BA alongside a Diploma in Mathematical Sciences?

[vashappenin]

Hey all,
I know I'm only in year 11, but with all this uni commotion I've also been a little curious about what I want to do.. I really want to do something in psychology, either to work in the psych field or in relation to education. I also want to do maths on the side, which is why I'm considering a double degree in arts/science at monash to do both psych and maths (honestly I dont even know if that's meant to work.. do you have to major in something in both arts and science or do you need to choose one of the two?? :\)..
Aaaaanywaays, I went on the melbourne uni site, and I saw that you can do a concurrent diploma alongside an undergrad degree.. So now I'm thinking maybe I should do BA and major in psych but also so the diploma in maths. IF I decide to do something involving teaching, I can then continue on to do a masters in teaching, or something else (hons in psych or master of psych, not sure).

If I choose to do the former, am I eligible to teach as both a maths teacher and a psych teacher, or is the diploma pointless?
If not, what does the diploma allow for

Again, I know I shouldn't be too caught up in worrying about this stuff, but I've got NO CLUE what I want to do, and I'll only feel motivated if I have some sort of direction as to where I'm going

Hopefully someone can help!
Thanks in advance

[Aurelian]

Hey all,
I know I'm only in year 11, but with all this uni commotion I've also been a little curious about what I want to do.. I really want to do something in psychology, either to work in the psych field or in relation to education. I also want to do maths on the side, which is why I'm considering a double degree in arts/science at monash to do both psych and maths (honestly I dont even know if that's meant to work.. do you have to major in something in both arts and science or do you need to choose one of the two?? :\)..
Aaaaanywaays, I went on the melbourne uni site, and I saw that you can do a concurrent diploma alongside an undergrad degree.. So now I'm thinking maybe I should do BA and major in psych but also so the diploma in maths. IF I decide to do something involving teaching, I can then continue on to do a masters in teaching, or something else (hons in psych or master of psych, not sure).

If I choose to do the former, am I eligible to teach as both a maths teacher and a psych teacher, or is the diploma pointless?
If not, what does the diploma allow for

Again, I know I shouldn't be too caught up in worrying about this stuff, but I've got NO CLUE what I want to do, and I'll only feel motivated if I have some sort of direction as to where I'm going

Hopefully someone can help!
Thanks in advance

To cut a long answer short: yes, I don't see any reason why the DipMathSci wouldn't enable you to become a Mathematics teacher as well as a Psychology teacher (which itself would be provided by the BA).

The concurrent diplomas offerred by Melbourne University are equivalent to majors. That is, it's as though you had done a science degree and majored in mathematics.

If you look at the entry eligibility to the MEd on the UniMelb website, the only requirements are "majors" - not degrees. Since the diploma will be equivalent to a major in mathematics, I don't really see any reason why you wouldn't be able to pursue a MEd with a specialisation in teaching mathematics =)

[vashappenin]

Cool! So could I major in psych AND linguistics, AND also do the diploma? Or do I have to do major/minor and the diploma? Would it still be 3 years or?

[Aurelian]

Cool! So could I major in psych AND linguistics, AND also do the diploma? Or do I have to do major/minor and the diploma? Would it still be 3 years or?

Yep, you can major in psych *and* linguistics *and* do the diploma.

Now, the standard pathway is 4 years. However, there is also an "accelerated" pathway available, which allows you to complete everything in 3 years but requires a bit of overloading. Overloading is where you take one more subject in a semester than the standard load (i.e. you do five subjects in a semester instead of four).

[vashappenin]

Oh is that allowed? I thought BA was 3 years thought? Nevermind..
How much more time does doing an extra subject take up?

[Planck's constant]

When you get to University, you will begin to realise that it is not a race to collect the largest number of pieces of paper in as short as time as possible. You will begin to focus on the one (or two) pieces of paper which actually matter.

You will also realise that that you can't overload too much without the quality of your learning suffering. After all you are there to learn a few things, and some of those things deserve learning at some depth. You end up missing out on valuable learning by spreading yourself too thin.

Also, other important logistical issues come into play, such as organising International exchanges and International/Local internships. Those will be more valuable to you that some meaningless piece of paper that serves no purpose other than crowding your CV.