Psychology
About
The Department of Psychology at Mary Immaculate College is committed to providing outstanding education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and conducting excellent research. Our dedicated members of staff are all qualified to the highest level in their subject and are research active. Moreover, they are vastly experienced at teaching and place great emphasis on the needs and experience of students.
Psychology at Mary Immaculate College is studied at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
The Department of Psychology services the following undergraduate programmes:
- Psychology in the Bachelor of Arts programme
- Psychology in the Bachelor of Education and Psychology programme
Students can take Psychology in the above programmes. These programmes also include a work placement in the third year to gain real world employability skills alongside core psychology content.
The Department of Psychology has also introduced a new BSc in Psychology programme which is a four year, full-time honours degree (Level 8) programme. This programme commenced in Sept 2022. This unique programme provides a comprehensive undergraduate education in Psychology and includes learning in the workplace. This blend of scientific theory and real-world application gives students a chance to develop incredibly valuable critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills.
Psychology can also be studied at postgraduate level. Our commitment to furthering knowledge provides many opportunities to study as a postgraduate research student. Further, we regularly advertise funded positions for those seeking to study for a research master’s degree or a doctoral level qualification.
Subject Overview
Undergraduate
Undergraduate psychology at Mary Immaculate College is studied alongside another subject; either as part of the BA Liberal Arts with Psychology or the B Ed in Education and Psychology. The psychology content of both of these programmes is identical.
Below is a list of undergraduate Psychology modules currently on offer at MIC.
| Core Modules |
|---|
| PS4001: Introduction to Psychology |
| PS4002: Social Psychology 1 |
| PS4003: Research Design and Methodology 1 |
| PS4013: Cognitive Psychology 1 |
| IT4733: Introduction to Information Technology |
| PS4004: Lifespan Development |
| PS4014: Personality and Individual Differences |
| PS4024: Information Technology in Psychology |
| PS4025: Biological Basis of Behaviour |
| PS4005: Research Design and Methodology 2 |
| EPS360: Design and Ethical Evaluation of Psychological Research |
| PS4017: Cognitive Psychology 2 |
| PS4007: Social Psychology 2 |
| PS4718: Undergraduate Dissertation in Psychology |
| PS4088: Controversies in Psychology |
| Elective Modules |
|---|
| PS4016: Advanced Issues in Educational Psychology |
| EPS450: The Psychology of Motivation |
| PS4015: Abnormal Psychology |
| PS4178: Health Psychology |
| PS4018: Forensic Psychology |
| PS4048: Organisational Psychology |
| PS4058: Developmental Psychology |
Postgraduate
Postgraduate research qualifications include a Master’s degree by Research and PhDs. Those wishing to study these should read individual staff research profiles and make an initial informal enquiry.
Funded opportunities are available through the MIC Doctoral Award, MIC Doctoral Studentship Award, MIC Postgraduate Studentship Award, and Departmental Assistantships. All of these opportunities carry a stipend and full fee waiver. For more information, contact a member of staff with whom your proposed research aligns.
We are currently seeking applications for Departmental Assistantships.
The MIC Departmental Assistantship Award is offered to postgraduate students who are prepared to participate in departmental and college activities (tutorial/seminar/laboratory/field work/course work marking etc.) for a maximum of 108 hours in the academic year. An assistantship entitles the student to a fee waiver and a subsistence bursary of €6,900. For informal enquiries, please contact Psychology@mic.ul.ie.
Staff
Blog
Research
Staff in the Department of Psychology at Mary Immaculate College are engaged in many research projects aimed at developing knowledge and having a real-world impact on a national and international scale. Staff regularly publish their work in peer-reviewed journals, present at international conferences, and inform practice in applied areas. Generally, our research expertise falls under the areas of personality, stress, and health, education and social psychology, and the work of the Cognition, Development, and Learning Lab.
Our research into personality incorporates three main areas; mental toughness, temporal psychology, and psychometrics. Mental toughness research, led by Dr John Perry investigates the how people deal with stressors, even in difficult circumstances. Dr Perry also investigates areas of temporal psychology, such as time perspective and considerations of future consequences. This leads to new approaches to behaviour change. In both of these areas, and often in personality research, psychometric tools are routinely investigated.
Cardiovascular responses to stress is the focus of two of our researchers. Dr Niamh Higgins examines attention towards or away from threat with an emphasis on physiological response.
This also includes personality influences. Similarly, Dr Paul Mulcahy is interested in the reactivity to stress in different individuals and the impact on sleep deprivation. Dr Higgins is also currently active in research regarding youth mental health and individuals working with musculoskeletal pain.
Dr Marc Scully leads research on individual’s identification with a place, particularly related to migration. Dr Scully is highly active in discourse surrounding Irish diaspora issues.
Dr Marek McGann aids in the management of a national forum project, the Teaching Research Expertise Exchange (T-REX), which aims to build a digital bridge between academic and professional practice. This fits with Dr McGann’s ongoing interest in the practice of science and implementation.
Researchers in the Cognition, Development and Learning Lab in the Department of Psychology, led by Dr Suzanne Egan, study the factors that impact on how we think, reason, learn, solve problems and interact with others, with a special focus on early experiences. Examining data from children, parents, preschool educators, and teachers, we aim to understand the interactions and interdependencies between people's physical and social environments and their cognitive and socioemotional development. For current information about research from the lab please check the Department of Psychology blog or Dr Egan’s profile page.
These are some of the research questions and topics we focus on:
- What level of outdoor play are Irish children engaged in?
- How much of an impact does reading to infants have for later cognitive development?
- What sorts of different activities and games in the home learning environment influence socio-emotional development?
- What effect does screen use have on development during early childhood?
Department of Psychology
Mary Immaculate College
Departmental Assistantships, 2023
General Information
The Department of Psychology, Mary Immaculate College, is now accepting applications for at least one (with a possibility of two) funded Departmental Assistantships in Psychology beginning in September 2023.
The successful applicant will work under the supervision of a member of staff in the Department of Psychology. They will be provided with a fee waiver (two years for a research M.A. student; four years for a Ph.D. student) and an annual stipend of €6,900 (two years for a research M.A. student; three years for a Ph.D. student). The applicant will undertake tutorial or other departmental work, to a maximum of 120 hours per year.
General information on the Departmental Assistantship funding scheme is available here: https://www.mic.ul.ie/researc…
Application Process
Part 1.
To be considered for a Departmental Assistantship, applicants should identify a research topic and supervisor, and complete a research postgraduate application. Information on this process is available here:
https://www.mic.ul.ie/research/research-graduate-school/supports/how-to-apply
It is essential that potential applicants allow sufficient time to prepare an application in conjunction with a potential supervisor. Further information on the research interests of faculty in the Department of Psychology is available here: https://www.mic.ul.ie/faculty-of-arts/department/psychology
We are particularly welcoming applications this year to work with the supervisors below in the following areas:
Prof Niamh Stack: Ecopsychology, outdoor learning, gifted development, developmental impact of growing up with congenital heart disease, community psychology – the focus within these topics will preferably be on qualitative methodologies
Dr Lorcan Cronin: life skills development in youth sport, PE, dance, or higher education; life skills as a way of combatting depression, anxiety and stress; sport and exercise psychology.
Dr Marc Scully: Social psychological approaches to migration, transnationalism and diaspora. Discourses of local and national identity. Identities and pro-environmental behaviour – the focus within these topics will preferably be on qualitative methodologies
Part 2.
The applicant should complete a Departmental Assistantship (Psychology) application.
Selection Criteria
- Academic record at undergraduate level;
- Academic record at postgraduate level (if appropriate);
- Research M.A. or Ph.D. project;
- Aptitude for teaching undergraduate students in tutorials.
Application Process
Applicants should submit the following documents in hard copy or by email to the Head of Department, Prof Niamh Stack (Niamh.Stack@mic.ul.ie):
- Academic transcript(s).
- A copy of the research M.A. or Ph.D. application.
- A short statement indicating aptitude for teaching undergraduate psychology students in tutorials (maximum 200 words).
The deadline for applications is noon on Tuesday 6th June 2023.
Selection Process
The department will convene a Selection Committee consisting of the Head of Department (chair) and at least two other members of staff. The committee will assess applications on the basis of the selection criteria and make recommendation(s) for approval via the Research and Graduate School to the Executive Team. The Head of Department will notify applicants of the outcome of the selection process as soon as possible.
Late Applications
Late applications will be welcomed if Department Assistantships in the Department of Psychology remain unfilled after the deadline. Please contact Prof Niamh Stack (Niamh.Stack@mic.ul.ie)
Further Information
Please direct general queries to:
Prof Niamh Stack, Head of Department (Niamh.Stack@mic.ul.ie).
Department website: https://www.mic.ul.ie/faculty-of-arts/department/psychology
Resources
Staff and students in the Department of Psychology have access to a range of excellent facilities, equipment and technical support.
We have a Psychological Test Library, which includes intelligence and personality tests, and a dedicated Psychology Computer Laboratory, which features high performance networked PCs, specialist software, response pads and virtual lab software such as Coglab and Sniffy the Virtual Rat.
We also have a suite of individual and small group observation and testing rooms. These include a Cognition and Perception Laboratory equipped with two SMI Eye Trackers (an iView X HED for mobile eye-tracking and a RED 250 for remote eye tracking) and a Psychophysiology Laboratory equipped with blood pressure monitors and PowerLab systems (which can be used to measure EEG, EOG, ECG and GSR).
Our Cardiovascular Psychophysiology Laboratory has a Finometer PRO which allows for accurate non-invasive beat-to-beat blood pressure monitoring.
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