What our former students say about the course

Putting Psychology Into Practice

"After obtaining my Psychology degree at Lancaster University, I went on to obtain my MSc in Occupational Psychology. I am now employed as an Occupational Psychologist within Jobcentre Plus. Although my work is varied, my key role is to deliver an assessment service to disadvantaged and disabled clients who wish to return to employment. I work with individuals with a range of disabilities from head injury to specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia), and utilise a range of assessment methods to identify appropriate support to enable them to return to work. I really enjoy the work and the opportunity to work in applied psychology, using the knowledge I have gained at undergraduate and MSc level on a daily basis."

The Scope Of The Subject

"Psychology had interested me since I began taking it at A-level, and studying it at degree level made me realise just how diverse a subject it is. While some psychologists spend their time working with the complexities of the human brain, others observe the behaviour of people in large social groups.

College Life

"I came to Lancaster in 1998 and lived in County College for my first year before moving into town for second and third year. The colleges allow you to belong to something more specific than the university as a whole, while providing a base on campus after you've moved out.

Department Life

"The Psychology Department proved to be a supportive and stimulating environment in which I could develop my academic interests - so much so that I stayed on to do a Masters degree and am currently undertaking a PhD here!"

Supporting Mature Students

"I came to Lancaster as a mature student. I found that the department offered a very supportive and friendly environment, as well as providing an excellent course in psychology. For this reason, I stayed on to do postgraduate studies – both a Masters degree and a PhD — working mainly in the field of child development. I think it is important that mature students can feel that they 'fit in' to a department and at Lancaster this was certainly the case."

Teaching Quality

"I graduated from the department in 2002. When I starting looking for universities during my A levels what first attracted me to the Lancaster psychology course was its reputation and the high quality of staff and teaching (the department recently received 24 points on a teaching quality assessment - few departments achieve this). The location of the university also appealed to me, being a campus university near the beautiful Lake District. I also liked the sound of the sporting and social life, nine bars on campus all within the space of 1.5 miles!

Supportive and Approachable

"When I arrived to begin my undergraduate course I was not disappointed with the department, university or the social life. I found all the staff in the department to be really supportive and approachable. I was also surprised by the wide range of optional course you could choose from including minors in other subjects. In my third year I chose to take a module 'topics in clinical psychology', which was taught by staff and trainees from the Lancaster clinical psychology course. This experience helped me to decide that I wanted to pursue a career in clinical psychology.

Skills and Experience

"I am currently working as an assistant psychologist in a child and adolescent mental health service team (CAMHS), where I work with children and adolescents with emotional and mental health problems. My duties include supervised clinical work - for example I am currently delivering a desensitisation programme to a young person with a spider phobia. I also administer psychometric and cognitive assessments, and am involved in research and audit work.

Current work

"I really enjoy my job and am applying to do my postgraduate training in clinical psychology this year. Getting an assistant psychologist job is often very difficult and quite competitive, I believe that the skills and experiences I gained at university and Lancaster's reputation as a 'good' psychology department certainly helped get me where I am now".

Graeme Jones - Trainee Clinical Psychologist

I always knew I wanted to work within the therapeutic application of psychology. After graduating with a BSc in Psychology and gaining relevant experience, I was fortunate to obtain a place on a doctorate course in Clinical Psychology. As a Trainee Clinical Psychologist I have the opportunity to continue my academic learning whilst working in mental heath for the local NHS Trust. Balancing university work with clinical practice can be a challenge but makes for an exiting job where no two days are the same!