In NUS, Psychology is within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS). The implications of this therefore is that one need not commit straight away to studying solely psychology, as FASS allows for students to freely choose their modules each semester without having any declared major. This may be useful for people who are yet to be sure whether or not they want to pursue an education and possible career in psychology.
Looking back at the last 2 years of studying, I am grateful for the broad exposure that the department offers students. While the undergraduate modules may not go very deeply into certain fields like neuropsychology, the curriculum is nonetheless structured in such a way that students will study introductory modules of five main branches - Social, Abnormal, Cognitive, Developmental and Biological Psychology. Personally, I have found this helpful as it allows for a deeper and more holistic appreciation of psychology as a whole, and also provides opportunity for students to 'try out' the different fields to see which they prefer.
The lecturers that I've had so far are highly competent and able to explain effectively to us any tricky concepts that we come across. They are also very approachable and willing to spend extra time and effort helping students who may be struggling with school work - all you need to do is ask for their help. Also, there are some lecturers who clearly go the extra mile in making psychological concepts more understandable and relevant to students, often involving the use of current affairs and popular culture as examples of what they teach. These lecturers make learning much more enjoyable, and I must say that I am very thankful to be taught by them.
Still, the course (like any other undergraduate discipline) is no walk in the park, and requires hard work and focus from each student. The course is very content driven, so students are expected to diligently read the textbooks and research papers, as lectures sometimes do not cover all the relevant info due to time constraints. One common complaint among all NUS students is the high amount of work load each semester, which some times results in the joy of learning being sapped away as students rush from one assignment to another, without any space to appreciate what is being learnt. However, this is probably the case in most universities, and to be fair, one's ability to manage high amounts of work load (and stress) is trained in the process.
W
Looking back at the last 2 years of studying, I am grateful for the broad exposure that the department offers students. While the undergraduate modules may not go very deeply into certain fields like neuropsychology, the curriculum is nonetheless structured in such a way that students will study introductory modules of five main branches - Social, Abnormal, Cognitive, Developmental and Biological Psychology. Personally, I have found this helpful as it allows for a deeper and more holistic appreciation of psychology as a whole, and also provides opportunity for students to 'try out' the different fields to see which they prefer.
The lecturers that I've had so far are highly competent and able to explain effectively to us any tricky concepts that we come across. They are also very approachable and willing to spend extra time and effort helping students who may be struggling with school work - all you need to do is ask for their help. Also, there are some lecturers who clearly go the extra mile in making psychological concepts more understandable and relevant to students, often involving the use of current affairs and popular culture as examples of what they teach. These lecturers make learning much more enjoyable, and I must say that I am very thankful to be taught by them.
Still, the course (like any other undergraduate discipline) is no walk in the park, and requires hard work and focus from each student. The course is very content driven, so students are expected to diligently read the textbooks and research papers, as lectures sometimes do not cover all the relevant info due to time constraints. One common complaint among all NUS students is the high amount of work load each semester, which some times results in the joy of learning being sapped away as students rush from one assignment to another, without any space to appreciate what is being learnt. However, this is probably the case in most universities, and to be fair, one's ability to manage high amounts of work load (and stress) is trained in the process.
W
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