Hi,
It's great to hear that you have applied to study at Bath! I'm a third year Psychology student here at Bath and although I cannot comment on what Lancaster has to offer, hopefully I can give you an insight into my experiences of being a student at Bath!
In my opinion one of the most important things to consider is location and what type of city you would like to live in. Bath, being a World Heritage site, is a beautiful and picturesque city to live in with lots of shops and restaurants, and offering plenty to do (to get an idea you can look at
Bath Leap List, a list of the best activities to do in Bath compiled by students!). With over 15,000 students at the University of Bath, there is also plenty to get involved in through the Student’s Union; whether this be societies, sports or volunteering. Bath is a campus university, which is great as it offers facilities such as accommodation, a shop, the SU, sports facilities, the library, bars, cafes and teaching facilities all in one place. There are 24 hour bus services that run during term time which take you from campus into town, and the transport links are also great - I've visited Bristol several times on the train and it is very cheap and accessible. The campus itself is fairly small and compact in comparison to other universities, however this is something that I really like about Bath; as it means the university has a real community feel and offers a very friendly, cosy and safe environment to study in.
From my experience, the Psychology course at Bath is very varied and provides you with a solid grounding in areas across the discipline. As you can see
here in the Psychology unit catalogue, we study a wide range of topics, and the degree course particularly focuses on areas specified by the British Psychological Society as it is BPS accredited. The Psychology course at Bath is also very varied in how it is assessed, including exams, essays, group projects, practical work and presentations. There is the opportunity to choose one optional module each semester. This means that 4 out of 5 modules for each semester are compulsory and are Psychology modules. This might include modules on topics such as Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology or Social Psychology. Optional modules can either be further Psychology modules that are not compulsory, which include more specialized topics like Health Psychology. Or if you would like to take a module from another department including Politics, Education, Sociology, Sports and Exercise Science, Biology or Languages - this is also an option. So far, I have done a Sociology module every semester. I have really enjoyed these optional modules as they make the degree course more varied and you can learn about subjects you haven't studied before.
Another great thing about Psychology at Bath is the placement year - a year spent working in an apprentice role with a professional psychologist. There is a huge range of placements that you can apply to including clinical, educational, forensic, business and research placements. There are many clinical placements to choose from in hospitals across the UK, including very prestigious hospitals such as Great Ormond Street and Broadmoor psychiatric hospital. Additionally, there are many overseas placements in countries such as the USA, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. This offers a great opportunity to gain experience in an area of Psychology that interests you, and is a fantastic thing to put on your CV! Also, the placements team at Bath are great and give everyone a lot of help in applying to placements. There is no need to find placements on your own, as the placements team find these opportunities for us and give a lot of advice about writing cover letters and CVs, and about attending interviews.
If you have any other questions about the course or student life at Bath, feel free to quote me!
Beth