brainscience
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2015
- Messages
- 1
- Gender
- Male
- HSC
- 2009
**edit** - realised the heading should be 'Psychology / cognitive neuroscience ...', apologies for typo!
Hi all,
I'm in a somewhat rare position. I completed a Bachelor of Arts (Majoring English and Political Economy) at Sydney Uni in 2013, and have primarily been working full-time since. However, I have come to realise that in order to do something I find remotely fulfilling, I really have little choice but to return to study, this time in something that will set me down a more specific direction career-wise than my B.A. double major.
After some serious soul searching and introspection, coupled with some research, I've decided what's always interested me most is the human mind - what makes us tick at the most fundamental level. I find the topic absolutely fascinating, and can see myself absorbed and loving studying this field. Furthermore, the field of mind / brain science seems an area where there is so much scope to help others, either in a research or clinical setting. Finally, psychology and other brain sciences seems so profoundly focused on people, whereas in my mind something like IT or Engineering are focused away from people toward material objects and infrastructures. To me, this makes these and similarly depersonalised fields less interesting. I love the idea of getting into research in an academic setting, however if this lofty goal proves unattainable I'm confident clinical practice would suit me well too. If the research goal proves attainable, neuropsychology and evolutionary psychology fascinate me in particular, not least because they actually seem to more earnestly link in with 'real' science than, say, Freudian psychoanalysis.
However, there are a number of unknowns to me that I hope someone may shed some light on. If someone could help me out that would be fantastic:
1. Many Psychology degrees seem to be incorporated into a B. Science or a B. Arts., however, I've already completed a Bachelor of Arts (including 1 psychology unit, PSYC1002). What does this mean for me? Would I have to study a whole undergraduate degree all over again, would I be fast-tracked due to the completion of so many Arts units, or would I be looking at a masters program of some sort? My preliminary research hasn't shed much light on this.
2. What are the best universities in Sydney to study Psychology, especially if one intends on getting into research, especially in the subfields mentioned above? International university rankings indicate psychology as a whole is strongest at UNSW, followed by Sydney Uni, and then Macquarie. How true is this? Sydney Uni is extremely convenient for me as I live, work, and play in the immediate area.
3. I would love to commence study Semester 2 this year (i.e. ASAP), however I believe mid-year entry is usually harder to gain a place in, is this true? My 2009 HSC ATAR was 89.95 and my degree unit average would be around 70%. If I didn't gain entry to a more reputable institution, would I be better off commencing studies at, say, UWS and then transferring over to another uni later?
4. Is psychology a discipline that is good to invest in? I understand that disciplines in medicine / the harder sciences like cognitive neuroscience are playing an increasingly important role in understanding the brain and discerning potential treatments for illness. However, it seems to me there is a lot of interdisciplinary synthesis in studies of the brain generally, and psychology suits my strengths better than areas like neuroscience, which I gather require sophisticated knowledge of mathematics and hard science.
I am looking forward to peoples' constructive responses. If you have any further advice / tidbits of information please feel free to impart them.
Thanks for your time and attention,
Matt
Hi all,
I'm in a somewhat rare position. I completed a Bachelor of Arts (Majoring English and Political Economy) at Sydney Uni in 2013, and have primarily been working full-time since. However, I have come to realise that in order to do something I find remotely fulfilling, I really have little choice but to return to study, this time in something that will set me down a more specific direction career-wise than my B.A. double major.
After some serious soul searching and introspection, coupled with some research, I've decided what's always interested me most is the human mind - what makes us tick at the most fundamental level. I find the topic absolutely fascinating, and can see myself absorbed and loving studying this field. Furthermore, the field of mind / brain science seems an area where there is so much scope to help others, either in a research or clinical setting. Finally, psychology and other brain sciences seems so profoundly focused on people, whereas in my mind something like IT or Engineering are focused away from people toward material objects and infrastructures. To me, this makes these and similarly depersonalised fields less interesting. I love the idea of getting into research in an academic setting, however if this lofty goal proves unattainable I'm confident clinical practice would suit me well too. If the research goal proves attainable, neuropsychology and evolutionary psychology fascinate me in particular, not least because they actually seem to more earnestly link in with 'real' science than, say, Freudian psychoanalysis.
However, there are a number of unknowns to me that I hope someone may shed some light on. If someone could help me out that would be fantastic:
1. Many Psychology degrees seem to be incorporated into a B. Science or a B. Arts., however, I've already completed a Bachelor of Arts (including 1 psychology unit, PSYC1002). What does this mean for me? Would I have to study a whole undergraduate degree all over again, would I be fast-tracked due to the completion of so many Arts units, or would I be looking at a masters program of some sort? My preliminary research hasn't shed much light on this.
2. What are the best universities in Sydney to study Psychology, especially if one intends on getting into research, especially in the subfields mentioned above? International university rankings indicate psychology as a whole is strongest at UNSW, followed by Sydney Uni, and then Macquarie. How true is this? Sydney Uni is extremely convenient for me as I live, work, and play in the immediate area.
3. I would love to commence study Semester 2 this year (i.e. ASAP), however I believe mid-year entry is usually harder to gain a place in, is this true? My 2009 HSC ATAR was 89.95 and my degree unit average would be around 70%. If I didn't gain entry to a more reputable institution, would I be better off commencing studies at, say, UWS and then transferring over to another uni later?
4. Is psychology a discipline that is good to invest in? I understand that disciplines in medicine / the harder sciences like cognitive neuroscience are playing an increasingly important role in understanding the brain and discerning potential treatments for illness. However, it seems to me there is a lot of interdisciplinary synthesis in studies of the brain generally, and psychology suits my strengths better than areas like neuroscience, which I gather require sophisticated knowledge of mathematics and hard science.
I am looking forward to peoples' constructive responses. If you have any further advice / tidbits of information please feel free to impart them.
Thanks for your time and attention,
Matt
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