daughter is interested and cannot decide which degree would be the most relevant for her. She has not any science subject for the leaving cert but hopes to get the required points. She does however feel that the B.Sc might have a more scientific element, so is leaning towards the BA right now.
At the end of the day, what is the exact difference between the two? If she pursues the BA will she need certain results(eg top five in the class) which would not be needed for the B.Sc? After completion, how would she go on to become a qualified psychologist etc

Thanks in advance

spudington16

Regardless of which area your daughter is interested in pursuing (e.g. clinical, educational, counselling, forensic, health, etc.), further training will be required. If you're looking for more info on post-graduate training in psychology, check out http://www.psihq.ie (the Psychological Society of Ireland) or http://www.bps.org.uk (the British Psychological Society). Wherever your daughter chooses to study, if she wishes to become a professional, chartered psychologist she needs to ensure her degree is recognised by PSI.After completing the B.A. in psychology at UCD, graduates are eligible to apply for graduate level membership of either PSI or BPS.

Additionally, students on this course can study abroad on the Erasmus programme in countries like the US, New Zealand, France, Germany, Spain. This turns the course into a 4-year course, with graduates awarded a B.A. International.

PSI-recognised psychology degrees all have to cover a wide range of topics, including a certain amount of biology of the brain and perhaps courses such as psychopharmacology, so she won't be able to totally avoid science by doing the B.A.!

scuzzam

All psychology courses will vary a little from university to university, but they all have core elements that will have to be completed to satisfy the PSI (psychological society of Ireland) such as the final year research project. As far as i am aware the only difference between a BA in psych and a BSc is that they are ran through different colleges in the university - i.e the school of Arts and Human Sciences or the School of Science.
Quickly glancing at Qualifax confirms what i also thought - DCU is the only university offering Psychology as a single honors BSc degree. Whilst this is an option i wouldn't recommend studying psychology there as they are not yet accredited by the PSI, it is likely that they will gain accreditation but the course has to have ran for 18 months before they can do so (it has been running since Sept 2010), however if they don't gain accreditation then the degree will be all but useless for someone wanting to further study to be a psychologist as to do so they need to be a member of the PSI.

Rustyred

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated!