Psychology degree - which uni?

[gettinfedduppathis]

Please can anyone advise about which universities are well thought of for psychology. DC thinking about next year (change of direction and so probably too late now for this year).

There is a PHD route to being chartered. Chartered is professional status, and it can be academic or hands on, so to speak. So two equal routes.

However, gettingfedup, I think you will have to trawl through what qualifications are acceptable to the universities. Some do a foundation year. I know Liverpool do. Your DC would also need to have other A Levels equivalents that may be specified. So start with Liverpool and work your way around Russell Group, Bath, and then to places like Surrey, Lincoln etc.

However, I think trying to sort out what he may want to do for a career is important because so few Psychology graduates get to be Chartered Psychologists. What else might he have in mind?

One thing I hear from colleagues in Psychology is that enjoying the subject at school is not the same as enjoying it an university. It's a science, lots of maths and experiments etc, so it's important they understand what the degree, and the career, entails.
If they are in the 2nd year of a degree course, surely they have access to the University careers service?

You may very well be a chartered psychologist but not registered with the HCPC and so not able to use protected titles such as clinical or educational psychologist. 'Chartered' is not a protected term.

You need to do a professional doctorate to become a clinical or educational psychologist and this is different to a PhD, albeit at the same level of education.

It's really important not to get the two muddled up. Every year applicants for a professional doctorate describe it as a PhD on their application form, and these forms are immediately rejected.

I guess reading the web site about acquiring professional status is the best way. It describes routes not the end result. I am intersted that Chartered is not a protected title. In Engineering it is. It has qualification and post degree requirements. "Chartered" is the top qualification for practice. Doctorates (PhD) support this status and are favoured by academics, but are not required. Is "Chartered" therefore meaningless in Psychology if only professional doctorates count? Just interested because it seems very complicated.

hellsbells yes, there are mitigating medical circumstances. This isn't a desired career change, but rather having to give up one career and needing to find another purpose in life. Psychology being considered as it was far and away the best subject at school. No, there is no access to university careers advice, as dc isn't at university, it is a conservatoire.

My 17 yr old is hoping to study psychology next year. We have looked at the various comparison sites and have shortlisted a few to visit this summer. We have written some off based on geography (she doesn't want to be in London or as far as Scotland) and others based on entry requirements (some want A for maths GCSE which she doesn't have). She likes the year of a year abroad or in industry which some but not all offer. Current favourites are Birmingham, Cardiff, Durham and Exeter with Leeds, Southampton and Nottingham as possibles also.

Visiting makes a big difference. My 19 yr old decided not to apply to 2 of the universities she really liked on paper.

Does the medical reason for changing plans mean that your son will have to give up his instrument completely? If not it might be worth taking into account the options for music in the universities he is considering. Exeter and Warwick for example, don't have music departments, so although they will no doubt have some decent instrumentalists, the quality of orchestras might not be as good as places like Birmingham, Durham or Leeds.

We've been having long discussions over the last few days, and at the moment it looks likely that a year out will be the way to go, and then that will give time for us to look into things properly, rather than rushing to find something at this late stage.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and advice, you have been really helpful

Hi OP, what does your DC want to do with the psychology degree?

Check the BPS website, details all accredited undergrad courses and also gives details about professional career paths and further training needed.

A chartered psychologist is a BPS member who's achieved chartership. Not related to people who've gone on and done further training are entitled to use protected titles via HCPC registration.

Some further professional training is self funded, some is (currently) paid. It is extremely competitive to get on. If your DC is loosely interested in the professional psychology roles it would be valuable to understand just how competitive it is to get on training, and whether the long haul that entails is for them.

Effie I've no idea at the moment - the medical issue and having to give up the current course is fairly recent and disastrous news, and means that there will have to be an entirely unexpected change of vocation and career path. Can't really go into any more details on here - small world and v identifiable.

A bit of a case of "So what the heck do I do with my life now?"

They need to be really realistic about the likelihood of becoming a professional practicing psychologist. The 'average' person who gets on clinical psychology training for example could have a high 2:1 or 1st, a masters, publications and several years of working to get relevant experience which could involve lots of volunteering/ moving a lot etc.

Lots of people are drawn to becoming a professional psychologist, the amount of people able to get through is tiny by comparison. If your DC has health issues they need to take into consideration it's worth looking at whether this is possible/ realistic for them?
Happy to give more advice via pm.

Effie I have sent you a pm.

My DD is at Nottingham studying Psychology and she loves it, it sounds like they give out a lot of work but she loves the city and her coursemates.