Please note that, as of January 2015, the Undergraduate Coordinator for Psychology is Dr Hugo Canham. You can contact Dr Canham via email at: hugo.canham@wits.ac.za
Monday, February 11, 2013
Monday, July 2, 2012
Requests for Credits
The granting of credits is governed by the Senate Standing Orders on Course Credit Recognition and Exemptions, as well as relevant aspects of Faculty policy.
The following general points should be noted about the granting of credits:
- The Undergraduate Coordinator in Psychology is delegated the authority to advise the Head of Psychology, the Head of School, and the faculties on the granting of credits in Psychology.
- Applications for the recognition of course credits in Psychology obtained at other tertiary institutions, and/or the recognition of credits obtained more than four years before the intended date of registration at Wits(but see restrictions, below), must be made to the Undergraduate Coordinator, preferably by way of email (see Contact Details).
- Applications should include a scanned copy of an official institutional transcript reflecting the courses completed and marks obtained, together with any relevant details of qualifications registered for and/or completed.
- Applicants should also provide an outline of their intended goals in studying Psychology at Wits - e.g. obtaining/ completing a degree, obtaining a major in Psychology for non-degree purposes, proceeding to postgraduate studies in Psychology, etc.
- In all applications for credit based on courses completed at other tertiary institutions, the onus is on the applicant to provide whatever details may be deemed necessary by the Undergraduate Coordinator in order to determine the comparability of these courses to the undergraduate Psychology curriculum taught at Wits.
The following restrictions on the granting of credits should be noted:
- If a student wishes to transfer credits to Wits in order to complete and obtain a qualification (e.g. BA, BSc or BCom) from Wits, the Senate policy limits the maximum number of credits thus carried over or transferred to 50% of the credits required for the qualification.
- In terms of the Senate policy, credits cannot typically be granted at the third-year level of study. For example, a student wishing to complete their degree at Wits with a major in Psychology would, at the very least, have to complete all of their third year Psychology courses at Wits.
- The Senate policy recommends a maximum shelf-life of four years on credits - whether obtained from other institutions, or during a previous registration at Wits. (Some leeway is possible - the issue of age of credits should be highlighted in any application to the Undergraduate Coordinator.)
- In general, it is only possible to grant credits in Psychology when there is sufficient evidence of syllabus overlap and equivalence of outcomes between the courses completed and the courses on offer at Wits. In particular (a) second year Psychology at Wits comprises a core curriculum of topics (in Developmental Psychology, Personality, Cognitive Psychology, and Social Psychology) for all students completing the majors in Psychology and Organisational Psychology, and credit will only be granted at this level when non-Wits courses are demonstrated (by the applicant) to be sufficiently equivalent to the Wits curriculum; and (b) the compulsory Psychological Research Design and Analysis IIA course comprises significant components in Statistics, Research Design and Psychometrics, such that credit for this course can only be considered when an applicant has completed a course/ courses that cover all three topic areas.
- The Undergraduate Coordinator reserves the right to recommend, under appropriate circumstances, the granting of credit without permission to proceed to the next level of study in Psychology at Wits.
The following general points should be noted about the granting of credits:
- The Undergraduate Coordinator in Psychology is delegated the authority to advise the Head of Psychology, the Head of School, and the faculties on the granting of credits in Psychology.
- Applications for the recognition of course credits in Psychology obtained at other tertiary institutions, and/or the recognition of credits obtained more than four years before the intended date of registration at Wits(but see restrictions, below), must be made to the Undergraduate Coordinator, preferably by way of email (see Contact Details).
- Applications should include a scanned copy of an official institutional transcript reflecting the courses completed and marks obtained, together with any relevant details of qualifications registered for and/or completed.
- Applicants should also provide an outline of their intended goals in studying Psychology at Wits - e.g. obtaining/ completing a degree, obtaining a major in Psychology for non-degree purposes, proceeding to postgraduate studies in Psychology, etc.
- In all applications for credit based on courses completed at other tertiary institutions, the onus is on the applicant to provide whatever details may be deemed necessary by the Undergraduate Coordinator in order to determine the comparability of these courses to the undergraduate Psychology curriculum taught at Wits.
The following restrictions on the granting of credits should be noted:
- If a student wishes to transfer credits to Wits in order to complete and obtain a qualification (e.g. BA, BSc or BCom) from Wits, the Senate policy limits the maximum number of credits thus carried over or transferred to 50% of the credits required for the qualification.
- In terms of the Senate policy, credits cannot typically be granted at the third-year level of study. For example, a student wishing to complete their degree at Wits with a major in Psychology would, at the very least, have to complete all of their third year Psychology courses at Wits.
- The Senate policy recommends a maximum shelf-life of four years on credits - whether obtained from other institutions, or during a previous registration at Wits. (Some leeway is possible - the issue of age of credits should be highlighted in any application to the Undergraduate Coordinator.)
- In general, it is only possible to grant credits in Psychology when there is sufficient evidence of syllabus overlap and equivalence of outcomes between the courses completed and the courses on offer at Wits. In particular (a) second year Psychology at Wits comprises a core curriculum of topics (in Developmental Psychology, Personality, Cognitive Psychology, and Social Psychology) for all students completing the majors in Psychology and Organisational Psychology, and credit will only be granted at this level when non-Wits courses are demonstrated (by the applicant) to be sufficiently equivalent to the Wits curriculum; and (b) the compulsory Psychological Research Design and Analysis IIA course comprises significant components in Statistics, Research Design and Psychometrics, such that credit for this course can only be considered when an applicant has completed a course/ courses that cover all three topic areas.
- The Undergraduate Coordinator reserves the right to recommend, under appropriate circumstances, the granting of credit without permission to proceed to the next level of study in Psychology at Wits.
Important Reading: Some Useful Definitions, Information and Explanations
Undergraduate courses in Psychology at Wits are attended by two broad classes of students: students studying towards a degree, and occasional students studying for non-degree purposes.
The University defines a student as follows:
G1.23 Student means a person registered full-time or part-time at the University for a qualification. (Humanities R&S 2010 p2)
(* The difference at the 2000 level results from the fact that 2000-level courses count more points - 24 points each for a half-year module, and 48 points for a full-year course)
Please note that, due to a timetable change made by WitsPlus, it is not currently (2013) possible to register for different levels of Psychology in the same year via evening classes (e.g. Psychology I and II, or Psychology II and III). However, as of 13 May 2013, it has been agreed with the Director of WitsPlus that this timetable change will be reversed for 2014, and concurrent registration across different levels of Psychology will again be possible.
The University defines a student as follows:
G1.23 Student means a person registered full-time or part-time at the University for a qualification. (Humanities R&S 2010 p2)
An occasional student is defined as follows:
G1.16 Occasional student means a person who is registered at the University for any unit for non-qualification purposes. An occasional student is deemed to be a student as defined in G1.23 for all other purposes. (Humanities R&S 2010 p2)
Typically, then, a degree student is thus someone studying towards their bachelors qualification (BA, BSc, BCom), while an occasional student already has a bachelors qualification (from Wits or another tertiary institution) but has returned to university to complete additional courses or satisfy additional requirements, such as meeting the requirements for a major in Psychology or Organisational Psychology.
It is helpful, in making enquiries at Wits, to identify yourself as either an occasional student or a student wishing to complete a degree qualification.
The University also distinguishes between full-time and part-time students. Full-time and part-time students differ in terms of how many courses/ units they are allowed to register for in a given academic term or year. As a rough guide, full-time students typically register for eight modules (half-year courses) per year, while part-time students register for four modules per year. These restrictions, stated in terms of points, are expanded on below:
Full-time student – 1000 and 3000 levels
Up to 72 points per term
Up to 144 points per year
Full-time student – 2000 level*
Up to 96 points per term
Up to 172 points per year
Part-time student – 1000 and 3000 levels
36 points per term
72 points per year
Part-time student – 2000 level
48 points per term
96 points per year
(see Humanities R&S 2010 p35)
Occasional students may register either on a full-time (i.e. up to eight modules per year) or on a part-time (i.e. up to four modules per year) basis.
(Registration on a full-time basis implies that the majority of a student's time is available for the completion of their studies; it may further require availability to attend daytime lectures, depending on the courses chosen for a given year of registration.)
Lectures
Undergraduate Psychology at Wits is offered by way of both daytime and evening classes. Typically, daytime lectures are attended by full-time degree students, while part-time degree students and occasional students tend to attend evening classes offered through WitsPlus.
By arrangement with Psychology and the Faculty of Humanities, it is possible for:
- Part-time and occasional students to attend daytime lectures
- Full-time students to attend evening classes at WitsPlus
Please note that, due to a timetable change made by WitsPlus, it is not currently (2013) possible to register for different levels of Psychology in the same year via evening classes (e.g. Psychology I and II, or Psychology II and III). However, as of 13 May 2013, it has been agreed with the Director of WitsPlus that this timetable change will be reversed for 2014, and concurrent registration across different levels of Psychology will again be possible.
Courses offered both by way of daytime lectures and via evening classes are fully equivalent in terms of outcomes; the courses just differ slightly in their mode of delivery.
In terms of the Psychology curriculum, the other key differences between daytime classes and WitsPlus classes is that (i) there is no choice between modules available at third year level through WitsPlus (whereas there are twelve modules offered via daytime classes - compare the curriculum plans posted elsewhere on this website); and (ii) the advanced research course, Psychological Research Design and Analysis IIB is only offered via daytime classes.
Obtaining a Major in Psychology or Organisational Psychology
The rules and requirements for obtaining a major in Psychology in the Faculty of Humanities at Wits, together with the syllabus descriptions of all the undergraduate Psychology courses on offer, can be viewed by following the link below. Please note that these are the rules for 2012. Please also note that the modular courses at first and second year level (PSYC1001/1005, PSYC1002/1006, PSYC2001/2010, and PSYC2004/2011) no longer exist. Wits now only offers full-year courses in Psychology I and Psychology II. (There is no change to the modular research courses, including the compulsory PSYC2005/2012.)
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1CW4LT2aWMtSWItWjJVMjkyeEk
(This document requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Students can satisfy the requirements for a major in Psychology or Organisational Psychology either (i) as part of completing a qualification at Wits (e.g. BA, BSc or BCom degree), or (ii) as an occasional student studying for non-degree purposes (e.g. those who already have a bachelors degree).
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1CW4LT2aWMtSWItWjJVMjkyeEk
(This document requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Students can satisfy the requirements for a major in Psychology or Organisational Psychology either (i) as part of completing a qualification at Wits (e.g. BA, BSc or BCom degree), or (ii) as an occasional student studying for non-degree purposes (e.g. those who already have a bachelors degree).
Overview of Undergraduate Psychology Courses at Wits
Curriculum plans of the undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Psychology offered at Wits, through both daytime and evening (WitsPlus) classes, can be viewed by following the link below. Please note that these plans reflect the modules and courses on offer in 2014. There are no planned changes to undergraduate psychology for 2015.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1CW4LT2aWMtRXZkOWVLRmtob1E/edit?usp=sharing
(This document requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1CW4LT2aWMtRXZkOWVLRmtob1E/edit?usp=sharing
(This document requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
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