There is a continuous debate among students about whether to do all eight modules in one year or two split them over two or three years. For some this may be dependent on whether you work full-time or part-time if you have children etc. However, through our experience at Psych Online Tutors, it is evident that the workload for honours can be overwhelming and is exponentially more demanding than the undergraduate degree. Over the years we have seen countless students take on too many modules at the beginning of their honours journey without understanding the intensity and volume of the workload and what is expected of them. Additionally, there are many students who after enrolling for all eight modules, either end up dropping subjects throughout the year (which they cannot get refunded for), or they decided to defer modules or even worse, fail modules because they do not have the time and energy to focus on all eight modules at an equal standard. Furthermore, it is important to understand that becoming a psychologist is not only about academic excellence (although this is a crucial requirement), it also entails self-development, practical skills and building up your portfolio. This can be done by gaining experience as a counsellor through volunteer work, doing courses to develop counselling skills and acquiring valuable community and research experience.
We at Psych Online Tutors like to emphasise to our students that the process and the journey of becoming a counsellor and/or psychologist is more important than attaining your final honours degree transcript. We challenge and encourage students to plan a degree over two or three years and utilise this time to build up a portfolio that will improve their chances of being invited for masters interviews.
We help students plan their degree by assisting them with the selection of models to optimise their chances of success. We also advise students to access the exam timetable in order to find out what subjects will be written on what dates. From there, they can decide which combination of modules would be best to choose with regards to how spread out there are during the exam period.
There are 3 different streams when studying your Honours in Psychology:
Stream 1: With Specialisation in Psychological Counselling
Stream 2: With Specialisation in Community and Health Psychology
Stream 3: With Specialisation in Applied Psychology for Professional Contexts
Stream 1: With Specialisation in Psychological Counselling
The following modules are compulsory for Stream 1:
- HMPYC80 – Research Methodology
- HRPYC81 – Research Report
- PYC4802 – Psychopathology
- PYC4805 – Developmental psychology
- PYC4807 – Psychological assessments
- PYC4808 – Ecosystemic psychology
- PYC4809- Therapeutic psychology
- PYC4814 – Community psychology
Stream 2: With Specialisation in Community and Health Psychology
The following modules are compulsory for Stream 2:
- HMPYC80 – Research Methodology
- HRPYC81 – Research Report
- PYC4802 – Psychopathology
- PYC4803 – Social Psychology
- PYC4804 – Personology
- PYC4805 – Developmental psychology
- PYC4808 – Ecosystemic psychology
- PYC4814 – Community psychology
Stream 3: With Specialisation in Applied Psychology for Professional Contexts
The following modules are compulsory for Stream 3:
- HMPYC80 – Research Methodology
- HRPYC81 – Research Report
- PYC4802 – Psychopathology
- PYC4804 – Personology
- PYC4807 – Psychological assessment
- PYC4810- Psychology of work
- PYC4812- Sport Psychology
- PYC4813- Cognitive Neuroscience
To reiterate we highly suggest that you split your degree over 2 or 3 years. In addition, we recommend the following modules (depending on the exam schedule):
Stream 1:
1st year:
- HMPYC80 – Research Methodology
- PYC4807 – Psychological Assessment
- PYC4808 – Ecosystemic Psychology
- PYC4809 – Therapeutic Psychology
2nd year:
- HMPYC81 – Research Report
- PYC4802 – Psychopathology
- PYC4805 – Developmental Psychology
- PYC4814 – Community Psychology
Stream 2:
1st year:
- HMPYC80 – Research Methodology
- PYC4805 – Developmental Psychology
- PYC4808 – Ecosystemic Psychology
- PYC4809 – Personology
2nd year:
- HMPYC81 – Research Report
- PYC4802 – Psychopathology
- PYC4805 – Social Psychology
- PYC4814 – Community Psychology
Stream 3:
1st year:
- HMPYC80 – Research Methodology
- PYC4807 – Psychological Assessment
- PYC4808 – Personology
- PYC4809 – Cognitive and Neuroscience
2nd year:
- HMPYC81 – Research Report
- PYC4802 – Psychopathology
- PYC4805 – Psychology of Work
- PYC4811 – Sports Psychology
If you are hoping to get into masters passing your degree is not enough. Please see our page on planning your journey for some more information.