Psychology

Entry requirements

Candidates for admission to the Psychology Conversion Course must hold a primary degree, in any discipline, with at least an upper second-class honors. We will also accept applications from final year students of other honours degree programmes, where any offers made would be contingent on results obtained. A strictly limited number of students will be accepted, based on the application form with two academic references and a curriculum vitae.

In addition to your primary qualification and references, the following will be taken into account in the selection process: any relevant or cognate postgraduate qualifications; any courses or modules taken in psychology; any work experience, paid or voluntary, in a relevant setting.

Months of entry

September

Course content

This course provides a pre-professional qualification in psychology and confers eligibility for graduate membership of the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI). It allows a student to proceed to postgraduate training, including higher degrees by research, and to specialise in an area of professional psychology. It is a two year full-time course based on lectures, tutorials, laboratory classes and research projects.

Candidates for admission to the Higher Diploma in Psychology must hold a primary degree, in any discipline with at least an upper second-class honors. Application for entry is not via the CAO system.

Students will cover the following areas of psychology, as required for professional accreditation:

• Biological basis of behaviour
• Cognitive psychology
• Research design, quantitative and qualitative methods
• Developmental and lifespan psychology
• Social psychology
• Personality and individual differences

Students are evaluated by course work assessment throughout the year, by written examination papers at the end of each semester of the course, and by research project in the second year. The student must complete all the work prescribed.

Information for international students

If English is not your first language or you have not been educated through English, you are required to submit one of the following qualifications below or notice of your test date with your application before you can be considered:

• IELTS: Grade 6.5 overall (**each band of the IELTS must have a minimum score of 6.5).

• TOEFL: 88 internet-based, 570 paper-based, 230 computer-based.