Q & As

These questions and answers have been provided via the sgpsychstud@gmail.com account and from the facebook page.  Some changes have been made to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the people who sent the questions.  The Q & As are presented as if in an email conversation, so as to better present each case. 
Click the links for each respective question to see the answers. 
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 Email  1 Questions:
  1. What other options are there for me to turn things around in order to be able to qualify for a Masters Degree (besides applying for the Honours year in JCU)? (Overseas universities or work first?)
  2. What exactly are the names of the Masters Degree I should be aiming for with those interests in mind?  Is there a Masters Degree for the special needs (like Autism)?
  3. Would you advice I apply for a job first in those lines I mentioned above as my interests?
  4. What is the difference between an Honours and a Postgraduate study?
  5. Are there instances where relevant work experience on top of a B.A. enable someone to qualify for a Masters Degree (hence without doing Honours)?
Email 2 Questions: 
  1. What I want to ask is your opinions on the standing between a Masters in Social Work (MSW) and Masters in Clinical Psychology (MCP) in Singapore. 
  2. Can I also take this opportunity to consult you in regards to how a Degree holder can go about working in Psych related fields in Singapore?  If I were to apply to IMH or other public/private institutes, where would they usually place a Degree holder (or do they not consider degree holders at all?!)?
Email 3 Questions:
  1. What are the prospects and workplaces available for counselors, counseling psychologist and clinical psychologist?
  2. What are the possible positions and work available to psychology students that are psychology-related in the civil service and private sector respectively?
  3. Can psychology graduates be consultants? If so, in what areas?
  1. Whether this UniSIM's BSc(Psychology) degree will qualify me to do a postgraduate degree
  2. Whether I should do Honours at UniSim or neglect it altogether, considering that a possibility is to try for NIE's Master in Applied Psych and I'd read on your Q&As that they might not require a 4th year
  3. Whether I should do Honours at UniSim or neglect it altogether, considering (from my current understanding) that if I want to study overseas most likely I'll need to do bridging courses before I can do a postgraduate diploma at that particular overseas institution and move on to Masters?
Email 5 Questions:
  1. May I know which of these psychology programs is a better choice? 
  2. I am told that I should choose neither as none of these universities is well-known for psychology - Is that true?
Email 6 Questions:
  1. Do you know if the course offered by SIM is available for part time study?
  2. I'm unsure whether to take up Australian or American psychology course.  Do you have any advise on this?
  3. Do you know if I can take up Psychology course in SIM by part time basis (from the website it's not shown)?
Email 7 Question:
  1. Currently I'm thinking which Psychology degree to chose from between: Bradford UK or Murdoch Australia.  Which route should I chose from?
Email 8 Questions:
  1. I wanna know if you have any idea where I can study my masters locally?
  2. So is it compulsory to get a honours degree in order to get into a masters program? 
  3. If I go ahead in SIM then the only two choices I have for a masters and to do it locally is SMU, NIE and Baruch College? 
  4. If I want to do my honours, should I go to JCU instead then continue my masters with them as well? Can I get my bachelor degree in SIM then do a 1 year honours course somewhere else? Is that an option? 
  5. Is there a requirement to be able to do my honours in JCU?
Email 9 Questions:
  1. I will like to know as compared, if UniSim is as recognized as Kaplan based on their accreditation?
  2. I like to ask if UK Honours are as recognized in Singapore as compared to Australia Honours
  1. Murdoch vs Wollongong: Won't this seem to give off an impression that you get your degree in an easier way and won't be valued as much as the one you took longer years to get (in this case; Wollongong's) because Murdoch's seem to be of very basic level?
  2. How do we go about becoming a counsellor in schools?  Do we need more than a degree or study psychology in NIE?
  3. I have read that many with BA will continue on with their Master while those who studied BSc would mostly set of to the work place. Does this not mean that BA is not enough?
  1. May I know do local universities generally accept private A level qualification?  Do private A level holders stand an equal chance as other students from JCs?
  1. I hope to find a balance between music and psychology.  Would you be able to give me some leads on it ?
  2. I am interested in furthering my studies (postgraduate) in music therapy.  I am also not very sure if psychology is the right path for me.  Would you be able to advise me ?
  3. In comparison in taking up a Bachelor in Psychology VS Bachelor in Arts (psychology), how are my career options limited ? Does it mean that if I took a Bachelor in Arts (psychology), I will not be able to do clinical related stuff ?
  1. Besides reading up, are there any opportunities for people like me who are officially not students of Psychology yet?
  2. Am I right to say that there is no scholarship in Singapore (or anywhere else for that matter, in particular Australia and UK) specific to the study of Psychology? 
  3. What are the job opportunities if I do attain a Master's in Cognitive Psychology? Is it a lot more different from that of a clinical psychologist?
Email 14 Questions:
  1. I am interested in studying psychology.  Is my past going to haunt me?  Can I still find jobs in the future with my history like this? 
  2. Which are the jobs which I may have issues with?
  1. I understand from my friends that UniSIM is not recognized.  But do you know why?  
  2. I would like to pursue a career as a counsellor but I know that you have to be registered with the SPS right?
  3. If my degree is not recognized, will I not be able to pursue that career?
  4. Is there any possibility for me to work as a counsellor or even assistant with a degree only? 
  5. Is it possible to move on to do a Masters in Counselling Psychology without an honours degree?  
  6. To be a counsellor, would you recommend getting a degree on psychology then a Masters in Counselling Psychology?  Or a Bachelors in Counselling, then a Masters in Counselling?
  1. I am looking to enrol in a Counselling Psychology Masters program in UK. Will I be able to register as a licensed psychologist?
  1. I would like to find out if the NIE Masters of Arts in Applied Psychology is an accredited course?
  2. Do you have any idea if there this program is recognised by the Singapore ministry? 
  3. Do you know why MOE does not subsidise the program?
  1. I'm wondering about the possibility of working overseas with just an Honours Degree
  2. I'm wondering where I could start researching for job opportunities in each region (i.e., hospitals? where else..?)
  1. I'm interested in taking Psychology in James Cook University and at the same time, signing on with the police as well. What is your advice for me now?
  1. May I know what the job scopes of neuropsychologists and clinical psychologists are? How do I become a neuropsychologist in Singapore?
  1. However, I showed some interests in Psychiatry. How do/can I pursue in psychiatry after I have completed my degree in Psychology?
  2. Is this 1 year graduate diploma in Mental Health recognised if I want to do Master of Psychology (Clinical) at NUS (together with my 3-year degree and 1-year graduate diploma)? 
  1. What are the organisations that you may suggest for volunteering opportunities?
  2. May I clarify with you on the difficulty of getting into honours for the NUS undergraduate psychology course?
  1. I would like to clarify whether in the case of online learning (and hence the course is not conducted in any private institutions in Singapore), the course would need to be permitted by CPE?
  2. I am considering enrolling in TMC Academy's Higher Diploma in Psychology, but am wondering if it is a good idea to do my Bachelor's degree in Psychology in another UK university instead of the University of Greenwich that the higher diploma is supposed to lead to.
  3. Is an online Masters in applied psychology such as the University of Derby's (which is accredited by the British Psychological Society) a reasonable choice in one's path to become a psychologist?
  4. Will the online Masters certificates, such as those from University of Derby, indicate that the course is done via distance learning?
  5. Can the clocking of 1000 training hours commence even before one has graduated from a Bachelor's program in psychology?  Or will it only commence once one has attained a Bachelor's degree in psychology?
  6. Do you foresee that in the near future (around 5 years or less), the Singapore Government would require that all practicing psychologists here would need to be registered with the SRP, or at least need to fulfil the requirements to be registered with the SRP?
  7. Do local employers pay due recognition and preference for one who is registered with the SRP?
  8. Will being trained and accredited by professional bodies of "new-age" psychological treatments/approaches (such as being a certified Master NLP practitioner or hypnotherapist) help to increase one's portfolio appeal among the local employers?
  9. Are the fields of Health Psychology and Clinical Psychology rather overlapping?  Can one switch from one field to another easily here with a degree/Masters in either field?
  10. If a professional psychologist face certain psychological problems (eg. stress that he/she himself/herself can no longer manage), would it be a social taboo for him/her to go to another psychologist for counselling?
  1. Does studying Psychology require one to be outspoken?
  2. To do well in a Psychology course, is language proficiency important?
  3. The degree programme is accredited by BPS.  Honestly, do you think the value of the TMC Academy degree would be undermined due to the short course duration, even though it is accredited?
  1. Some of my seniors have told me that SIM Global’s program is not as recognized as JCU’s program.  Is that really the case?
  2. The main difference between SIM Global's full time programme - Bachelor of Science from University of Wollongong and JCU Bachelor of Psychology programme seems to be only having to do the Honours year either locally or overseas.  Am I right?
  3. I am kind of interested in sport psychology, being an outdoor person who is also keen on understanding how humans think.  Any advice on the pathway I should embark on?  Or should I be duly trying to aim for the 2nd upper class Honours with a bachelor of psychology degree first? 
  4. Is the SIM Global's Bachelor of Science (Psychology) degree still considered as a degree in psychology? My friend said it is very theory and Maths based.
Email 26 Questions:
  1. To be a psychologist, how many years do you need to study in university?
  2. What is the salary in Singapore for a psychologist?
Email 27 Questions:
  1. If I take up NUS Masters in Clinical Psychology Program, can I still stand for licensing registration in overseas psychology governing bodies like Psychology Board of Australia?
  2. Is it possible to do a PhD in Psychology and at the same time get supervised practicum hours in a clinic?
Email 28 Question:
  1. What do you think of schools like Kaplan or SMF which have Psychology courses by partner-Aussie universities?
Email 29 Question:
  1. Is it possible for me to take up an Honours programme from other universities after completing the course with Kaplan?
Email 30 Question:
  1. My supervisor is an SPS Approved Supervisor.  However during our supervision, there are a lot of verbal abuse and threats of termination.  Is there any way I can bring this up to SPS or any resource I can use to seek help?  
Email 31 Question:
  1. I just graduated from high school and am inclined to study criminal psychology at university, but am not sure if it is what I desire as a career.  I was wondering if there are internships available to pre-college students in the branch of FLEP that would expose me to the job scope.
Facebook Question 1:
  1. How does a counselling psychologist differ from a counsellor?
Facebook Questions 2:
  1. Will it be difficult for me to apply for psychology in the local universities because I do not have a relevant diploma? 
  2. Are there any short courses in psychology that I can take to back me up as well?
Facebook Questions 3:
  1. May I know which of these will be a better known programme?  If I want to pursue masters or beyond to become a clinical psychologist, which of these degrees will help me to attain  masters and accredited?
  2. I heard that the UK system is more complicated than the Aus system, is that true?  Will you mind explaining how different and complicated both systems can be?
  3. Must I do the internship/supervision in their respective countries?