Psychology And Computing (ba (hons)) in University College Cork, Ireland

Psychology And Computing (ba (hons)) in University College Cork

Students of this course will gain practical skills that will enhance employability in the IT sector, especially in areas that are in great demand such as human-computer interaction, user experience design (UX), usability evaluation, game design and social media, and in research aimed at developing the next generation of systems and services.

• How can we give precise directions to Automated Cars?
• How do we design video games that teach useful skills?
• How do we ensure that healthcare systems support and respect the individual needs of patients?
• How do we measure whether our social media usage supports or hinders our social relationships?
• How do we know if a mental health app is useful?
• How do we ensure that AI systems reflect the values of their users?

Technology is becoming increasingly involved in every aspect of our lives, from driving to sleeping, from education to our relationships. In order to ensure that these developments have positive impacts on our lives, we need people with expertise in both human behaviour and technology design.

People with skills in Psychology and Computing have a unique insight into the needs and abilities of technology users, and the skills to design, develop and evaluate technology in areas such as education, e-health, mental health, interaction with A.I., and supports for people with disabilities.

Why Choose This Course

Most advances in the design of technology interfaces in the past 50 years – from car dashboards, to airplane cockpits, from computer operating systems, to games controllers, are brought about through the collaboration of psychologists, designers and computer scientists. All of the worlds’ biggest technology companies have large departments staffed with people who are expert in research methods, in perception and cognition, and who carry out studies in order to understand whether their designs are usable and useful. Every day, as you use your smartphones and your social media accounts, you are benefitting from the work of people researching the meeting points of psychology and computing.

• First degree programme of its kind in Ireland and amongst the first internationally
• Skills and experience attained will result in high graduate demand
• Opportunity to undertake work placement in 3rd year
• Option for graduates to specialise in Psychology or Computer Science via a conversion course
• Guaranteed entry to an accredited Psychology conversion course for graduates with 2H1 result[LC1] 
• Final year project will involve technology prototype design and evaluation, will be people focused, and will be led by staff from both Applied Psychology and Computer Science.

Placement or Study Abroad Information

Students will have the opportunity of undertaking an optional work placement in year three in industry and other organisations. The objective is to provide students with learning opportunities in relevant work settings in which they are expected to develop skills as well as demonstrate integration of theory and practice from the course.

Skills and Careers Information

Students of this course will gain practical skills that will enhance employability in the IT sector, especially in areas that are in great demand such as; User Experience design (UX), User Interface (UI) design and testing, Usability testing, Human-computer interaction, Game design, Social media service design, Research aimed at developing the next generation of systems and services. Graduates can also follow a path from this programme into traditional psychology careers, such as; Educational Psychology; Work and Organisational Psychology; and Clinical Psychology through graduate study.

Graduates of this programme will offer employers a unique combination of technical software related skills, research skills, and psychological training. As a graduate of this degree, you will be well trained for careers in a wide range of areas, including roles in which you will creatively apply the most engaging user interface design ideas and work practices with multi-disciplinary teams to design and develop products and services as well as positions in which you will develop an understanding of the requirements for technology, improve the design of technology, or evaluate the effectiveness of technology.

• Excellent research methods and statistics training
• Ability to plan and run valid user studies
• Knowledge of core topics in psychology; developmental, social, behavioural, cognitive, and biological
• Expertise in ergonomics and human factors
• Software development and Programming skills
• Software engineering practices
• Ability to design, develop and evaluate prototypes
• Good understanding of data structures and algorithms
• Ability to design, implement, and administer databases
• Understanding of how software can best support and transform essential infrastructure such as health, education and finance

Graduates of this course who wish to pursue a career in the psychology professions can do so via a year-long graduate conversion course. Students who achieve at least a 2.1 in their degree will be guaranteed a place on our graduate conversion course. This conversion course will provide access to professional accreditation by the Psychological Society of Ireland.

Graduates of this course who wish to pursue a career in Software Development, IT, Software Engineering, Web Development, or any of the computing professions will be well placed to do so, through further study or direct routes to employment.