Roadmap to UMPI BSc Psychology 2025

[flan_eur]

Hello everyone,

First and foremost, I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to bjcheung77 for the helpful advice shared on a previous thread I posted. Your insights were greatly appreciated!

Here is a bit of background about me:

• Location: Europe
  
• Age: 30
  
• Desired Degree: UMPI BSc in Psychology
  
• Current Regional Accredited Credits: A Bachelor’s + Master’s in non related topics (both earned in Europe - can I use them to transfer for the 35 general credits that I need?). Additionally, I have título propio credits in areas such as counseling and team leadership, though I’m unsure how feasible it would be to validate them through NARIC. Wouldn't mind to start from scratch. 
  
• ACE, CLEP, or NCCRS Credits: None at the moment.
  
• Certifications or Military Experience: None.
  
• Budget: $5,000.
  
• Commitments: Full-time work and family responsibilities.
  
• Study Time: Approximately 10 hours per week, though I’m willing to pause personal and professional obligations for a couple of months to make significant progress or potentially complete the program within that timeframe.
  
• Timeline: Preferably by summer 2025, but definitely by December 2025.
  
• Tuition Assistance: None available, so staying within budget is crucial.
  

While I’m quite familiar with the European education system, I am new to the American one. I consider myself a strong test-taker (better if they're not proctored   ) and have experience with writing assignments.
I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate any guidance:

1. Recognition in Europe: Would this degree be recognized in Europe? Could it potentially qualify me to register as a fully licensed therapist in any European country? I’d love to hear about any similar experiences.
   
2. Timeline: Would it be realistic to complete the degree within one or two sessions (YourPace) if I dedicate at least one session to full-time study?
   
3. Degree Plan: I reviewed the UMPI BA Psychology Degree Plan, which seems very detailed and helpful. Could someone provide a beginner-friendly explanation of the typical roadmap? Am I correct in understanding that I should complete the Study.com and Sophia courses first, and then enroll at UMPI to transfer the credits?
   
4. Residency Requirements: Does UMPI require any form of residency for the YourPace program? From what I understand, it does not, but I’d like to confirm.
   

Once again, thank you all for the invaluable information shared on this forum. I truly appreciate the efforts of the administrators and contributors who help guide newcomers like me.
Looking forward to your advice!

Best regards,

[ss20ts]

UMPI has a 30 credit residency requirement. For YourPace students, it's not in person. No campus visit is required.

[flan_eur]

UMPI has a 30 credit residency requirement. For YourPace students, it's not in person. No campus visit is required.

Thanks. Very good point!

[bjcheung77]

Basically, you just need the 'major' to be completed at UMPI, all other classes in general education and electives should be waived... I would apply after you get your previous credits evaluated. Are you doing the UMPI BA Psych, UMPI MAOL, and the Walden MS Psych that I mentioned in your other thread, if you get them done in 1 session or term each, it's going to be $7K flat!

[flan_eur]

Hello bjcheung77, thanks for the input, well noted. For the time being, I'm focusing in the general education and electives in Sophia, since I already have an active subscription. For the time being I'm focusing in the on the BA Psych, I have to apply still. But the plan that you suggested seems very nice. I understand that the idea behind completing UMPI MAOL is get credits that I could transfer to Walden MS Psych, am I right?

https://www.waldenu.edu/online-masters-p...psychology

Would you suggest to do the Tempo Learning self paced one after I get the transfers?

If it is not this one, would you mind to send a link? Thanks.

[bjcheung77]

That's the correct one, the link has the area for fees, that's when you select the Tempo Learning option and it'll show you what the fees are currently... You've got two options for the MS Psych - either the general option or the I/O Psychology. I think either or option would work, if you're doing Business or focus on Corporate studies, I/O Psychology may be a better option. Either case, you go at your own pace and see if the MAOL would be beneficial, it may have overlapping classes that can transfer (up to half - 50% of the Masters)

[flan_eur]

Thanks for the input. Will keep that in mind. For the time being I already started my Sophia journey, will keep the whole forum posted.

[Tomas]

1. Recognition in Europe: Would this degree be recognized in Europe? Could it potentially qualify me to register as a fully licensed therapist in any European country? I’d love to hear about any similar experiences.
   

You can check conditions for that in your desired country.
For an example of one that you probably didn't consider but is in Europe, Czech republic, you would have to get this degree through nostrification process in a local university, where they basically check whether the content is a match with their own accredited program. It is recommended that it is in accordance with EuroPsy https://www.europsy.eu/.
If it will pass, that will still not be enough - you would have to go through 4+years of further study and work under guidance of professionals and pass final postgraduate exam to become a fully licensed therapist.

[flan_eur]

1. Recognition in Europe: Would this degree be recognized in Europe? Could it potentially qualify me to register as a fully licensed therapist in any European country? I’d love to hear about any similar experiences.
   

You can check conditions for that in your desired country.
For an example of one that you probably didn't consider but is in Europe, Czech republic, you would have to get this degree through nostrification process in a local university, where they basically check whether the content is a match with their own accredited program. It is recommended that it is in accordance with EuroPsy https://www.europsy.eu/.
If it will pass, that will still not be enough - you would have to go through 4+years of further study and work under guidance of professionals and pass final postgraduate exam to become a fully licensed therapist.

Thanks for the input, Tomas. It sounds interesting! In principle, my goal isn’t to become a fully licensed therapist, but I’ve been researching the process, and it definitely seems like a possibility.

For now, I’m primarily focused on completing the Sophia credits, following the degree sheets I found in the wiki (which I must say is such a great resource). My plan is to finish all the Sophia courses before enrolling—though I’m still undecided whether to start this term or the next.

I wanted to ask if you think it’s worth pursuing Psychology 104: Social Psychology and Psychology 106: Abnormal Psychology on Study.com. This platform is significantly more expensive than Sophia ($235 for Study.com compared to $100 for Sophia), and with Study.com, I’d only be able to complete two courses.

Would you personally pay $235 for 6 credits through Study.com? My plan is:

• 40 General Education credits from Sophia
  
• 9 Psychology credits from Sophia
  
• 35 General Electives (hopefully) from my previous bachelor’s degree
  
  

The main goal is still to complete everything in just one term at UMPI. Let’s see how it goes!

Thanks so much for all the help and support.

[ss20ts]

Wait. You already have a bachelor's degree? You'll need your transcripts to be evaluated by a service such as WES (UMPI has a list of approved services on their website). If your degree is considered a bachelor's degree in the US then you will not have to complete the GEC at UMPI. Your general electives will also be completed so you would only have to complete the courses required in your major. I would start with getting your transcripts evaluated before taking anymore classes so you can see what you truly need.