From a Psychology student’s diary about studying Psychology

Hi everyone! :hand:

My name is Julia. I am a second-year Psychology student at De Montfort University (DMU). This post is for those starting their journey with Psychology in the upcoming academic year or thinking about studying it. I am going to talk you through some things you need to know and the most common concerns based on my experience :giggle:

As a student ambassador, I am asked multiple times how advanced one needs to be in Maths to survive studying Psychology. The truth is that you do not have to be a master in Maths at all :headfire:

Why? Because we work with professional software that does all the Maths for us. What you need is basic Maths knowledge and understanding to help you cooperate successfully with the software.

Since Psychology is a scientific study, the course consists of both theory and practice. That makes it attractive and engaging. What is more important, it equips not only with the necessary knowledge but also with a range of transferable and desired skills. How does it work? Apart from regular lectures, teaching is also in the form of seminars (interactive discussions), workshops (practical exercises with psychological software), and tutorials (practical demonstrations with psychological software and equipment). One of the best experiences I have had is a Biological practical session during which we got to work with the EEG equipment.

Another brilliant thing is that you do not have to end up being a psychologist/therapist :headbang:

Since you are equipped with many transferable skills such as communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, numerical, data analysis, digital literacy, project management, teamwork, and time management, you become exceedingly attractive to employers. Psychology graduates are appreciated across many fields, including healthcare, criminal justice, education, social work, research, business, marketing, policy making, and human resources. That is what was appealing to me. When I started, I did not know whether I wanted to be a therapist or work in a business. I found so much comfort in realising that I have many career paths I can undertake once I graduate.

As a completion of a psychological degree in your final year, you run your own research :proud:

A dissertation like this is an inimitable opportunity to put all the knowledge and skills into practice and create a piece of work that is your project from the very beginning. You can choose whatever topic you want as long as it is ethical. Furthermore, you have significant support in collecting data (because of a platform where students participate in studies in order to receive some credits in a module) and writing your research (because you have a supervisor assigned). To be honest, I cannot wait to run my own research, and I already have numerous ideas for the topic.

Some say that a Psychology course is highly time-consuming and one can miss out on the proper and full university experience. I am not going to lie, it is more demanding than some other unscientific courses, but you can still make the most of university life. I have been doing great since I started. During my two years, I completed two Psychological internships, worked part-time, completed a Spanish language course at DMU and a TEFL online course, participated in two university trips abroad, had time to travel, enjoy time with friends I made, and visit my family in Poland regularly :nutcase:

Moreover, it was easy to achieve! I just bought a calendar and planned my time effectively, so that I would not miss any minute.

Finally, if just like me, you wish for more, you should know that you can get it while studying Psychology. You can and are encouraged to source a placement year or a student exchange in line with your career ambitions. Additionally, there is a careers team that supports the process of application through CV checking, mock interviews, and so on. I decided to go on a student exchange because I love travelling and would like to experience teaching in another country. Therefore, I am joining a university in Bilbao in the following academic year. What is more, I could choose the modules I want to study there for a year!

That is all for now. I hope you will find it helpful and you will now know what is involved in studying Psychology.

If you have any other concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to engage in the discussion :redface: