MSc Forensic Psychology

Leeds Trinity University.

At college, I really didn’t know what I want to do, but we were fed a lot more information about A Levels during the end of high school more than we were alternatives such as BTEC. So I kind of just picked a levels from GCSEs I enjoyed, and really didn’t enjoy it in the end. I did ALMOST choose Psychology as an A-level as I thought it looked so interesting, but then somebody (I don’t remember who) told me not to because it was loads of writing and ‘really boring’. After a couple of months, I changed tact completely and decided to join a BTEC course at a different college, doing Game Art Design as I knew I loved games and drawing, so it seemed like a no-brainer.

When I first started at university, I was actually pursuing a degree in Game Art Design. I did this for a year before I realised that it really wasn’t for me. Doing something creative for my degree made what had always been an enjoyable hobby (sketching) feel like work, and it was getting me down. I realised that I wasn’t that excited about learning about art, I just wanted to do it instead, as a hobby. Nearer the end of my first year, I started looking at different courses I could transfer on to. I saw Psychology and remembered how interested I had been in taking it as an A-Level subject before someone put me off. I thought it looked so interesting, that I changed university and my degree to Psychology and started to do that instead.

So my course is what’s called a ‘blended’ course, which means it is technically considered a full-time course so it’s only one year long, however a lot of it is online while some of it is in person. This makes it easier for people to hold down jobs while they do the masters, because it can be difficult to work around a degree that requires you to be there in person a few times a week. Instead, every few months, I am at the University for lectures for a full week 9-5 and then the rest of the time, I have 1 or 2 lectures online via Teams on Mondays and Tuesdays. Personally, it suits me because it means you still get that in-person contact without having to waste time commuting back and forth weekly. I try to treat my studies like a 9 to 5, I go to the gym early morning and then return home late morning to have lunch and start doing my university work. Outside of this, I also work a bank role as a support worker in a children’s home.

I really enjoy self-led study. I think the further you get in academics, yes, there’s more pressure, but there’s also lots more freedom! I’ve really enjoyed researching what I wanted to research for my dissertation and several modules. I think its always nice to work on something that you’re genuinely curious about and that you haven’t necessarily got to learn about during your undergrad.

I think deadline period is always a really hard time, especially if you have a few pieces of coursework due within the space of a week. I think I’m a person who prefers to do each piece of coursework until it is done, so I find it hard when I have to time manage doing several pieces of coursework at once.

I’m currently looking for an Assistant Psychologist role, with the view of gaining enough experience and topping up the CV until I can apply for a PhD in either Clinical or Forensic Psychology (I haven’t decided yet).

I think one thing I didn’t really look in to too much before starting my Psychology degree was what the path into the career was like, I just thought it looked really interesting and wanted to study it. I think so many people think they are going to finish their degree and then walk right into a job straight afterwards in the industry they want. That’s not the case at all! I didn’t realise when I started Psychology that I would probably need to do postgraduate studies on top of this to become a practicing psychologist in the UK. Luckily, I enjoy my subject enough to do it, but there are definitely easier jobs to get in to so I’d do your research before starting!