Student profiles

  • Magnus-Wallin-Gunnerud

    Magnus Wallin Gunnerud

    Psychology

    I’ve had so many interesting conversations and talks with my lecturers that I firmly believe they have shaped me to be a better version of myself.

    I chose OBU mostly out of curiosity. I had heard that Oxford is a beautiful city with a good student environment. I also knew that OBU would fulfil my expectations in the course that I wanted to do, and it proved to do so!

    The lecturers and professors are the most amazing people at the course. I will say that without them, the course wouldn’t have been the same. They are always there to answer your questions and help you understand the things you don’t understand.

    In my first year I had such a good time with meeting new people, getting a group of friends and later on living with friends, I would definitely recommend it to everyone.

    Katrina Martindale

    Psychology

    The greatest thing about doing a research project in the Babylab is that you get to watch developmental psychology unfold directly in front of you

    Doing this type of project had its challenges of course, and my supervisor Dr Nayeli Gonzalez Gomez was always so patient when it came to explaining all the complex equipment and procedures in the Babylab as well as promoting independence by encouraging me to believe in myself and do the tasks on my own.

    I consider myself extremely lucky to have carried out my final year research project in the Oxford Brookes Babylab. I was fortunate to be able to use an eye-tracker in my research .

    The greatest thing about doing a research project in the Babylab is that you get to watch developmental psychology unfold directly in front of you. Within a psychology degree, of course, you are going to learn about aspects of developmental psychology by reading articles, textbooks and maybe even watching videos. However, in the Babylab you get to see it happening in real life with real life babies!

    Kim Bowyer

    Kim Bowyer

    Psychology

    Since starting my course at Brookes I’ve become a lot more independent and responsible.

    The support given by Brookes, from the teaching team, library services and student union, made moving away from home and the step up from A-levels less daunting.

    On the course I’ve developed my understanding in areas such as cognitive, social and developmental psychology. I have also appreciated having the opportunity to study less standard topics, such as abnormal psychology.

    The modules are varied in their content, format and assessment, allowing you to develop and improve a range of skills, such as statistical analysis, interviewing, public speaking and working in groups. These are all essential in the workforce, so I feel that the course has prepared me for my future in employment.

    My plan following graduation is to gain some further work experience. The areas that I have already gained work experience in, and am interested in, are marketing and human resources. These are both areas where I can use the knowledge and skills that I have gained on the course.

    Clare Kilham

    Clare Kilham

    Psychology

    I love studying Psychology here and everyone I’ve talked to says the same.

    The teaching team are very supportive. They’re always willing to talk to you after lectures and there’s plenty of opportunities to clarify any unclear points, catch up on missed work, or get feedback on essay plans.

    Academic advisors will do their best to help you with academic matters and career planning. My academic advisor even offered to put me in touch with a personal contact in the field I plan to get a job in.

    The library is great and the staff are very helpful with locating resources, using software and lending a hand if you’re stuck trying to find or access journal articles. Brookes Virtual is also very useful. It compiles almost all of the information you could ever need into an easily accessible format and makes it clear where to find anything else you might need to know.

    After completing my course I plan to seek employment, before hopefully returning to Brookes to undertake a master’s degree.

    Amana-Profile-

    Amana Karim

    Psychology

    In the upcoming summer I will be travelling to Bali to take part in a Mental health placement.

    I chose Oxford Brookes because of the great feedback and reviews given by former and existing students. Also, the location was perfect; it wasn’t too far from home and it has lots of different places of interest.

    Within the department the demonstrators were very helpful. They were always willing to help no matter how trivial the question may be, they answered emails quickly and had time for quick last-minute appointments. A more widely available service was Upgrade, they read over essays, checked statistics results and provided useful constructive feedback.

    I am planning to spend the summer in Bali on a mental health placement then start a master’s course in forensic psychology. 

    Katy-Coleman

    Katy Coleman

    Psychology

    The lecturers are genuinely passionate about the content they are delivering which helps us as students to feel inspired.

    I chose OBU because the psychology department conducts excellent research which is something that has always appealed to me. The other universities I looked at didn’t come across as having anywhere near the level of passion for research that is evident at Brookes. When I read the lecturers' profiles before applying, I noticed that not only were they were all conducting their own research, but their specialisms were different and varied across a range of topics. I felt excited at the prospect of being taught and eager to work alongside them by helping with their research and studies at the uni.

    Starting this journey was a big decision for me, I’m a mature student with 3 children and my bread and butter comes from my 20 year career in the circus industry. I wondered at first whether I was being far too sensible, straight-laced and boring by switching to such a mainstream subject, and I really had no vision at all about what I was going to do with my degree once I had it!

    Now I’m pretty certain that I want to go on to get a PHD so I can delve deeper into psychology as a subject, and experience life as a scientist. I chose psychology over other sciences because I saw the life-long opportunity to keep growing and learning. There doesn’t seem to be a limit to what you can achieve with a career in psychology, and that uncapped potential was the final selling point to me.

    Hannah-Buttimore

    Hannah Buttimore

    Psychology

    I would definitely recommend my course to others; it is extremely interesting and offers many opportunities for students.

    I studied psychology at A-level and realised I wanted to continue it in higher education, and the psychology course at Oxford Brookes offered everything I wanted to study. It covers all the basics as well as more advanced, thought-provoking areas of psychology which are highly interesting and let you see new perspectives and ideas.

    I enjoy learning about new theories and ideas of things I have never heard of before; they offer a new insight into the way we think and behave. I also really enjoyed conducting my own experiment during second year, as well as producing a questionnaire and doing interviews, as it gave me the feeling of being a real researcher and I liked analysing my own data.

    The social life is fantastic, everybody is friendly and welcoming especially when you first arrive during Fresher’s week. I have made incredible friends and there are many opportunities to socialise; there is something for everyone.  

    Maryam-Mehmood

    Maryam Mehmood

    Psychology

    I have thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this course.

    Learning psychology within this university has widened my knowledge and has made me more perceptive in regard to issues surrounding human nature.

    This course is engaging and allowed students to converse with friends on psychological topics within lectures, which I most enjoyed. Other such eye-opening topics also include biological psychology where I experienced the more practical side of psychology using EEG machines and exploring explanations of biological abnormalities. Psychology and contemporary issues is also a module that I most enjoyed and still talk about, it led me to be more critical towards media articles and to look at the research behind it.

    I have found academic advisors to be incredibly supportive and helpful particularly when one is in a predicament and in need of advice. It is also nice to have semester meetings to ensure that the university journey is running smoothly. Dissertation supervisors have also been incredibly supportive and topic advisors for specific one to one modules have likewise been very helpful. The lecturing offices are accessible to psychology students, if I am in need of an answer to a question that I have, I feel welcomed enough to knock on the relevant office door and ask, all staff are friendly and very helpful. There is also a statistics support team which has been incredibly helpful during dissertation time.

    I had the great opportunity of presenting my dissertation work at the get published conference, this opened up opportunities for me to converse with other individuals from different backgrounds. Alongside this my research dissertation is now published on the student Brookes publishing page.

    Upon completing the course I plan on applying for a postgraduate degree, pursuing the study within psychology, more specifically applying for a master’s degree in either a particular field within psychology doing research or in neuropsychology.

    Cathinka Rokeberg

    Cathinka Rokeberg

    Psychology

    You learn a lot about yourself and others, and the degree looks really good for all sorts of employers.

    I went to visit Oxford before I applied to Brookes. I fell in love with all the history and all the beautiful old buildings and universities. Oxford is a very nice town with a city centre that isn’t too big, which is perfect for new students. The city centre does still offer everything you can wish for, with several beautiful museums, shops, and restaurants.

    The social life at Brookes is unbelievable. There is always something social going on. I joined the Psychology Society and Tennis Society and loved how engaged they were to get us in to the social life at Brookes.  I couldn’t be happier with my social life at Brookes. As I am from Norway, there is a Norwegian Society as well called ANSA. It is really nice to have a Norwegian network.

    My plan after completing my psychology degree is to get an internship in the company I want to work in and then complete a master's in Human Resources. I want to work in one of the biggest problem solving companies, and the psychology course makes me an attractive candidate for this.