Psychology - is it a maths based subject? (1 Viewer)

[summer25]

Im in yr 12 at the moment and hoping to do commerce liberal studies + doing a major in psyc. While im pretty strong in english based subjects i don't think i have the mental capacity to go beyond two unit advanced maths + i didn't take any science subjects in yr 12. What level of maths do you need for psyc/ is knowing chemistry/biology useful/imperative?

 

[The_Apprentice]

Um, I'm doing first year psych and I'm coping, not having done maths or science in high school.

I'm not sure, but I assume it would be more difficult in second/third year.

 

[hiphophooray123]

maybe a HSC biology or chem comes in use once in awhile (but that use is mostly minimal and irrelevant anyway). You don't need to be good at maths in 1st year psych, not too sure about 2nd year and 3rd year and honours though.

you'll be fine

 

[veridis]

when doing the stats tute my tutor tried to explain stuff but when people didnt get it he always said dont worry there are computer programs that automate all this for you, as long as you understand the concepts and what each value means then you're fine. the actual doing of maths is minimal

 

[summer25]

also what are credit points? - the course description said i need 12 credit points from science - is this a lot??? Would 12 credit points mean i have to do a subject in the science faculty other than psychology?

 

[The_Apprentice]

12 credit points generally mean 2 subjects (6 credit points each). I assume this means any subjects in science, at an introductory level, which includes psych. Although, I think you could do some maths subjects that are worth 3 credit points.

 

[gerhard]

a subject is almost always 6 credit points. im assuming it says 12 credit points in a year or whatever, so yeah you dont need to do any sciences other than psyc. for psych in first year theres only one subject a semester available.

theres no assumed knowledge for psyc, bio and chem will give you very little advantage. very little maths is done in first year. in second year psyc you need to do two psych subjects a semester (theres only two to choose from, so all of the available subjects) if you want to major in psyc. one of these is a statistics subject, where you do have to do lots of calculations by hand . most people find this subject quite difficult. but there are alot of people doing the subject with much less maths experience than you (people who havent done maths in the hsc, or did general maths or whatever) so i wouldnt worry about it too much.

 

[summer25]

thanks for all your help guys

 

[tennille]

To major in a subject, you need to do 24 credit points in your final year from a particular subject area (eg. psychology). However, in each year, you need to do 48 credit points of subjects (24 credit points each semester- assuming you are doing uni full-time). This means you still have another 24 credit points to fill. These could just be filled up by different subjects, or by doing another major.

 

[gemmal]

To major in a subject, you need to do 24 credit points in your final year from a particular subject area (eg. psychology). However, in each year, you need to do 48 credit points of subjects (24 credit points each semester- assuming you are doing uni full-time). This means you still have another 24 credit points to fill. These could just be filled up by different subjects, or by doing another major.

I thought for psych you needed 12 units in first year then 48 units over 2nd and 3rd, am I right?

 

[adamsaclown]

yeah that sounds right though I recall reading somewhere you need to do 30 (instead of 24) senior credit points - though this may be only if you want to do honours

 

[gerhard]

yeah i thought i read somewhere it was 32 credit points in senior for honours.

it better not be though, i might do honours in psych if its 24credit points

 

[adamsaclown]

I picked up the preenrolment for 3rd year booklet today from the psych office - it says for a psyc major you just need to do 24cp of senior (3000 level) units. To do honours, one of these subjects has to be PSYC3010.

I think the 32cp may have come from the time when 2nd/3rd yr units were 4/8cp

 

[Saphira]

you do maths in second year... basic statistics only touched in first year... BUT to do honours you need to get above a credit average in ADVANCED statistics