The course in general
How many contact hours do you have in the average week?
15

Ideally, what 3/4 subjects would you recommend doing in order to be in the best position for your course?
English, Psychology, Sociology, Maths/Statistics. Any of the Sciences (Biology not as important on the BA)

Why did you decide to study your degree programme?
I did Psychology at A level, wanted to carry it on, but couldn't make the grades for the BSC. The Ba isn't accredited but YSJ also teaches the DipHe, a conversion course of 1 year after the BA if you want the accreditation by the British Psychological Society.

Explain the things you wish you'd known about your degree before you applied:
If you want the accreditation you need to do a 4th year - this I knew. If you do the BA and then the Dip He, the only logical route with the Ba.. then in the Dip He you do ANOTHER dissertation... 10000 words extra. THIS i did not know and is looking a bit scary; but being at the same uni I expect transference will be easier, I already know the staff and resources, and I can get the practice in on the first 10000.

Describing your average day
Explain how your day is made up. For example, do you have labs/seminars/tutorials/lectures?
Lectures tend to be 2 - 3 days a week, seminars usually held the same day. Lectures are 2 hours long, seminars 1 or 2 hours. There is usually a break in the middle of lectures of 10 mins or so. Personal tutorials up to you to arrange with tutor, generally easy to do and flexible timing not a problem. Lectures depend on the course/module content, could be 50-75 people in a lecture theatre (Ba has lectures with BSC) or just 10-15 people in a conference room style setting. Seminars are also dependent on the module, but expect lots of informal chat and group discussion. Individual work is also used by some lecturers but not the most popular topic at YSJ.

How much extra work/reading are you required to do out of lectures?
Depends on the lecturer but there's a core set of reading and most give examples of at least one core text you could (and probably should) buy. Reading around the work is highly recommended, especially journal articles which are for most areas widely available in the library. There is also a huge online collection for psychology papers and a reliable if slow network of inter library loaning.

The best and worst parts of the course
What do you like best about your degree programme?
The university is compact, the staff treat you as an indivual and with the Ba being a smaller programme than the BSC 1- 1 contact is very easy.

What do you like least about your degree programme?
Being small and also having all lectures on similar days does make working alongside the degree easier but for some YSJ could seem to lack the buzz of bigger universities. There's also the endless reams of journals to print of copy, so PC storage and a decent printer are A MUST as the uni is not the cheapest nor most reliable for these facilities. Memory sticks mean that uni pc's (which are fairly fast and up to date) can be used on the go, but having your own PC or laptop is going to make life alot easier.

Academics and course content
What do you think of your university's academics and facilities?
The facilities may seem to be lacking in a smaller university but that isn't the case at YSJ. The staff are friendly and helpful (unless you are late with an assignment) and will be on hand to show you new programmes in the library for PC's or for the different bits of equipment in the lab. We have a 2 way mirror , lie detector equipment , skin response units, biofeedback labs, transcription and statistical software (the latter of which WILL become your attached twin in some modules).. so not a bad arrangement for a small University

Explain how you expected your course to be and how it compares to how it actually is. Give an outline of the content of the course.
The downside, like all too many universities... expect powerpoints sideshows - LOTS OF them... The pluses, the one to one work - the mad lecturers with there random animations etc to help it all sink in and there jokes that came from the Ark..The multitude of mock and trial methods used to make some of the methodology sink in,the out of class single and group work, the emails harassing you and helping you to figure things out (some are mad enough to reply at 1am as they have no life it seems) the VLE which although temperamental is the best online software I have seen for the whole group keeping in touch and having instant access to all of the material so that even if you lose it there's another copy

ERASMUS scheme, study abroad and work placements
Have you studied on an ERASMUS or study abroad programme? Where did you go and what experience have you gained from your placement?
In the 2nd year of the BA and BSC there is a psycholgy at work module, a 3 week placement. TOTALLY up to you what you do but there has been abroad options the last 2 years. One lecturer on my year took 11 to build houses in New Orleans, I went with another lecturer and 14 others for 2 and a half weeks building schools and teaching in South Africa. Competition for the places is fierce but the lecturers do their best to make sure all who can go do get the chance. Of course it is mostly self funded (we were lucky to have uni pay for the accommodation) so if you want something like this skip a round of drinks once in a while and start saving.

Have you been on a work placement/year in industry? How has it benefited your study and career prospects:
The work placement was not only life changing but we applied psychology to education and on other placements people had to do similar for their individual placement. The module requires a 20 minute interview with a member of the organization we worked with, which was then transcribed and analyzed under psychological theories of work for the modules assessment. It made me realize that although I enjoy educational psychology there's alot more to it than meets the eye, which is why I chose to continue for the upcoming year as one of my module choices.