Hello! I’m a Taiwanese who wants to study psychology conversion course next year. This video is really helpful and made me think about part-time. Thanks a lot!!!
Thank you so much for this video Marios - I started this course part-time last year and all the information was super helpful! I was wondering if you had any advice for students going into Y2 of the course - specifically, anything regarding the dissertation in terms of how the module is structured and organised? Do we come up with an area of study ourselves? If not, how does that work? Does it run the whole year? How do we go about honing down a topic when we only have experience of half the course content? This is confusing for a psychology newbie like myself who is finding everything interesting so far - I simply do not feel I have the information yet to chose my 'favourite' thing 😂
Hi there - you should ask the course directors to ensure you get the information relevant to your course. In my experience the dissertation/research projects come as lists of at least areas of interest from all the tutors. Some are specific (though probably editable if you want to change them) or just general themes and you can suggest your own. In any case, explore what expertise you have in the department and just go with the one that calls to you. It needs to be something you're actually interested in, as you'll stay engaged and probably do better that way. You don't need to know much about the topic to begin with, but before you choose it, make sure you do some reading to familiarise yourself with it to make sure you're actually interested. If it's a new topic to you this is an opportunity to learn something new!
Hello, great video! Was the foundation year part of the course you linked? I can’t find it on Birkbeck website. Thank you!! Looking forward to more videos about your experience!
Hey! Thank you. I also had a look and also couldn’t find it. They may have discontinued this, worth reaching out to the Department of Psychological Sciences and finding out. If they don’t offer it anymore I hope they at least help people prep for statistics! Maybe I’ll make a video on how I would have prepared for that without the foundation year
Thanks for the post, I am coming from Tech thinking of going into psychology/counselling as well. How did you manage the funding? Why did you choose Birkbeck?
I paid monthly I think, there’s a payment plan with Birkbeck. I chose Birkbeck because I could work full time and do uni at night, and the MSc was BPS accredited so it gave me everything I needed, reputation for psych research is good too.
@@Marios_CG Thanks Marios - just drafting my application as we speak. nerve-wracking, I am considering taking a foundation course to begin with, though. Hope you're enjoying your new path!
I did a foundation year, if you can avoid it I would try applying directly unless you def need the foundation. For me it was just extra money I didn’t need to spend.
Thank you! I worked about a 7m walk from the university so I was very lucky, but there's lots of tube stations around so it's pretty easy to get there. The lectures tended to start at 6pm.
Hello thanks for this video! I was wondering how you found the Psychology MSc at Birkbeck particularly? I have heard mixed reviews about it and would be good to know how you found it, whether you felt supported by the supervisors/ lecturers, and whether the lecturers were good/ engaged with their teaching? Would you recommend studying here over other unis? Thanks!
Hi marios! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. May I know what kind of career that you can do if you take psychology conversion? Would you still be able to work as a psychologist or just working in academia only? Hope you can answer me! Thanks
There are so many careers you can get into with psychology. However I strongly advise that you look at the jobs you want BEFORE you do a conversion course, because doing a 'psychology based' job does not always require specific degrees, so you don't need to always pay £10K for a degree, instead go and get experience first.
@@andrea.vallone HR, product management, coaching, sales, marketing, design. The list goes on. I’d say first think about why you like psychology, what kinds of skills you want to apply to it, and what kinds of people you want to work with. All of that will only be enhanced by psych education
@@Marios_CG Thank you so much! Do you think that it would make sense to get a UK MSc conversion Psychology degree if I want to move from engineering to HR in the same big corporation I work for? I have both a bachelor and a master in engineering/IT but after going through a lot a therapy myself during the past year I have changed quite a lot and solved a lot of underlying issues. This also made me realize how wonderful this profession is and how big of a change it can have on people's lives, but also it made me realize how much my choice of getting into engineering was influenced by my underlying issues in the first place :), so I am kind of hating my job now, and regretting many decisions I took. I really crave for meaningful human connection in my professional life, and that is very hard to find as most engineers are soul-less rational machines (I was too), so I would like to become a psychologist or some kind of social worker. However doing such a change at my age (I am 26) is quite a big step so I don't think that going all the way towards becoming a licensed psychologist would be feasible for me. However, maybe an MSc degree might help, and I love the fact that it can be done in just 2 years part-time or 1 year full time. There is nothing like this anywhere else in the world I think, and the only way to get a psychology degree would be to restart from a bachelors degree, but that would take many years (up to 6) part time. But then again, do you think it is worth getting a degree for the kind of career change I mentioned earlier (going towards human resources) or is there any other better route, such as getting into project management? I really have no idea as this is not my sector at all.
@@andrea.vallone if I were you, I would not get any more degrees, unless it’s absolutely necessary. Ask your current company. If you can get experience in a new field you are interested in, that is much more valuable than a degree. People focus too much on education these days. Also, you never really know if you’re going to enjoy it until you actually do the work. So take a shortcut and start doing the work first, then think about education if it is necessary or you would enjoy it
After finishing the conversion course, are you doing a master's degree of business psychology or something like that? I just started taking my conversation course and am thinking to apply for business psychology afterwards. So I was wondering how your journey it will be.
I was thinking of doing that for a while, but actually I'm not sure what I am doing next! Business psychology, psychotherapy, and coaching all seemed tempting. Even thought I might do a PhD for a while... haven't settled on anything but I'll update the channel if start something new :) good luck with your conversion course!
Hi Marios, Thank you for the informarive video. One thing i want to know, can we apply for Phds in psychology with conversion masters? Will that be hard or what? I doubt about that since with conversion masters anyways we might get sort of a brief detail regarding the entire decipline when it compared to a bachalors. (TIA)
Yes you can. I am on a doctorate programme now. You might need experience or previous education that is relevant to the topic you want to do at doctorate level, but overall it’s completely possible with the conversion MSc.
@@Marios_CG One more thing, what kind of carriers that we can pursue after conversion masters ? And could you pls explain how to get HCPC registration ? Since many vacancies seems to be ask for it. Thanks
@nirmanirodrigo7392 there are many careers you can go into with Psychology, but if you mean specifically in the field you’ll need it to become a clinical, counselling, or occupational psychologist. You should research this yourself and not limit yourself to what they say you can do. Pick the job type you want first and work backwards. HCPC usually requires doctorate level degree except in some specialist therapy eg music therapy that can be with a masters. Check the HCPC psychologist titles which will explain what you need
Hello. My Undergraduate degree is not BPS accredited and i want to go the clinical route. Is it necessary to do an accredited msc conversation degree or i can just apply for any masters course and use it to apply for DclinPsy. Thank you.
You should check if you can get your undergraduate accredited by the BPS. This can be done by sending information about your degree to the BPS to review and accredit. Otherwise yes you need a BPS accredited conversion course into psychology for the clinical route. I would look into the counselling psychology routes too if you are interested in that. Clinical is insanely competitive and can take years to even get on the course. Also counselling psych may be more your style
So for part time you are only in university one day a week? I am considering applying at Birkbeck university, but i live in Manchester, so id be getting the train in and perhaps staying at a friends. Could you run through what a typical week looked like? for instance what times/day you was in....
I remember it being two days a week, but the layout may have changed. Sometimes you might get back to back on one night. Check with the course directors before you apply. That sounds like a long way to travel! Have you thought of doing an MSc more local?
Hey marios I wanna know if I can work as a psychologist after completing my msc. Is there any kind of extra training that u have to complete after the degree. 1 more thing, is job as a social worker attainable with msc psychology I know its a long shot but I've heard something like that
It depends on what kind of psychologist you want to be. You could apply for assistant psychologist roles after that, but for the most part you just need more practical experience. The MSc alone gives you BPS accreditation but it doesn't make you a qualified psychologist.
Hey about this course will I be able to start training in counceling after I'm done with this course or do I have to do another 2 years of study in msc counseling after getting this degree?
A lot of people get this confused: the quick answer if you don't need a psychology degree to go into counselling. To be honest if you're mainly going in to it to become a counsellor you should look up doing "Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills (CSK-L2)" by Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body. There are other bodies you can be accredited through, but again, they don't require a psychology degree. Search for "UK counsellor accreditation" and you'll find info on this, also look into "counselling vs psychotherapy" to figure out where you'd like to start. Btw you can be both a counsellor and psychotherapist, this is just to find what's most interesting for you to get you started.
@@Marios_CG thank you the reason why I had this confusion is because I did my bachelors in India and its a bachelors with 3 majors, psychology being a part of it, I came to know through sources that in order to become a counsellor or any psychology related career one would need a GBC and in order to get it our degree has to be accredited to the BPS that's why I asked but thank you soo much I'll look up the CSK-L2.
@@priyadevadiga3990 Happy to help - also you can try and get BPS registered with your Indian psychology degree, search on their website on how to do this. I found the following: "If you completed your degree at an institution outside of the UK, you will, therefore, need to submit an individual application for Graduate Membership of the Society in order that our Membership team can properly assess eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership based on the qualifications you have." That way you get best of both worlds as you already have a psychology degree!
Hi im from india, i wish to apply for M.Sc psychology conversion course. What job will i be able to get after this course or will i have to study further to get a job? I am a post graduate in english and languages along with a bachelors in education. Pls do reply.
Same confusion here. Applied for MA social work and they gave an alternative offer to MSc psychology. I think it's a bridge course and we have to do further education before landing to a job. Aake motham confusion
@@reshmarnair8386 BA in tourism+ 5 year experience in the field of vulnerable children. MSc psychology conversion course,ne patti koodutal ariyaamenkil, mind briefing me the career prospects!?
@@reshmarnair8386 i had mentioned my contact details here.. but seems like its being deleted. May be it's the channel policy not to mention personal details
I’ve been a working musician for over 10 years- I desperately want to help neurodivergent people in creative fields- and am passionately interested in behavioural psychology (adhd meds changed my life)- do you think a conversion MSc could open this up for me? ( I have a 1st in my BA for guitar performance LOL)
@@Marios_CG super interesting. My therapist recommended this too! I decided to do a counselling course from free courses England so that I could get some experience first to have more insight into the field before I commit to a masters
I think they've dropped the Foundation year at Birkbeck. If you're interested in doing the MSc I'd ask them where that content has gone (they may have shoved it all into the first year which might be more intense but will save you money!)
do you know if going part time or full time has any effects on tuition fees? I don’t know if it’s more expensive to go part time since it’s over more years or if the tuition fees are cheaper just from doing it full time over one year. thanks
I wouldn't go to a book first, only dip in when you need it. Instead, answer practice questions if you have an exam on the topic and look for sources on YT that will explain things to you. A whole textbook is often too much!
Not necessarily, some may require basic statistics in your undergrad, but they may also offer catch-up sessions for you to get up to speed. It depends on the university you're applying to. Don't be put off if you don't have a science background, I am sure other degrees are acceptable on some conversion courses.
Hi Jake, each module will have their own (but they are very similar) - they should be supplied with your Course Handbooks. If you aren't given them, definitely ask for copies!
I have a doubt like other unis have msc psychology 4 years but how does this one have 2 year part time or full time and is it even acredited by the bps
Yes you do practicals with experimental data, but in terms of conducting your own experiments that's only done in the research project in the second year.
@@Marios_CG cool thanks sir! And thanks for the vid in general. What do you think of the course as the basis for a PhD? As that would be how I’d like to use it!
@@meh101ism You will be better positioned to apply for a PhD. You'll need to think from the beginning how you can get the most practical experience possible e.g. volunteer for a lecturer or for the labs in the uni. Your final research project will also be very important as the basis of a PhD so make sure it's roughly in the area you want to go into in term of topic or research methodology.
@@Marios_CG ok cool thank you! And do those kind of volunteering opportunities arise during the PT degree? In your experience (so grateful for these replies!).
@@meh101ism No worries. They're not integrated into the course but there are labs in the uni so I would try and be as proactive in asking all your lecturers if you can help them (& people who are not your lecturers!). Try and offer them some specific skills e.g. data collection & cleansing, programming, if you've worked with people with special needs so that you can show that you're offering something over what most people can do
Hello! I am considering this pathway as well, however, I am a little confused about are there any differences between a conversion degree and a normal master's degree? Does a conversion degree have the same reputation as a master's degree have?
Conversion courses are for those who don't have a background in psychology, therefore it's there to 'catch you up' and put you on a level of a graduate in psychology. A non-conversion course psychology degree will be an advanced degree for someone who already has a psychology degree. Neither is better than the other as they're both advanced study.
I have mass communication degree from india and so much passionate about doing psychology?? Is it possible to work as a assistant psychologist in uk after the msc conversion course?? Thank you 😇
It’s possible. But they are incredibly competitive positions so you will need to get as much experience as possible before applying to them. They are most relevant to those who want to become Counselling or clinical psychologists
@@Firos81 it allows you to take other postgraduate psychology courses as if you had an undergrad in psychology. Phd for example. Or if you have enough relevant experience you could get a job in a university lab helping them do research. Basically any “job for graduate psychology students” would be relevant, but since you also have an additional degree in another subject that’s an advantage you have over those who don’t
If you got fairly average grades and write a good personal statement you'll probably be fine. It's not particularly competitive, given it mainly caters to people who are working full-time during the day.
It depends if the masters you want to do outside the UK will recognise British Psychological Society accredited UK degrees (they should) - but ask the specific institutions you want to apply to.
Already have master's degree in social work specialized in medical and psychiatry from India. Would like to do msc conversion psychology in uk. Is it good?
Make sure you actually need it for the jobs you want first, otherwise it's a waste of money. You can also get non-UK degrees accredited by the BPS so they count here and you won't need another degree.
I did it in person so I am not sure. Birkbeck are quire flexible but I think you have to at least be living in the UK. This may have changed after the pandemic - reach out to them!
@@Marios_CG I see. There are online programs. But now, I'm seeing different direction in my life so a conversion master degree seems to not be suitable for me. Anyway, thank you so much for the clarifications.
Generally no, you need a doctorate degree for that. But some MSc level degrees can get you in HCPC if they’re very niche like art or drama psychotherapy
You may not need to get a masters in psychology in the UK since you already have a psychology degree from india. But I would look into getting the British Psychological Society to accredit your Indian degree so you can get Graduate Membership, which will help you get a job as an assistant psychologist or other graduate-level jobs
Yes statistics is very important for experimental analysis. If you are more interested in helping people live their lives and understanding themselves you should look into psychoanalysis instead.
You need relevant experience, and to get on the clinical doctorate. Super competitive. Counselling psychology is a very similar route to becoming an applied psychologist in the way that clinical psychologists are. Look into both.
Yo i loved this video🧡 but i have a question I hv already got a bba degree and oh boy i m in love with psychology as a discipline now i wonder should i get a bachelors in psychology or a masters , i mean only if i m qualified to get a masters , m i? u being way more experienced what would u advice? Should i get a BA in psychology or an MA(if eligible) thanku so much for this video 😀💜
If you already have a degree then you should be eligible for the Masters conversion course (if you meet their other criteria). I'd say go for the Masters as it's 1 or 2 years and it's the same value as doing a degree (usually 3 years). So it's both shorter and cheaper. Also it kind of sounds more impressive when you say you have a masters in psychology than a bachelors but that's just my opinion. Good luck! Also look out for Business Psychology modules since you already have a BBA degree
