Should I do the "BA-Psych/B Law" to become a Psychologist? (1 Viewer)

[Jessica_00]

I know many threads have been written on Psych around these waters... but this thread title will attract more Psych students if you know what I mean. I want to become a Psychologist, but MAQ uni is offering this very tasty double degree course in BA-Psych/B Law

I know it might sound preposterous to do a Law degree just to become a Psychologist but the thing is...

1. BA-Psych/B Law is a double degree, why not two degrees, after all 2 is better than 1 right? I don’t go to work, dont really need to make money, so I can manage it.

2. BA-Psych/B Law is still a Psychology degree and will get me registered in the APS right? Even if I just have a Law degree in my cupboard gathering dusts?

3. It just sounds good to have both of them, I mean if I decide after 10 years as a psychologist that I don’t want to do it anymore, I can just blow off the dust of my old Law Degree and begin my path eh?


what does everyone think, am I being craaaazzzy? :mad1:

 

[iambored]

1. BA-Psych/B Law is a double degree, why not two degrees, after all 2 is better than 1 right? I don’t go to work, dont really need to make money, so I can manage it.

2. BA-Psych/B Law is still a Psychology degree and will get me registered in the APS right? Even if I just have a Law degree in my cupboard gathering dusts?

3. It just sounds good to have both of them, I mean if I decide after 10 years as a psychologist that I don’t want to do it anymore, I can just blow off the dust of my old Law Degree and begin my path eh?


what does everyone think, am I being craaaazzzy? :mad1:

methinks you sound like a typical pre-first year
by all means, do it. if you want both degrees and you can be bothered to get a degree in something you won't be using, and spending lots of years at uni, do it. you also have to consider where you want to end up in the psych field and how many years that is going to take you? similarly with law.

also can a psych student please clarify - i thought i remembered someone telling me you can't be called a 'psychologist' unless you have a masters? but can't you get accredited after a bachelor if you've done the right subjects? doesn't accreditation mean you're a registered psychologist or something?

 

[AsyLum]

Not crazy, but if you understand the workload, and first year will show you how much of a workload it is, then go for it

 

[mitsui]

I have a frd who is doing that combination at Usyd. She always complain the amount of workload is too much. Lol.

I think it's a big effort to do that course. Apparantly you cant be a psychologist immediately after graduation either?

=@

 

[iambored]

thanks, i think i understand it more now. i also think i was told that with just the 2 years coursework and no masters, you still can't use the term psychologist, meh, so confusing, not that it really matters, just interested...

 

[kami]

Now, heres the shitty bit. The board says that 4 years of undergrad with a psych major is fine (the law/psych combine is 5 years so thats seen as sufficient), which then leads to the 2 years Masters. Unfortunately, while the board can rant on about what they want, the unis decide on who goes into their Masters Degrees, and most want a 4th year HONOURS year (that is, the year that you write a big fat thesis). Some Masters programs - like the Organisational Psychology Masters program - Accept people who have taken alternative pathways (say they did a Diploma of Psychology, which is a 4th year where you write a thesis that was designed in a group), but other than that you pretty much need to do an honours year of psychology (and worst, you need to go pretty dam well to get into a Macquarie Psych Masters - im dreading that bit ).

Thats shitty of MQ to do - maybe its a rep building thing 'we have the highest achieving psych students, hear us roar'. UNSW, UWS and UOW take students with '4th year equivalents' if thats any consolation, though it appears USYD doesn't even have a Masters in Psych and they seem to have discontinued their Doctorates in Psych as well. =/

 

[Jessica_00]

Gosh you guys know so much, I guess you prepare for the kiddies many questions at around dec/jan every year eh!?

 

[AsyLum]

Most of us worked through the Public Relations arm and were trained for Open Days and Pathways Days to answer these type of questions, plus you pick it up when you go through the same thing as a student.

 

[MaryJane]

*points to signature* Welcome to my degree!

When I first started uni, I decided upon this degree because it mixed the two areas I was really interested in, and passionate about. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer (specifically, family law), but this has since fluctuated after working in the field from family into IP/leasing/mortgages.

Now I decide I want to do psychology, and have started going back and doing the units required for Honours. I'm planning on 'mixing' the two, and completing a Masters in Forensic Psychology (USYD) or Masters of Clinical (MQ), and working towards being an expert witness/consultant.

Cyan has covered all the psych registration stuff beautifully so I wont repeat it here, except to say that if you do honours, expect your degree to blow out another 1.5 - 2 years. This is because you need to account for honours (1 year) and you need to go back and do extra psych units to qualify for honours. These units are not accounted for in the Psych/LLB rogram of Study. Just something to keep in mind, especially when you are thinking of doing law effectively for the sake of it. If you did decide later on to practise law, you could just do a Post-grad (3 years) plus your 6months at the College of Law.

That said, I'm glad I've had both career paths open to me, but thats only because I love both areas. There are heaps of students who start law and psych because of misconceptions as to what it is, and doing it just because they can/their parents want them to, and they end up dropping out first year. Thats not the way to go.... And it seems based on your signature that psych is more of a passion for you, and law is a tag-along. Its a dangerous path to tred... I suggest you talk to Cyan, Pwar and Tabris because all three have transferred into law, and only one has kept it up. Get their opinions, too.

p.s. Yes, we all love helping newbies, as Asy said most of us have done Mentoring, and worked for the PR dept in academic advising. We're all such uni geeks

 

[MaryJane]

I've heard similar things, Jamie. But with one variant. If you look on the USYD site, they have a combined Masters and Doctorate, not a pure Masters anymore. I'm guessing this is for the reasons you've listed above.

I'm with you though, I dont really care because Clinical is covered... for the time being, anyway. I think I'd be transferring to a Doctorate anyway if I get into Masters, because its the same length, but you are qualified internationally.

p.s. Jamie, change your signature to read "HONOURS!!! Yeah, I rock!!"

 

[glitterfairy]

Just to reiterate the above:

Unless you actually have a passion for something, don't pick it up "just because it sounds good". Most normal - single - degrees are a hell of a lot of work - it's not like "picking up another subject", especially when that other subject is Law >.< To put it into a very rough perspective... say you're a yr 10 about to go into yr 11, and then you decide to "pick up yr 12 as well" and do them at the same time.

Time isn't always an issue... most first-year Law students I know do 20 readings or so a week, and you'll actually have to read through all of this, take notes, and discuss it in class. With that kind of workload, you need to love what you do, otherwise you'll hit burnout extremely quickly, I think!!!

 

[glitterfairy]

^ a friend of mine is doing a psych docorate at USYD, he wants to be a research psychologist and his dream is to one day prove a brilliant new theory that forces everyone to have to re-write textbooks and totally re-think psychology

EDIT: oops, usyd not mq...

 

[Jessica_00]

WOAH! ALL these news flashes coming in in all directions at once! Phew!

First to Mary Jane its so cool to know your doing the very course that I'm talking about! and youre in the 4th year too! So are you doing it to become a psychologist now? how do you find the workload, in first year, and how do you find it now that your in your second last year?

To Phoenix, I sure hope thats all a very horrible rumour because if Aus goes through that phase ....just think of how doomed some kids will be draguation just before all hat hits...
But I shouldnt worry since I prefer becoming a Clincal Neuropsychologist, I believe the closest thing to Psychiatry in Psychology? Am I right? I asked a lectrer at MAC info day about which type of Psychologist makes the most money , the wise and strangely handsome old * and I say that in a respectful way* professor said with a smile that it all depends * rolls eyes typical* but he did say that anything Clinical would beat counselling... so yah...I guess Aus is going through a phase.


Lastly, whats a Doctorate, is it like PhD? Because that is ultimately what I intend to reach in Uni.. anyone have any comforting words for me about this whole UNSW shutting down its Psychology degrees?

 

[kami]

Lastly, whats a Doctorate, is it like PhD? Because that is ultimately what I intend to reach in Uni.. anyone have any comforting words for me about this whole UNSW shutting down its Psychology degrees?

Ph.D stands for a doctorate in philosophy, exclusively by research (I think - someone feel free to correct me), however this doesn't mean that you must research a philosophy topic as it has become somewhat of a traditional name for alot research doctorates now, for e.g there are PhDs in cultural studies, genetics or whatever.

The UNSW's losses will not influence your undergraduate entry, and for the moment they retain their MPsych degrees (at least the website says so). The situation with the MPsych could change alot in the 4 years it'll take for you to finish an Honours degree so I wouldn't worry too much yet.

 

[GoodToGo]

I always heard Organisational Psych makes the most money... not that pysch is an area people go into for the money.

 

[GoodToGo]

thats probably true as its business-ish. A good thing is that it is the 'easier' (for a masters that is) of all the masters to get into for maq. They accept people who have taken other paths, like a psych diploma (i know someone who got an offer who did a diploma).

Hmm...is the Psych diploma 12 or 16 credit pts at 300-level PSY?

 

[MaryJane]

Hmm...is the Psych diploma 12 or 16 credit pts at 300-level PSY?

The Psych Diploma is post-grad, so its completely separate to the Undergrad units.

 

[zaijan_85]

:wave: does n e 1 have an idea on how many ppl get into honours or postgrad from 3rd year? ta

 

[MaryJane]

Thing to remember is that the requirement of 3.25 gpa of the 24 credit points of 3rd year psych units is the cutoff.

Its actually over all 300-level units, not just PSY. Steve and I thought it was just PSY too, but then I spoke to Janna who told me it was over my LAW-300 units as well. So dont slack off on your other 300-level units!!

 

[MaryJane]

Yeah, you are right Jamie, they do differ.

BPsych is only 300-PSY units, where as BA-Psych or Bs-Psych is over all 300-level units. I agree it sucks, because I would have the GPA already to qualify for Honours if it was just Psych units, whereas at the moment I have to pull a D in 331 to get a look-in (and then I will have a GPA of 3.5 or something, rather than the 3.25, because 3.25 is impossible for me to get based on the number of 300-level units I've already done)