Disclaimer: The following opinions are not generalizable as they are individualized experiences of a few students from NUS Psychology and NTU Psychology. Please reach out to more people and do more research while deciding between NUS Psychology and NTU Psychology. Good luck!
We have talked about the
differences in curriculum and years of study between NUS Psychology and NTU
Psychology few years ago here, but how much do we know about the
individualized experiences of NUS Psychology students and NTU Psychology
students? In this post, we interviewed a few NUS Psychology and NTU Psychology
students to understand more about their perceptions towards their school and
course.
The first and most important
question to ask would be:
“How has your experience been so far in NUS/NTU Psychology?”
Generally, Psychology students from
both universities have pleasant experiences so far in their universities. NTU
Psychology students such as Jasmine and Xin Ying have mentioned that they have
encountered positive experiences making connections and friendships with their
fellow cohort mates. NTU Psychology adopts a structured curriculum in the first
two years where Year 1s and Year 2s would have to take common introductory
modules. As such, this facilitated greater bonding as NTU Psychology students
were able to get to know their cohort mates beyond one module and beyond one
semester.
On the other hand, NUS Psychology
adopts a more flexible curriculum where students have the liberty to plan and
choose when to take their modules, and as a result may not be able to meet and
bond with as many cohort mates. Ashley*, a Year 1 NUS Psychology student
mentioned that the flexibility of curriculum made touch-and-go friendships very
common. Despite that, other NUS Psychology students such as Shi Hui sang
praises for the events held for NUS Psychology students.
The next question I asked was what
the students found about the modules offered in their course:
“What do you think of the modules offered in NUS/NTU Psychology?”
Both Xin Ying and Jasmine are
satisfied with the variety of Psychology modules offered in NTU, with the
former mentioning not only adequate introductory modules are offered, but also
interesting modules such as “Forensic Psychology”. However, success of obtaining
desired modules has been varied- with Sarah*, a Year 3 NTU Psychology student
complaining that she could not get any modules she wanted throughout the whole
of Year 2. In NTU, core modules are allocated on a first-come-first-serve
basis. As such, she had no choice but to take modules she had little interest
in.
On the other hand, NUS Psychology students are required to bid for modules
using points given to them every semester. Shi Hui mentioned that she has been
able to obtain modules she wants so far, although it got harder for her across
the subsequent semesters. Penny* mentioned that bidding for more popular modules such as courses related to Social Psychology and Clinical Psychology are harder to bid for, but she generally finds bidding relatively smooth-sailing.
For many aspiring psychologists,
research is a huge part of Psychology undergraduate students have to be exposed
to. Therefore, I asked:
“How much research experience does your school offer?”
For this question, students from
both schools mentioned that there are plenty of research opportunities
available in both schools. The NUS Psychology department regularly sends out
requests for Research Assistants while NTU students are able to offer research assistance
to both NTU and NIE professors.
Lastly, I asked students about the career exposure opportunities offered:
"What kind of career opportunities related to Psychology does NUS/NTU offer?"
In summary, interviewed NUS Psychology students think NUS has been able to offer them plenty of career exposure and advancement opportunities; These students also find bidding generally uncomplicated, although difficulties may arise across the semesters. NTU Psychology students find it easier to build longer lasting connections and friendships due to their curriculum, although the first-come-first-serve system of module allocation may frustrate some. In general, both universities offer many research opportunities for students to explore.
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* names have been changed to ensure anonymity
Special thanks to Shi Hui, Xin Ying, Jasmine, Ashley*, Sarah* and Penny* for making this post possible!
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