Fourth Year Course Information Session Presented by Jason ... · – Focused groups and intensive reading – Presentations by students ... • Every student should contribute to

School of Psychological Sciences >

Fourth Year Course Information Session

Presented by Jason Forte


What I’m going to cover…

• Why do Honours here?• What is the Honours experience like?• How is the Melbourne program

organised?• What happens during honours?• Tell me more about the projects…• How do I get in?• How do I get more information?• How do I apply?

…questions?


Why Do Honours in Psychological Sciences?

• We are consistently the highest rated psychology department in Australia

– Top researchers in many fields of psychology– High success in attracting research funding

• Unparalleled range and quality of research supervision

• Close associations with external research sites e.g.

– Melbourne Neuroscience Institute– National Ageing Research Institute– Centre for Post-traumatic Mental Health– Orygen Youth Mental Health– affiliated Hospitals e.g. St Vincents, Austin

• Contemporary coursework curriculum– Closely informed by cutting edge research

• Strong preparation for future career in research and practice


In fact, we are consistently ranked one of the psychology departments in the world….

• Psychology QS World University Rankings– 2013 7th

– 2014 10th

– 2015 14th

• Highest ranked Australian psychology

department 2013, 2014 & 2015





…questions?


What is Honours like?

• A transitional from a consumer to an independent practitioner and/or researcher

– More like a postgraduate degree than undergraduate

• An apprenticeship– 1-to-1 work with academic staff – you join your

supervisor’s research team for the year.

• Advanced coursework & small elective seminars

– Focused groups and intensive reading– Presentations by students

• A great cohort of like-minded students


The challenges of Honours…

• It’s a heavy workload– Can you give yourself the best opportunity to

succeed?– It is difficult to maintain a socil life outside…

• Research does not always go as planned– Thankfully a confirmed hypothesis is not essential

for a good thesis…

• Being organised– Keeping on top of everything is key to success

• Dealing with stress– Work/life balance– Life continues while you do Honours– Peer support


The rewards of Honours…

•Cohort experience– Lifelong friendships

•Making a contribution to knowledge– Intellectual growth

•Career options– PhD & Masters– Other…

•PhD leads to overseas research career

•Masters leads to Clinical/Clinical Neuropsychology practice





…questions?


The Program Structure

• A compulsory original supervised research project– Literature Review (20 credit

points)– Empirical Thesis (30 credit

points)• two compulsory subjects

– (total of 25 credit points)• two advanced elective subjects

– (total of 25 credit points)


The Program Structure:Research Project

• Thesis on Research Project is submitted as two documents \

• Literature Review– 4000 words

• Empirical Thesis– Extended journal article in style– 6000 words– Due late October

• Consistent with APAC guidelines for honours theses

• Every student should contribute to data collection


Literature Review

• 4000 words and 40% of final thesis mark• The review concludes with a statement of

hypotheses and research aims• Two independent internal markers• A mark discrepancy resolution process will be

activated where there is a discrepancy of more than five percent. – A third independent marker will decide on a final grade

based on their own assessment along with feedback from the original markers.


Empirical Component

• 6000 words and 60% of final thesis mark• To be submitted in the form of a draft journal article• Must include discussion section of 1000 – 3000 words• The length of other sections is flexible.

– the Introduction should be a focused summary of the literature review

• The supervisor is expected to assist with all sections except the discussion

• Proposal due early April• Mini conference held in first week of September


Program components:Coursework

Compulsory subjects• Two compulsory subjects (12.5% each)

in Semester 1

• Advanced design & data analysis– Introduction to multivariate statistics

• Theories & ethics in psychology– Advanced review of the historical,

philosophical and theoretical context of contemporary psychology


Program components 3.

Elective subjects• Two elective subjects (12.5% each) in

Semester 2, chosen from– Current topics in developmental psychology– Current topics in social psychology– Current topics in cognitive neuroscience– Models of Psychological Processes

• Focus on recent research; smaller group discussion





…questions?


How does Supervision work?

How do I get a research project?• Limitations to number of supervisors• Some areas are more popular than others• Choice of supervisors based on a ranking

system– Accepted students rank potential supervisors based

on projects or topics publicised in advance– Students are assigned a subset of their ranked

supervisors, and negotiate a project before the start of semester

• Honours results do not depend on topic• Performance depends a lot on fit between

and individual student and supervisor– Everyone’s needs are different


Key aspects of successful supervision

• Start research in 1st semester– Have ethics approval ASAP

• Meet regularly with supervisor– Don’t become a hermit– Make sure you have similar

expectations…• http://gradresearch.unimelb.edu.au/doc

s/info-resources/Candidate_supervisor_checklist.pdf

• Monitor your progress– Don’t wait until 2nd semester to

resolve problems with supervision

http://gradresearch.unimelb.edu.au/docs/info-resources/Candidate_supervisor_checklist.pdf





…questions?


Illustrative projects: Cognition

Simon Cropper•Individual Differences in Time Perception Piers Howe•Distractor processing in multiple object trackingDaniel Little•Comparing Models of Similarity: Multidimensional Scaling and General Recognition Theory Meredith McKague•The Relative contributions of orthographic and phonological process in reading English


Illustrative projects: Cognitive Neuroscience

Robert Hester• The Relationship Between Behavioural Inhibition

and Reward Sensitivity in Occasional SmokersStefan Bode• The intrinsic value of non-instrumental

information Olivia Carter• Executive Function Deficits in Schizophrenia and

Other Psychiatric Disorders Jason Forte• Counting Strategies and Dot Arrays: Do Eye

Movements Contribute to the Enumeration Response Time Curve?


Illustrative projects: Clinical Psychology

Christine Bryant• Intra-individual personality trait change in middle

adulthood, and its relationship with subjective well-being Isabel Krug• Investigating the Impact of Body Checking and

Appearance Comparison Behaviours on Trait and State-Level Body Satisfaction

Lisa Phillips• Examining implicit and explicit public stigma towards

drug use and mental health disordersLitza Kiropoulos• Intimate relationship quality and its relationships with

acceptance of diagnosis, self-concept, physical self-concept and mental health outcomes in those with multiple sclerosis


Illustrative projects: Developmental Psychology

Katherine Johnson• Spatial and temporal orienting of attention: A

comparison of adults and childrenHeidi Gazelle• Anxious Solitude and Peer Adversity: The

Moderating Effect of Attachment SecurityJudi Humberstone• Contributions of Core Number and Math

Learning Potential in Predicting Math AbilityChristian Nicholas• The Effects of alcohol, energy drinks and

combined alcohol and energy drinks on objective polysomnographic sleep patterns in young adults


Illustrative projects:Neuropsychology

Vicki Anderson• Investigating Post-Concussive and Posttraumatic

Stress Symptoms Following Paediatric ConcussionSarah Wilson• The Developmental Trajectory of Temporal Orienting

of Attention in Children Audrey McKinlay• Long-Term Cognitive Outcomes associated with

Multiple Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries Jacqueline Anderson• Cognitive Outcome After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury:

Objective Cognitive Deficit and Its Relationship with subjective cognitive complaint


Illustrative projects: Personality Psychology

Luke Smillie• Extraversion and the Desire to Win:

Components of Reward-Processing as Predictors of Competitiveness in Auction Games

Jenny Boldero• Exploring the two faces of narcissism: The

role of regulatory focus.


Illustrative projects:Social Psychology

Simon Laham•Justifying Responses in Sacrificial Dilemmas: Moral communication provides insight into the nature and function of moral reasoning Yoshi Kashima•Utopian visions as a catalyst for social change behaviour Garry Robins•Does the Effect of Ethnic Diversity on Social-Cohesion Differ as a Function of Perceived Characteristic of Communities





…questions?


Selection of students

Intake• ~ 75 places, subject to supervisor

availability• A reasonable number of places

taken up by “external” applicants– Though many people prefer to stay

where they did years 1-3

Prerequisites• APAC accredited 3 year psychology

sequence• Completed undergraduate degree


The entry score equation

• Academic performance only – (recently in the H2A range)

• To calculate your 4th year Psychology entry score you will need two values:

a - your average score for Level 2 (second year) psychology subjectsb - your average score for Level 3 (third year) psychology subjects

• Calculate your entry score using(a + 2b)/3

• So if your Level 2 average is 70 and your Level 3 average is 80, your formula score would be (70 + 160)/3 = 76.67.


Honours vs. Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Advanced)

• No difference in selection or standards– No separate streams or quotas– Both programs are APAC accredited– Both are equivalent for progress to higher

degrees

• This equivalence is unlike most other Ψdepartments in Victoria

• Apply for the Grad Dip (Adv) if you have completed a Graduate Diploma, your BA is > 5 years old or your Bachelors degree is in something other than Arts or Science


Misc…

• No deferred places

• No mid-year entry

• Part-time study is possible.

• All local places are HECS-based

• Most courses scheduled during daytime hours


Timeline

October 31, 2015 applications closemid December offers mademid January arrange supervisionFebruary 2nd round offers *late February orientation sessionearly March coursework begins

* not offered in last 5 years





…questions?


Applications

See - http://www.psych.unimelb.edu.au/study/fourth-year/

• Applications are made via the U of M on-line application system (SIS), accessible via university homepage

http://futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/admissions/applications

• Applications close on October 31, 2015 at 11.59pm

• Notification of acceptance is usually about mid-December.

• Possibility of 2nd round of offers (not likely)

http://www.psych.unimelb.edu.au/study/fourth-year/

http://futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/admissions/applications


Other information

For more information visit the web site at:

http://psych.unimelb.edu.au/study/fourth-yearOr contact:

E: [email protected]

Good luck!

http://psych.unimelb.edu.au/study/fourth-year

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

Fourth Year Course Information Session Presented by Jason ... · – Focused groups and intensive reading – Presentations by students ... • Every student should contribute to