Further Study

A good psychology degree from York is an ideal platform from which to take further study. If you are considering further study in an area related to psychology you should talk to your project supervisor or member of staff involved in the area of research that you which to pursue as they will have valuable contacts and advice.

Opportunities in the Department

The department offers a range of masters programmes, including:

MSc Applied Forensic Psychology
MSc Cognitive Neuroscience
MSc Development Disorders of Language and Cognition
Masters by Research (MRes in Psychology)

See: https://www.york.ac.uk/psychology/prospective/postgraduate/taught/

The department also offers full-time and part-time research degrees leading to MPhil and PhD qualifications in all areas of research covered by faculty members.

See: https://www.york.ac.uk/psychology/prospective/postgraduate/research/

Other opportunities

In addition to further study in psychology, York psychology graduates enter a wide range of postgraduate courses. Recently, these have included teacher training, health professions, medicine, journalism, social research, political economy and law.

It is important to research opportunities carefully and consider how you are going to finance further study. There is some financial support available for professional training courses such as health professions, social work, nursing and teaching, and sponsorship can sometimes be obtained for Law conversion courses, but for many postgraduate courses there isn’t any statutory support available.

In some jobs your employer will pay for you to obtain relevant professional qualifications on a part-time basis. This is common in occupations such as health service management, accountancy, financial services, insurance, human resources, marketing and market research.

The following websites will help you to consider the advantages and disadvantages of further study and will also offer information and advice about researching courses and financial support.

www.york.ac.uk/careers/study

www.prospects.ac.uk/postgraduate_study.htm

You can also view the Careers information sheet on Postgraduate Study: www.york.ac.uk/media/studenthome/workandvolunteering/infosheets/postgraduate%20study%2012.pdf

Opportunities overseas

The Prospects careers website has a section on study abroad, including profiles of over 50 countries www.prospects.ac.uk/studying_abroad.htm

Teacher Training - Advice on applying for a PGCE

Students wishing to apply for teacher training should plan their application carefully and ensure that they obtain relevant work experience in schools and working with children/young people. In recent years about 10% of graduates each year have entered teacher training, the majority starting primary teaching courses. It can be more difficult to obtain places on secondary PGCE courses because psychology teaching in schools is limited, but graduates have obtained places on biology/science and maths PGCE courses and there is a small number of PGCE courses in psychology.

PGCE admissions tutors need to satisfy themselves that applicants are suitably qualified to teach their chosen subjects. They have the final decision regarding entry to courses and if you are in any doubt as to the suitability of your degree you should contact them directly for advice – which can vary from course to course. As a rough guide, for a secondary PGCE, your degree should include about 50% of the subject you intend to teach. However, booster and subject enhancement courses (taken prior to commencing a PGCE and funded) are
available in some 'shortage subjects'.

For application to primary PGCE courses you need to demonstrate that you are qualified to teach across the national curriculum so you should make the following points in your application:

The honours degree in psychology at York takes a very scientific approach. You should be able to relate content to the key areas of the primary curriculum - science, maths, information technology and English and you should demonstrate this on your application.
The programme includes topics of direct relevance to primary teaching, such as developmental psychology, learning disorders and psychometric testing. You should highlight this in your personal statement.

Careers can offer feedback on teaching applications and they also run a number of sessions relating to teacher training, including routes into teaching; completing a PGCE application form; and preparing for PGCE interviews. See the events programme for details www.york.ac.uk/careers/events.

Other Teacher Training Routes

School based training is an alternative to a traditional PGCE and may suit those students who have lots of teaching related experience and who wish to obtain their PGCE whilst working as a trainee teacher with a salary.

Teach First is a popular option. Applicants commit to teaching for 2 years and are based in ‘challenging schools’ with support to obtain their teaching qualification. They also receive leadership training, support and mentoring from Teach First’s many supporting organisations in the business, public and voluntary sectors. At the end of 2 years they can choose to remain in teaching or pursue other careers http://graduates.teachfirst.org.uk.

Schools Direct is a school based training programmes, replacing the Graduate Teacher Programme www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/teacher-training-options/school-based-training/school-direct.

For more information see the Careers information sheets:

Considering Teaching? www.york.ac.uk/media/studenthome/workandvolunteering/infosheets/Teaching%2012.pdf

Routes into Teaching: www.york.ac.uk/media/studenthome/workandvolunteering/otherpdfs/agcas%20Routes%20into%20teaching%202012-13.pdf