I don't work but I am interested in Studying Psychology and maybe from home, I am 32 years old and wondering if it is possible to get a student loan of some sort at this age? I would also prefer to study in english and trying to figure out if I could sit a psychology IGCSE or A level exam here in Switzerland? Or would I have to go to the UK for the exams? I will pay for the IGCSE or A level, but to get the bachelors and masters it is looking very expensive, so I would be looking for a student loan or grant for this, is any of this this possible possible?
Hello, I moved to Switzerland 6 months ago with my boyfriend and our 3 year old daughter.
Student loans and stipends are available, but probably not for foreigners that have only been here 6 months, you will likely have to see if you can get something in your home country. You might be able to study though open university in English and from home as bachelor programs at Swiss universities are generally only taught in the local language.
Unfortunately I don’t think you’ll be able to study psychology here. Medicine, which I assume includes psychology, is a restricted study course and it’s limited to Swiss/Lichtenstein nationals and others who have been resident in Switzerland for at least 5 years and have a B permit.
“Exceptions are study programmes in medicine (human medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine) and chiropractic as well as in human movement and sports sciences. There may be entrance examinations to the study programmes in medicine and partly in human movement and sports sciences depending on the number of applicants for admission in any given year. The limited number of openings is the reason why international students, apart from some special cases , are not admitted to the study programmes in medicine.”
http://www.crus.ch/information-progr…rland.html?L=2
http://www.crus.ch/information-progr…erter.html?L=2
Bachelor courses are taught in Swiss languages only. Most Masters are taught in English.
If you are already 32 and don't even have a psychology GCSE, then realistically it's going to take you many years to get to masters stage.
If you have only marginal GCSE or A-level results then your best chance for a degree is likely studying with the Open University as the initial access entry requirements are lower, but I doubt it is going to lead to any kind of career within Switzerland without then (or in the meantime while studying) studying German to a level of near-native fluency, and then converting your degree to a recognised Swiss body that would allow you to practise it.
Of course you could theoretically find an English-speaking job in a field that finds your psychology degree useful, but that is certainly no guarantee.
That is actually not true. You can even study psychology at the University of Applied Sciences. See here http://psychologie.zhaw.ch/en/ap/stu...irementes.html for entry requirements and further information.
It is, however, true that you need a very good command of German. So yes I think if you want to study in English you would have to use the Open University.
There are many UK universities at which you can study psychology at undergraduate level by distance learning other than the Open University. For mature students you won't always be expected to have the same GCSEs/A levels as those straight from school - they consider experience and motivation in lieu.
...but few (if any) with a more mature or more supportive online education system, as it has essentially been built around that. Do you have any examples of ones that compare to the OU in that regard?
Yes, in my personal experience the online systems are excellent and well supported with judicious use of on-campus events, online seminars, small group remote working, electronic libraries etc. In fact I would say that most on-campus degrees are so well supported by technology now that you could do almost all of them remotely. My experience is with Heriot-Watt, UEL, and Staffordshire Universities. I think most use equivalent online systems such as Blackboard.
Staffordshire is 10k per year... very expensive for an online degree that will be done internationally. http://www.staffs.ac.uk/course/09C82000.jsp
Also, the entry requirements are on the upper end of average at 280 UCAS points, which for example would translate to, at A-level:
-BBC
-ABD
If the OP doesn't have those level of grades then it's likely she will have issues... if the cost doesn't put her off first.
The OU has less entry requirements and is half of the cost, and is still well-respected with employers http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/qualifications/q07
More suited to busier lifestyles too I think.
Thank you everyone for all the information and recommendations. You're a great help
I think I will take an online course for now in English, get my teeth stuck into the subject and then see which direction to take.
I already have a B permit and speak fluent German as I grew up and was educated there up until the age of 14. It's just when it comes to business German or writing anything professional I really struggle. The thought of learning such a complex subject like psychology is already quite daunting although very exciting at the same time. So, I think I will decide on starting off learning in English, then probably study through Open University and then convert it to a Swiss equivalent towards the end. Maybe. I will carry on researching and contact some locals too. I could also read some books in German during my first English course and then maybe even decide on taking a Swiss course after all...Decisions, decisions
Thank you all for all your input, it is much appreciated! :-)
As part of the Psychology degree on Open University, you should be able to take the following module, LB160: Professional communication skills for business studies http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/modules/lb160
I just did this module, and while for me it was easy as I am well used to writing, it really does have a lot of useful methods for improving writing skills and quality of documents of many and varied kinds.
if I were you (and your English seems to a decent level already) I would just get on with it and register for the Psychology degree... the sooner you start the sooner you finish.
Agree, get started on the degree. When I did mine they let me off the 1st year modules (as I have a previous degree so only needed to do a psychology major) so I went straight into 2nd and 3rd year ones. Starting with the 1st year modules is easy enough to get into it, then it gets progressively harder, but at a manageable rate. I've got almost 2 masters now, it's definitely a subject that you can tackle at different and increasingly complex levels.
So it means you did an open degree with amajor in psychology.this is what im finishing right now. im about to apply at zurich uni but not sure if they will like my open degree.did you do a masters in psyvhology after?