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March 28, 2024, 10:44:55 pm

Author Topic: Psychology at Monash or Melbourne?  (Read 3926 times)  Share 

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needhelppls

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Psychology at Monash or Melbourne?
« on: December 17, 2018, 05:40:14 pm »
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Hi guys,

I want to double major in psych and french in a bachelor of arts, but i'm really conflicted between going to Monash uni or Melbourne. I would love to hear any reasons one might be better/worse than the other mostly for psych because that's the one i want to pursue a career with (e.g. i've heard monash only accepts monash students into their honours year for psych, or if there are any placements or internships offered in the degree)

Also feel free to talk about the actual campus experience, i've only been to both once and the only impression i left with was that it's very easy to get lost.

Thank you!!

AngelWings

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Re: Psychology at Monash or Melbourne?
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2018, 06:42:08 pm »
+5
I want to double major in psych and french in a bachelor of arts, but i'm really conflicted between going to Monash uni or Melbourne. I would love to hear any reasons one might be better/worse than the other mostly for psych because that's the one i want to pursue a career with (e.g. i've heard monash only accepts monash students into their honours year for psych, or if there are any placements or internships offered in the degree)
I don't know much about Psych, weirdly enough, so I went and did a little research for you. In general, the way the Melbourne Model does things actually gives it a bit of rigidity along with its freedom. Since you'll have to take electives outside of your main area of expertise, you'll have to plan a bit more to double major. At Monash it's actually a bit more flexible because you can still replace electives with more Arts units as you prefer. On the other hand, if you're into research or academia, ranking can come into play - and Melbourne is the higher ranked here.

In terms of Psych Hons, you're partially right. According to my 2 mins of research, it seems that Melbourne Psych doesn't really mind where you come from. As long as your grades are good enough via their calculations and you, of course, apply, you'll be in the running for a spot. Monash Psych Hons, however, is a bit pickier. If you are a Monash undergrad you must complete certain units and achieve certain grades, but you'll be more likely to get into Monash Psych Hons than an external applicant where they have a limited number of spots. They also raise the bar on marks for external applicants compared to Monash undergrad applicants.       

I don't know much on internships or placements, but I'd assume they're around the same in those respects.

Also feel free to talk about the actual campus experience, i've only been to both once and the only impression i left with was that it's very easy to get lost.
Even though I've been to both campuses, I'm going to let other people describe that. I've become rather immune to it so my descriptions tend to be rather vague and probably end up more specific to my faculty (School of Bioloical Sciences).
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Re: Psychology at Monash or Melbourne?
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2018, 07:26:34 pm »
+3
In general, the way the Melbourne Model does things actually gives it a bit of rigidity along with its freedom. Since you'll have to take electives outside of your main area of expertise, you'll have to plan a bit more to double major.
Just to add onto this, if you pursue a BArts at melb with a double major in Psych and French, this will limit your ability to do other Arts subjects. The BArts consists of 24 subjects with the psych major taking up 10 subjects and the french major taking up 8. This leaves 6 subjects of which 4 can be Arts (or 2 can be Arts if want to do 4 electives).

If you'd like to have a bit more flexibility you could minor in French (involves doing 6 instead of 10 subjects) or complete a concurrent diploma. A concurrent diploma would allow you to complete a major in French outside of your Arts degree and would usually add a year onto your course. This means you could have more flexibility and options to do other Arts subjects in your main degree.
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www

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Re: Psychology at Monash or Melbourne?
« Reply #3 on: December 17, 2018, 08:00:00 pm »
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if there are any placements or internships offered in the degree

At Monash, placements aren't built into the degrees until Master or PhD level.

If you are a Monash undergrad you must complete certain units and achieve certain grades

The requirements change slightly depending on the degree you do too. If you do the extended major in the BA or BSc, you have to go through the application process with a suggested average of 70% in the four specific Psychology units (with the actual cut-off being closer to 80%). However, if you do the BPsych, according to the handbook, the cut-off is hard set to an average of 70% in the same units with no application process (at least that's how I'm reading it, not entirely sure if this is what it means).

The BPsych, unfortunately, leaves you three elective spaces short to major in French. You could take the BPsych and do a Diploma of Languages at the same time if you would like to take advantage of the lowered fourth year entry requirements.
« Last Edit: December 17, 2018, 08:07:54 pm by www »
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needhelppls

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Re: Psychology at Monash or Melbourne?
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2018, 12:09:12 am »
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The requirements change slightly depending on the degree you do too. If you do the extended major in the BA or BSc, you have to go through the application process with a suggested average of 70% in the four specific Psychology units (with the actual cut-off being closer to 80%). However, if you do the BPsych, according to the handbook, the cut-off is hard set to an average of 70% in the same units with no application process (at least that's how I'm reading it, not entirely sure if this is what it means).

Thank you for your detailed response! I couldn't help but notice you're doing a BA and majoring in psych, so I just had a few questions if that's okay? The only thing stopping me from taking your advice on the BPsych + diploma is the lack of electives. I'm a massive nerd who wants to take electives in philosophy, history and chinese alongside french and psych, but I'm not sure if those electives are worth the 8% disparity (especially since it could change by the time I'm applying for my honours year). In VCE, I managed to consistently get grades in the 90s, but I've heard getting high marks is significantly harder in university, which makes me worry that achieving even an average of 70% in those psych units would be incredibly difficult.

You probably haven't even taken these classes yet, but how hard do you think getting 78% average would be if I decide to stick with a BA?

And, I know taking an honours year isn't the only pathway into a masters degree for psych, but it definitely sounds more prestigious than taking a diploma for my fourth year. Other than the research aspect for the honours, is there actually any significant difference between a diploma and an honours year? Would universities prefer one over the other when looking at applicants for a master for psych

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Re: Psychology at Monash or Melbourne?
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2018, 01:13:50 am »
+3
The only thing stopping me from taking your advice on the BPsych + diploma is the lack of electives. I'm a massive nerd who wants to take electives in philosophy, history and chinese alongside french and psych, but I'm not sure if those electives are worth the 8% disparity

Knowing this now, I do feel the BA may be a better choice (whether you take it at Monash or Melbourne). Studying things you are interested could work out better in the long run for your motivation and commitment, and the areas of study you listed are more Arts oriented. I agree with what AngelWings said above, the BA at Monash is more flexible. The BPsych does make a lot of things compulsory that aren't necessarily Psychology which may not exactly be your cup of tea.

(especially since it could change by the time I'm applying for my honours year).

I don't have any concrete support for this, but I feel like it does generally stay around the 80% mark. It's largely dependent on the number of people applying too. Psychology units at Monash seem to have decently big enrolment rates, though.

In VCE, I managed to consistently get grades in the 90s, but I've heard getting high marks is significantly harder in university, which makes me worry that achieving even an average of 70% in those psych units would be incredibly difficult.

You probably haven't even taken these classes yet, but how hard do you think getting 78% average would be if I decide to stick with a BA?

Yeah, I'll be taking the four units next year so I can't speak about them specifically. From experience and things I've been told, Psychology units at Monash are generally harder to score in the 90s, but it's definitely not impossible to maintain a competitive average in the upper 70s and mid to upper 80s. As with any unit, you've got to put in the work, and it's not like you're immediately going into these units with no prior experience of what a Psychology unit expects of you.

And, I know taking an honours year isn't the only pathway into a masters degree for psych, but it definitely sounds more prestigious than taking a diploma for my fourth year. Other than the research aspect for the honours, is there actually any significant difference between a diploma and an honours year? Would universities prefer one over the other when looking at applicants for a master for psych

Actually, both the honours year and graduate diploma have research projects! This should be the same across unis. The only differences I can think of off the top of my head at Monash are the costs (no CSP spots in the grad dip at least) and the units themselves (but I can't really tell you how different they are). The grad dip is considered equivalent to the honours year (they're both APAC accredited courses at Monash), so they'll probably be more concerned about how well you did in your research project, how well you did in your units related to content, and then any other requirements like interviews.

Feel free to continue asking questions here on through PM!
« Last Edit: December 18, 2018, 01:25:14 am by www »
2017~2020 (Monash) | BA, BA(Hons)Psy
2021~ | job! - AN hiatus, it's been fun here (: